5 ms·

Then you haven't been an Amazon supplier dangling at the end of a rope as Bezos tries to wring blood from a stone.

by OtterCoder 9y ago

dizzystar 9y ago
So true... the universe of selling on Amazon and buying on Amazon couldn't be more separate.
- notyourwork 9y ago
  The universe of buying and selling clothing at the mall, food at the grocery store, goods at Walmart have the same level of separation in most cases.
  - dizzystar 9y ago
    Not quite what I mean. The difference between the costomer-facing section of Amazon and the seller-facing section is worlds apart. Selling on Walmart, eBay, etc., are very different platforms with their own unique rules. Amazon is an entirely different level.
    - notyourwork 9y ago
      And the common denominator with all of these is majority of customers are ignorant to all of this. They are more concerned with the price tag and their wallet than they are about the supply chain.
dragonwriter 9y ago
Well, yeah, Amazon is more the new WalMart than the new Apple.
mrich 9y ago
That sounds a bit familiar to how Apple dealt with their suppliers.
- Aloha 9y ago
  Any big company, apple, wallmart, ford.. and on and on.
  - eru 9y ago
    To give a contrast, Aldi has an excellent reputation with suppliers. That German hard discounter pays like clockwork.
    - protomyth 9y ago
      I gotta admit that I can forgive a multiple of sins when I'm paid on time.
Bromskloss 9y ago
Would that contradict the point?
ActsJuvenile 9y ago
Tell us more. I am not familiar with this side of Amazon.
- OtterCoder 9y ago
  I used to work for a publishing company. No other platform or vendor made us bend over backwards like Amazon. We had to give them the usual non-competitive list pricing that other vendors demand, but we also had to give them a massive, absolutely disproportional cut of the sale price, regardless of profit margin. There were launch date rights they demanded, massive periods of exclusivity for audiobooks in order not to be a second class citizen, total refusal to negotiate terms, etc. We were not a small publishing house, top 10% by volume nationwide, and (mostly) not paperback trash either. You've probably seen our cookbooks. Didn't matter. They treated us exactly the same as they would an amateur author writing unedited self-pub romance novels. No regard for quality, rating, volume, or any other metric, all must bow before Bezos. Amazon takes such a chunk out of the publishing industry, it actually has a bit of a chilling effect, because you can't afford risk a flop with the tight margins Amazon affords, and you probably need Amazon.

Then you haven't been an Amazon supplier dangling at the end of a rope as Bezos tries to wring blood from a stone.

dizzystar 9y ago

So true... the universe of selling on Amazon and buying on Amazon couldn't be more separate.

notyourwork 9y ago
The universe of buying and selling clothing at the mall, food at the grocery store, goods at Walmart have the same level of separation in most cases.
- dizzystar 9y ago
  Not quite what I mean. The difference between the costomer-facing section of Amazon and the seller-facing section is worlds apart. Selling on Walmart, eBay, etc., are very different platforms with their own unique rules. Amazon is an entirely different level.
  - notyourwork 9y ago
    And the common denominator with all of these is majority of customers are ignorant to all of this. They are more concerned with the price tag and their wallet than they are about the supply chain.

dragonwriter 9y ago

Well, yeah, Amazon is more the new WalMart than the new Apple.

mrich 9y ago

That sounds a bit familiar to how Apple dealt with their suppliers.

Aloha 9y ago
Any big company, apple, wallmart, ford.. and on and on.
- eru 9y ago
  To give a contrast, Aldi has an excellent reputation with suppliers. That German hard discounter pays like clockwork.
  - protomyth 9y ago
    I gotta admit that I can forgive a multiple of sins when I'm paid on time.

Bromskloss 9y ago

Would that contradict the point?

ActsJuvenile 9y ago

Tell us more. I am not familiar with this side of Amazon.

OtterCoder 9y ago
I used to work for a publishing company. No other platform or vendor made us bend over backwards like Amazon. We had to give them the usual non-competitive list pricing that other vendors demand, but we also had to give them a massive, absolutely disproportional cut of the sale price, regardless of profit margin. There were launch date rights they demanded, massive periods of exclusivity for audiobooks in order not to be a second class citizen, total refusal to negotiate terms, etc. We were not a small publishing house, top 10% by volume nationwide, and (mostly) not paperback trash either. You've probably seen our cookbooks. Didn't matter. They treated us exactly the same as they would an amateur author writing unedited self-pub romance novels. No regard for quality, rating, volume, or any other metric, all must bow before Bezos. Amazon takes such a chunk out of the publishing industry, it actually has a bit of a chilling effect, because you can't afford risk a flop with the tight margins Amazon affords, and you probably need Amazon.