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Will Amazon Become the Wal-Mart of the Web?
- joez 17y agoAt some point the state agencies has to clamp down on people not paying taxes (known as a use tax) on their Amazon purchases. I know a lot of my friends purchase from Amazon because they save 8.5% in tax. It's significant when you make a purchase like a Macbook. That's a huge competitive advantage that Amazon currently has over other online retailers (at least for California). Edit: Correction IRS => State agencies (thanks shrughes)
- shrughes 17y agoThe IRS is a federal agency, so it would be state tax agencies that try to clamp down on use taxes.
- pragmatic 17y agoWal-Mart++? I've ordered lawn mower parts, (kid's) toys, a laptop, a Kindle, hard drives, etc, etc from Amazon this year. My local hardware store didn't have the lawnmower parts I needed but Amazon did.
- haupt 17y agoI can't arrange for an in-store pickup when I order something from Amazon, and I can't order a copy of any Marilyn Manson CD from Wal-Mart. I was shopping for a Magnavox DVD Recorder (model: H2160MW9) and found it for $290.99 at Amazon vs. $229.00 from Wal-Mart's site. IMHO, both sites will continue to serve their respective niches. I don't think either juggernaut is going anywhere anytime soon. :)
- sfphotoarts 17y agoI don't care what anyone wants to think of Amazon as. They are just Amazon, the best retailer for practically anything
- stevenj 17y agoI think it already has
- rabidgnat 17y agoI think that the rise of Amazon as the primary retailer leaves the delivery market ripe for upheaval. The current delivery model is kind of awkward: they do a first delivery when you're at work, and then trying to coordinate with them becomes a huge hassle. I usually end up having packages delivered to my parents' house, since they won't leave packages at my door at my current apartment (and rightfully so!) To me, it seems like it's in Amazon's best interest to use a delivery service that is more convenient for the end user than the current model, like picking from available delivery dates and times.
- HeyLaughingBoy 17y agoFYI: I don't know what alternative delivery services exist (the nice thing about living way out in the country is that they'll leave anything at the door if you're not home!), but when I lived in an apt in town, I had an account with the local Mailboxes Etc. (now UPS store) and I just had my packages shipped there and could pick them up at my convenience.
- scythe 17y agoIt seems like drop-boxes, like the ones used to return library books, could be built into the rooms in new apartment buildings. That would probably solve the delivery problem except when shipping really big packages (e.g. televisions).
- philwelch 17y agoApartment buildings already have simpler options: an in-complex office that receives all deliveries on your behalf and checks them out to you. The problem is, you've changed the problem to "redoing how the country builds apartments, and rebuilding all the apartment buildings" when the original problem, "find a way to deliver packages at more convenient times", was an easier problem to begin with.
- rsheridan6 17y agoLots of mailboxes, and not just at apartment buildings, already have dropboxes: http://www.mailboxworks.com/AF_Outdoor_Parcel_Locker.html http://www.mailboxworks.com/AF_Outdoor_Parcel_Locker.html You don't really need one for every room because not everybody is going to get a delivery every day. One for every 10 rooms would be enough most of the time.
- x3m 17y agoWal-Mart is the Wal-Mart of the web. Their online holidays' sale numbers are higher than Amazon. edit: http://siteanalytics.compete.com/walmart.com+amazon.com http://siteanalytics.compete.com/walmart.com+amazon.com well this shows Amazon gets 20M more traffic than Wal-Mart during peak of holiday season, but I am pretty sure Wal-Mart's sales were higher on 06
- skinnymuch 17y agoCan you give any proof about the 06 numbers? It seems doubtful.
- Grinnmarr 17y agoDude...Amazon has been the leading e-tailer for around a decade or so. Wal-Mart is not even in the top 10. Where did you get the idea Wal-Mart did anywhere near Amazon volume online? http://www.internetretailer.com/Top500/list.asp http://www.internetretailer.com/Top500/list.asp
- scottjackson 17y agoMy one annoyance with Amazon: I live in Australia, yet Amazon item pages still say, even when I'm logged in, that I've qualified for "FREE Super Saving Shiping!" A quick check of Amazon's help pages will tell you that international customers aren't eligible for free shipping of any kind. All of my shipping addresses are in Australia, but Amazon doesn't do any checking of that before saying that I've qualified. Also, there's no Amazon Prime for international customers, which is a total shame. I understand that it's not cost-effective to give free international shipping for $75 a year, but I'd happily pay double, maybe even triple for it. The shipping costs are what kill me on Amazon -- it's the only thing that stops me from buying everything (literally, everything) from Amazon.
- electromagnetic 17y agoAmazon's severely restricted here in Canada compared to the US, and is pitiful compared to what I'm used to in the UK, so I receive the same problem as I'm frequently on the US site. I don't fare well as I used amazon for nearly everything while in the UK, but now in Canada I'm stuck with CrapBuy and Shit-Mart who sell everything at hiked prices.
- MikeCapone 17y agoAgreed. I really wish the Amazon.ca site would come to mirror the US version. Anyone knows if they've announced plans to do that?
- electromagnetic 17y agoAmazon's screwed over by the Canadian government's rules, the only reason we even have Amazon here is because of expert manoeuvring by Amazon. In Canada no bookseller can be majority owned by a foreign company, (they can only own something like 25%, it's seriously screwed up). Amazon doesn't operate foreign subsidiaries and so it can't legally own property in Canada for it's business. Canada Post however essentially gave Amazon a permanent lease of one of their large distribution warehouses in Mississauga right on the Canada Post's own central distribution point for all Ontario post and the central hub for all post travelling through Canada. Indigo/Chapters/Coles (the same company) cried foul in court and to the government, however the Judge ruled (IIRC) that as Amazon didn't own any property in Canada they were exempt from the ownership laws. Obviously when the laws were originally set in place they didn't realise how easy it would be for a company to operate without its own property. I doubt Amazon.ca will come to mirror the US site any time soon. They're in a tough situation and until the laws change, they likely can't afford to jeopardise their position.
- sahaj 17y agoit already is. it's the biggest and cheapest place on the web. shipping is getting faster and better as well. i was going to order an OEM hard-drive and in the reviews someone complained about the poor packaging. someone else replied and said to take a picture and submit to amazon. one day later another reviewer said that their packaging was fine. trusting amazon, i placed my order (free shipping). i just got my hard-drive today (2 days later), and packaging was on par with the retail version. [edit] link: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q6A3WHMIDISG/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B001VKYA5E http://www.amazon.com/review/R2Q6A3WHMIDISG/ref=cm_cr_pr_cmt...
- potatolicious 17y agoI work on the team that handles packaging feedback at Amazon, we do care about these issues and need your feedback on how both Amazon and the product manufacturers do on packaging. http://www.amazon.com/packaging http://www.amazon.com/packaging You can always submit feedback on past orders here, it's easy and quick, and helps us fine-tune things a lot. Like parent said, you can take pictures of how we packed your stuff and submit it, we do go through the feedback religiously :)
- pyre 17y agoThey will be the Wal-Mart of the web when they start throwing their weight around and 'holding wholesalers hostage' to drive down prices, forcing manufacturers to make 'cheaper' versions of the same product just for Amazon (and in some cases listing that 'Amazon-version' with the cheaper parts/build quality as the exact same model as the ones that were sent to other retailers).
- sfall 17y agoi don't see a problem with using your purchasing power. but abuse can lead to larger problems, walmart is now seeing some brands not wanting to enter their stores because of potential problems it can cause.
- eru 17y agoDid you know that Wal-Mart left the German market, because it was too competitive for them?
- oconnor0 17y agoDo you have sources or an article on that?
- eru 17y agohttp://www.google.de/search?q=walmant+leaves+germany http://www.google.de/search?q=walmant+leaves+germany gives: "Competitors, like the low-cost chains Aldi and Lidl, continue to grow and succeed in Germany. In fact, the competition from a surge of low-cost chains is attributed with keeping average food costs as much as 40% lower in Germany than in France or Great Britain." (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/walmart_leaves.php http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/walmart_leaves.php) And: "Wal-Mart, which entered the German market eight years ago, struggled against the might of the discount retailers already operating in Germany, including the no-frills Aldi and Lidl." (http://www.intuitive.com/blog/walmart_sells_off_german_stores_leaves_germany.html http://www.intuitive.com/blog/walmart_sells_off_german_store...) or: "Wal-Mart Stores Inc. boasts that its discount pricing attracts more than 127 million visits to its American stores each week. In Germany, however, its prices apparently weren't low enough." (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115407238850420246.html http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115407238850420246.html) Wal-Mart is expensive compared with Aldi. And Aldi has a reputation for treating its employees well, bargaining hard but fair with its suppliers and delivering great value to customers. (My own opinion, but you can read something at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi#Reputation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi#Reputation) [Sorry, I am a fan.]
- natmaster 17y agoGiven that Walmart.com runs on the Amazon software, Amazon literally is the Wal-Mart of the web.
- chris123 17y agoIsn't Amazon already the Wal-Mart of the web? If it isn't, who is? Exactly.
- sjs 17y agoNot in Canada, not soon anyway. You can't buy anything off of Amazon when shipping to Canada. I still only think of them as a book store.
- jhancock 17y agoThe article shows an Amazon which is exactly the opposite of what I experienced 3 weeks ago. I needed several items for my wife's birthday. We are on extended stay in the U.S., away from our home in Shanghai. I wanted some Chinese comforts for my wife: tea, chopsticks, chinese cooking spices, rice noodles. After some searching on the web, it looked like I could buy all these through Amazon. I picked 4 different items from 4 different suppliers. All items showed "in stock, ships immediately". So I added them to my shopping cart and went to checkout. I see a whopping and opaque 50% charge over the costs of goods for shipping, no shipping breakdown. I decided to go ahead and do it, its my wife's birthday after all. In the days following the purchase, I receive 4 different emails from each supplier, not Amazon, telling me various things about the item's true availability and when it should ship. It took 3 weeks to get all the times in individually. It is clear Amazon was just operating as a sales affiliate for these other providers which is far cry from what they portray on their site. Amazon lost a lot of credibility in my eyes. Next time, I'll go to each supplier and make separate purchases and skip the middleman that is adding so little value.
- billswift 17y agoThey tell you on the item's page, right under the item itself, when the item is being shipped from another seller and is just listed on Amazon. If you don't carefully examine the information they provide, that's your choice.
- jhancock 17y agoAll I can tell you is I was being pretty careful, as I always am in my online transactions, and I feel I was both misled and that Amazon did not provide value to the transaction. I am absolutely certain each item I put in my shopping cart said it was "in stock", yet days after the purchase, I received emails from the various providers telling me the real story. I am also certain that even though I tried hard to find out prior to the purchase, it was not possible to see the breakdown in shipping costs. Only seeing one shipping cost line item is one reason some might believe its all being bundled together from a big amazon warehouse somewhere. Especially with widespread business articles like the OP educating the world that's what Amazon has become. Otherwise, why not show me 4 different shipping charges, maybe I want to send one priority and the others not. I also filled out feedback on these purchases after I received the shipments to state what my complaints were about the shopping experience, but never heard back from anyone. This part of course, doesn't surprise me. Simply pointing out that if I were to do something like this again, I may as well buy direct from the real supplier so that if I did have a problem, I wouldn't be complaining through a middleman.