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I wonder how much this is true. I'm not doubting it, per se, but this is always argued when digital vs. analog comes up and I think it's a little presumptuous

I wonder how much this is true. I'm not doubting it, per se, but this is always argued when digital vs. analog comes up and I think it's a little presumptuous to say so. Let's consider this example: 1) It takes a big infrastructure to manage an eBook store. Amazon has to be able to deliver books at near instantaneous speeds. They have to deliver magazines and newspapers at a scheduled time (time is critical). 2) Amazon provides 3G delivery to (many of) its customers for free. It's not free for Amazon. 3) Amazon already has built up warehousing/delivery infrastructure and must maintain it because their retail business isn't going away. The cost of delivering a single book is not the same as for Barnes & Noble.

potatolicious 15y ago
1) Bigger than having a bunch of warehouses spread all over the world, fully staffed, with logistics and inventories to worry about? It seems unlikely this is smaller than the infrastructure for digital deliveries. 2) "free" in the same way your coffee might be "free" with the purchase of a bagel... 3) True, but let's taked away all the fixed costs (and presume the warehouses would have existed anyways, which may or may not be true). There are still plenty of variable costs - storage space costs money, handling costs labour, and shipping cannot be escaped (and is expensive!)...
ippisl 15y ago
|It takes a big infrastructure to manage an eBook store. It also takes as big infrastructure to manage selling physical books. and the size of a book(900kb) is pretty close to the size of it's amazon product page. |Amazon already has built up warehousing/delivery infrastructure and must maintain it Amazon's retail business shows nice year-on-year growth, and probably can eat the extra capacity left by the book business.
jcampbell1 15y ago
> Amazon already has built up warehousing/delivery infrastructure and must maintain it because their retail business isn't going away. Amazon's retail business is expanding, and is currently building new facilities. Storing and shipping fewer books means less new warehouse space they must build.
davidw 15y ago
> 2) Amazon provides 3G delivery to (many of) its customers for free. It's not free for Amazon. At least via the KDP, you as the author pay for that in part because it comes out of the price of your book.

potatolicious 15y ago

1) Bigger than having a bunch of warehouses spread all over the world, fully staffed, with logistics and inventories to worry about? It seems unlikely this is smaller than the infrastructure for digital deliveries. 2) "free" in the same way your coffee might be "free" with the purchase of a bagel... 3) True, but let's taked away all the fixed costs (and presume the warehouses would have existed anyways, which may or may not be true). There are still plenty of variable costs - storage space costs money, handling costs labour, and shipping cannot be escaped (and is expensive!)...

ippisl 15y ago

|It takes a big infrastructure to manage an eBook store. It also takes as big infrastructure to manage selling physical books. and the size of a book(900kb) is pretty close to the size of it's amazon product page. |Amazon already has built up warehousing/delivery infrastructure and must maintain it Amazon's retail business shows nice year-on-year growth, and probably can eat the extra capacity left by the book business.

jcampbell1 15y ago

> Amazon already has built up warehousing/delivery infrastructure and must maintain it because their retail business isn't going away. Amazon's retail business is expanding, and is currently building new facilities. Storing and shipping fewer books means less new warehouse space they must build.

davidw 15y ago

> 2) Amazon provides 3G delivery to (many of) its customers for free. It's not free for Amazon. At least via the KDP, you as the author pay for that in part because it comes out of the price of your book.