4 ms·

I would like to note... Google is the big bad competitor who you're trying to out-compete. You can't out-compete google without going below it in price. Every

I would like to note... Google is the big bad competitor who you're trying to out-compete. You can't out-compete google without going below it in price. Everyone is desperately trying by charging FAR less. I just want to note, it doesn't necessarily mean google is overcharging, but that nobody can enter a well established market by charging more and providing no other real value.

whimsicalism 5y ago
For off-site ad marketplaces, yes.
prepend 5y ago
I’m not aware of any industries where competitors charge 25-50% of the price of their main competitor. Perhaps temporarily, but search has been stagnant for 5-10 years.
- rvba 5y ago
  Google search seems to have regressed in quality. I guess those various people need to prove that they are needed so they make changes for the sake of doing something.. and quality of the product declines.
- makeitdouble 5y ago
  It happens on most industries where there is a de facto standard. MS Windows alternatives cost way less down to 0. Photoshop competitors also are cheaper. Same for Word competitors, GoPro alternatives etc.
  - throwaway2048 5y ago
    Those have one commonality, they are all software platforms that are practical monopolies on their space.
- mupuff1234 5y ago
  It's actually hard for me to think of any consumer driven industry where that isn't the case: cars, fashion, fitness & tech all have brands that come with a significant premium.
- sofixa 5y ago
  ISPs and mobile network providers? On the French market Orange (the former state monopoly) is usually 25%-50% more expensive, with less features, slightly better coverage (for mobile networks) and "enterprise support" than the 3 other competitors. Having them as an ISP makes absolutely zero sense - no IPv6, IPv4 gets rotated daily, shit hardware. They have time limited exclusivity for some places (e.g. if they put down fiber in a city, they have exclusivity over the network for 2-3 years and then anyone can use it), but that really doesn't explain their market share.
  - penteract 5y ago
    25%-50% more expensive means that competitors are charging 66%-80% of the price.
- Jensson 5y ago
  > I’m not aware of any industries where competitors charge 25-50% of the price of their main competitor. Alternative smartphone app stores charges way less than 25-50% of Google or Apple. You need to compare electronic markets with electronic markets like this, and the big players tend to take out extremely high fees in those areas. Although, I agree that charging high fees in these areas is a problem and should be fixed, but it isn't like this sort of thing is uncommon. Edit: As an example, Apple takes 30% cut. A competitor taking 7.5% cut would cost 25% of Apples app store.
- hnaccount_rng 5y ago
  Any kind of hardware tools? Furniture? I’m pretty sure I can come up with more examples if I’m thinking about it. But those just came immediately to mind
phkahler 5y ago
>> Everyone is desperately trying by charging FAR less. I thought these advertisers paid per-click, so in some sense Google and any competitor are fungible. Do people really care where their ads are shown so long as people click on them? Are the competitors placing ads in those crappy web sites that encourage accidental clicks?
- mdavis6890 5y ago
  Empirically they care - they are willing to pay 2-4x as much per impression through Google than others. Maybe they are correct to do so, maybe not.
- Mikeb85 5y ago
  > Do people really care where their ads are shown so long as people click on them? Of course they care. They pay per click, so they want the ads well-targeted so they have a high conversion rate, otherwise it's wasted money. Some ad networks literally scam businesses by placing ads everywhere so they get clicked on accidentally but of course this does nothing for conversion.

whimsicalism 5y ago

For off-site ad marketplaces, yes.

prepend 5y ago

I’m not aware of any industries where competitors charge 25-50% of the price of their main competitor. Perhaps temporarily, but search has been stagnant for 5-10 years.

rvba 5y ago
Google search seems to have regressed in quality. I guess those various people need to prove that they are needed so they make changes for the sake of doing something.. and quality of the product declines.
makeitdouble 5y ago
It happens on most industries where there is a de facto standard. MS Windows alternatives cost way less down to 0. Photoshop competitors also are cheaper. Same for Word competitors, GoPro alternatives etc.
- throwaway2048 5y ago
  Those have one commonality, they are all software platforms that are practical monopolies on their space.
mupuff1234 5y ago
It's actually hard for me to think of any consumer driven industry where that isn't the case: cars, fashion, fitness & tech all have brands that come with a significant premium.
sofixa 5y ago
ISPs and mobile network providers? On the French market Orange (the former state monopoly) is usually 25%-50% more expensive, with less features, slightly better coverage (for mobile networks) and "enterprise support" than the 3 other competitors. Having them as an ISP makes absolutely zero sense - no IPv6, IPv4 gets rotated daily, shit hardware. They have time limited exclusivity for some places (e.g. if they put down fiber in a city, they have exclusivity over the network for 2-3 years and then anyone can use it), but that really doesn't explain their market share.
- penteract 5y ago
  25%-50% more expensive means that competitors are charging 66%-80% of the price.
Jensson 5y ago
> I’m not aware of any industries where competitors charge 25-50% of the price of their main competitor. Alternative smartphone app stores charges way less than 25-50% of Google or Apple. You need to compare electronic markets with electronic markets like this, and the big players tend to take out extremely high fees in those areas. Although, I agree that charging high fees in these areas is a problem and should be fixed, but it isn't like this sort of thing is uncommon. Edit: As an example, Apple takes 30% cut. A competitor taking 7.5% cut would cost 25% of Apples app store.
hnaccount_rng 5y ago
Any kind of hardware tools? Furniture? I’m pretty sure I can come up with more examples if I’m thinking about it. But those just came immediately to mind

phkahler 5y ago

>> Everyone is desperately trying by charging FAR less. I thought these advertisers paid per-click, so in some sense Google and any competitor are fungible. Do people really care where their ads are shown so long as people click on them? Are the competitors placing ads in those crappy web sites that encourage accidental clicks?

mdavis6890 5y ago
Empirically they care - they are willing to pay 2-4x as much per impression through Google than others. Maybe they are correct to do so, maybe not.
Mikeb85 5y ago
> Do people really care where their ads are shown so long as people click on them? Of course they care. They pay per click, so they want the ads well-targeted so they have a high conversion rate, otherwise it's wasted money. Some ad networks literally scam businesses by placing ads everywhere so they get clicked on accidentally but of course this does nothing for conversion.