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Awesome. I see yummy.com vans all around Santa Monica, but would love for a big player like Amazon to come in and validate this space. The article lists $2.50

by marcc 16y ago

Awesome. I see yummy.com vans all around Santa Monica, but would love for a big player like Amazon to come in and validate this space. The article lists $2.50 for a single grapefruit as an indicator that the pricing will be high. I'd love to see a comparison. $2.50 for a grapefruit in mid January in Seattle might be a normal price for all I know. Show me pricing on staples like bread, flour, cereal, pasta.

TomOfTTB 16y ago
I'd also like to see a comparison but I tend to think Amazon is charging a high price. The thing I keep thinking is both WebVan and HomeGrocer blew threw billions and eventually imploded (WebVan bought HomeGrocer and then Amazon bought WebVan and re-purposed it as a regular online store). The argument always given was that grocery margins are already razor thin so a company that delivers groceries can't make enough to stay alive. So maybe that's how Amazon is surviving in Seattle right now. Offering a great convenience at a premium price.
- SoftwareMaven 16y ago
  If you haven't read the entire story of WebVan, it is worth it. Their problems stemmed from far more than just razor thin grocery margins and had much more to do with late-90's, bubble-fed hubris than anything else. Unfortunately, WebVan scared anybody off from making a serious investment in it, even though they never actually invalidated the market. If anybody can make it work, it will be Amazon; and if they start succeeding, I can't imagine it will take long for Walmart to follow.
  - TomOfTTB 16y ago
    Is there a full story of WebVan posted somewhere? I've read bits and pieces along with actually being in the Valley at the time but I'd be interested in knowing more.
- jarin 16y ago
  You also have to remember that startup and infrastructure costs were a LOT higher when WebVan and HomeGrocer started (although WebVan did go above and beyond the call of duty with their spending on top of that). Amazon already has all of the technical infrastructure they need, so it's just a matter of keeping the storage and transportation costs down (e.g. not spending a billion dollars on a warehouse).

by marcc 16y ago

TomOfTTB 16y ago

I'd also like to see a comparison but I tend to think Amazon is charging a high price. The thing I keep thinking is both WebVan and HomeGrocer blew threw billions and eventually imploded (WebVan bought HomeGrocer and then Amazon bought WebVan and re-purposed it as a regular online store). The argument always given was that grocery margins are already razor thin so a company that delivers groceries can't make enough to stay alive. So maybe that's how Amazon is surviving in Seattle right now. Offering a great convenience at a premium price.

SoftwareMaven 16y ago
If you haven't read the entire story of WebVan, it is worth it. Their problems stemmed from far more than just razor thin grocery margins and had much more to do with late-90's, bubble-fed hubris than anything else. Unfortunately, WebVan scared anybody off from making a serious investment in it, even though they never actually invalidated the market. If anybody can make it work, it will be Amazon; and if they start succeeding, I can't imagine it will take long for Walmart to follow.
- TomOfTTB 16y ago
  Is there a full story of WebVan posted somewhere? I've read bits and pieces along with actually being in the Valley at the time but I'd be interested in knowing more.
jarin 16y ago
You also have to remember that startup and infrastructure costs were a LOT higher when WebVan and HomeGrocer started (although WebVan did go above and beyond the call of duty with their spending on top of that). Amazon already has all of the technical infrastructure they need, so it's just a matter of keeping the storage and transportation costs down (e.g. not spending a billion dollars on a warehouse).