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One problem with Amazon is that it's terrible for discoverability. You can't really effectively browse Amazon, because there are too many items, and their categ

One problem with Amazon is that it's terrible for discoverability. You can't really effectively browse Amazon, because there are too many items, and their categorisation is somewhat lacking due to the range of items they sell. This is where niche websites really come into their element. JetPens comes to mind as a very good example. They sell high end pens (fountain pens etc). Their categorisation is spot on, since all they sell is pens, so I can browse their range of pens and accessories easily. They also have a really good blog and guides to help drive sales. Their price point is ideal for a blog-driven marketing/sales model. After reading a blog article or a guide, I'd happily shell out $25 to try something new, which is conveniently linked to from the blog post.

dawhizkid 9y ago
There are all these startups popping up that curate the best products on Amazon, Aliexpress, etc. https://canopy.co/explore/popular https://canopy.co/explore/popular https://thieve.co/ https://thieve.co/ Actually really interesting potential from a biz perspective - nice lifestyle biz if you do it right. Depending on how many purchases you drive you can earn between 4-8.5% of the purchase price.
- JBlue42 9y ago
  Yeah, camelcamelcamel is the one that comes to mind for me. Also, for Amazon Video, instantwatcher.com, but not sure how they monetize. Way easier on a PC to navigate Amazon Video Prime and Netflix than on their native sites. Amazon still leaves a lot to be desired though.
JBlue42 9y ago
Very much this. Their design is one of the most frustrating things about using the website. I'm mainly buying books and maybe some home goods on there. You would think at this point the metadata would be so much better (and I assume it is for their recommendation engine) but browsing, learning about products, etc. is still not as much 'fun'. I'm fine with bare basic but please make it useful.

dawhizkid 9y ago

There are all these startups popping up that curate the best products on Amazon, Aliexpress, etc. https://canopy.co/explore/popular https://canopy.co/explore/popular https://thieve.co/ https://thieve.co/ Actually really interesting potential from a biz perspective - nice lifestyle biz if you do it right. Depending on how many purchases you drive you can earn between 4-8.5% of the purchase price.

JBlue42 9y ago
Yeah, camelcamelcamel is the one that comes to mind for me. Also, for Amazon Video, instantwatcher.com, but not sure how they monetize. Way easier on a PC to navigate Amazon Video Prime and Netflix than on their native sites. Amazon still leaves a lot to be desired though.

JBlue42 9y ago

Very much this. Their design is one of the most frustrating things about using the website. I'm mainly buying books and maybe some home goods on there. You would think at this point the metadata would be so much better (and I assume it is for their recommendation engine) but browsing, learning about products, etc. is still not as much 'fun'. I'm fine with bare basic but please make it useful.