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"Amazon - Leads you to other peoples goods" I think most people go to Amazon to buy from Amazon, not "other people." As opposed to eBay and Craigslist, where t

"Amazon - Leads you to other peoples goods" I think most people go to Amazon to buy from Amazon, not "other people." As opposed to eBay and Craigslist, where the above description is accurate.

wccrawford 16y ago
No, they go there to buy things. Most of them don't care whether the goods come from Amazon or not, just that they get a good price.
- benvanderbeek 16y ago
  Right. But if we're talking about content, most people go there because of Amazon's content, not other merchants. The vast majority of Amazon's revenue is from their own sales, not merchants'.
  - mdda 16y ago
    I check things out on Amazon not for the savings, but for the reviews. And that's content not created by Amazon. I guess I stick around for the recommendations - but that's also generated by Amazon analysing other people's actions.
    - benvanderbeek 16y ago
      Good point re: reviews as motivation to visit their site. Being an ecommerce guy, I was thinking "content" being product data related to products (and delivery/customer service) that Amazon itself actually sells vs. product data (and services) provided by 3rd party merchants (like me).
- tygorius 16y ago
  I'd be interested in seeing the numbers on Amazon customer criteria -- there are plenty of reasons besides price. Two data points: 1) I recently bought a netbook via Amazon even though it was a new model and Amazon's price was near list and above most other search results -- because of their superior return policy and faster (semi-free) delivery; 2) I recently discovered some backpack clips I liked but declined to buy them at Amazon at $2.16 per clip because a search indicated I could get them for less than half that at REI -- and I would be near an REI outlet that weekend. In the first case I was sacrificing more than a couple of dollars for speed and improved chances of a satisfactory transaction, in the second the money saved was less relevant than the fact that I'd be near an REI store soon anyway and it's always fun to browse their aisles. Anyway, I guess my point is that there lots of criteria people use in Amazon visits and their Web usage in general. I visit Hacker News and Amazon "regularly" but it seems foolish to conclude from the frequency of my visits any correlation in my reasons or implied value, even if someone dresses up their SWAG with an allusion to a 1956 psych paper. From an entrepreneurial perspective, I'd be much more interested in contrasting customer usage of Amazon, say, with the Google "shopping" tab. (Amazon does its best to induce browsing of products beyond what brought you to the site -- how successful are they, I wonder?)
lwhi 16y ago
I go to Amazon firstly to buy goods from Amazon - but I also consider marketplace sellers. Amazon has a good level of customer service, and makes a strong effort to keep a positive relationship with its customers. I can't be sure that the smaller sellers will go out of their way to ensure I'm happy.

"Amazon - Leads you to other peoples goods" I think most people go to Amazon to buy from Amazon, not "other people." As opposed to eBay and Craigslist, where the above description is accurate.

wccrawford 16y ago

No, they go there to buy things. Most of them don't care whether the goods come from Amazon or not, just that they get a good price.

benvanderbeek 16y ago
Right. But if we're talking about content, most people go there because of Amazon's content, not other merchants. The vast majority of Amazon's revenue is from their own sales, not merchants'.
- mdda 16y ago
  I check things out on Amazon not for the savings, but for the reviews. And that's content not created by Amazon. I guess I stick around for the recommendations - but that's also generated by Amazon analysing other people's actions.
  - benvanderbeek 16y ago
    Good point re: reviews as motivation to visit their site. Being an ecommerce guy, I was thinking "content" being product data related to products (and delivery/customer service) that Amazon itself actually sells vs. product data (and services) provided by 3rd party merchants (like me).
tygorius 16y ago
I'd be interested in seeing the numbers on Amazon customer criteria -- there are plenty of reasons besides price. Two data points: 1) I recently bought a netbook via Amazon even though it was a new model and Amazon's price was near list and above most other search results -- because of their superior return policy and faster (semi-free) delivery; 2) I recently discovered some backpack clips I liked but declined to buy them at Amazon at $2.16 per clip because a search indicated I could get them for less than half that at REI -- and I would be near an REI outlet that weekend. In the first case I was sacrificing more than a couple of dollars for speed and improved chances of a satisfactory transaction, in the second the money saved was less relevant than the fact that I'd be near an REI store soon anyway and it's always fun to browse their aisles. Anyway, I guess my point is that there lots of criteria people use in Amazon visits and their Web usage in general. I visit Hacker News and Amazon "regularly" but it seems foolish to conclude from the frequency of my visits any correlation in my reasons or implied value, even if someone dresses up their SWAG with an allusion to a 1956 psych paper. From an entrepreneurial perspective, I'd be much more interested in contrasting customer usage of Amazon, say, with the Google "shopping" tab. (Amazon does its best to induce browsing of products beyond what brought you to the site -- how successful are they, I wonder?)

lwhi 16y ago

I go to Amazon firstly to buy goods from Amazon - but I also consider marketplace sellers. Amazon has a good level of customer service, and makes a strong effort to keep a positive relationship with its customers. I can't be sure that the smaller sellers will go out of their way to ensure I'm happy.