3 ms·

Basics was launched to compete with the likes of Monoprice. And due to the pricing structure of FBA, it doesn't make much sense for 3rd parties to sell items t

by keenerd 11y ago

Basics was launched to compete with the likes of Monoprice. And due to the pricing structure of FBA, it doesn't make much sense for 3rd parties to sell items through Amazon for under $10. The majority of Basics items are inexpensive to take advantage of this. Almost every item in the Basics catalog are items that a person will buy at least once a year. How many copper fire pits do you think the average person buys per year?

thaumasiotes 11y ago
My Basics purchases so far: mouse, bluetooth keyboard, capacitive stylus, travel case for a portable hard drive, HDMI cable, USB extension cable, USB hub. Here's the first page of results if I search Amazon for "amazonbasics": "portable power bank", USB--Lightning cable (6 feet) (I assume this is for connecting an iPhone to a USB port?), 67-inch monopod, bluetooth "audio receiver", travel case for small electronics, dual monitors mounting arm, USB wall charger, laptop backpack, microUSB--Lightning adapter, 24 pack of microfiber cleaning cloths, 8-pack of AA rechargeable batteries, USB--Lightning cable (3 feet), GoPro carrying case, double rod freestanding closet, large portable bluetooth speaker, 12 pairs of banana plugs (6 red, 6 black). None of those, except possibly the cleaning cloths, are items I'd expect someone to buy once a year.
- keenerd 11y ago
  I'm not exactly a good data point because I hate buying things without a good reason and buy stuff as infrequently as possible. But I also keep good records of my purchases. On average every year despite being anti-consumerism* I will buy one set of rechargable batteries, one cable, one charger, one protective case, one adapter. (So far only one of my purchases have been from Basics.) 8 of 16 of the search results fit this (rather arbitrary) "once a year" description. Anyway, on your own purchases. Stylus, case, cable, cable. Basics has only been around for six years. And you really need to count all of the non-Basics purchases, because that is what Amazon is trying to capture. * I don't feel this way, but multiple people have told me the economy would collapse if everyone acted the way I do.
  - thaumasiotes 11y ago
    But at one cable a year, you're not even close to buying each cable product every year, nor to buying each product that you're a customer for every year. If I fit the model you describe ("the items in the catalog are items that a person will buy at least once a year"), I wouldn't be buying one cable a year -- I'd be replacing every one of my cables every year. Instead, I never replace them at all, making them items that I bought once. If you want to say "the items in the catalog fall into categories, and a customer will typically buy a single item from any given category once a year"... then you've descended into meaninglessness. You can categorize fire pits however you want. They'll fit that definition some ways and they won't fit other ways.

by keenerd 11y ago

thaumasiotes 11y ago

My Basics purchases so far: mouse, bluetooth keyboard, capacitive stylus, travel case for a portable hard drive, HDMI cable, USB extension cable, USB hub. Here's the first page of results if I search Amazon for "amazonbasics": "portable power bank", USB--Lightning cable (6 feet) (I assume this is for connecting an iPhone to a USB port?), 67-inch monopod, bluetooth "audio receiver", travel case for small electronics, dual monitors mounting arm, USB wall charger, laptop backpack, microUSB--Lightning adapter, 24 pack of microfiber cleaning cloths, 8-pack of AA rechargeable batteries, USB--Lightning cable (3 feet), GoPro carrying case, double rod freestanding closet, large portable bluetooth speaker, 12 pairs of banana plugs (6 red, 6 black). None of those, except possibly the cleaning cloths, are items I'd expect someone to buy once a year.

keenerd 11y ago
I'm not exactly a good data point because I hate buying things without a good reason and buy stuff as infrequently as possible. But I also keep good records of my purchases. On average every year despite being anti-consumerism* I will buy one set of rechargable batteries, one cable, one charger, one protective case, one adapter. (So far only one of my purchases have been from Basics.) 8 of 16 of the search results fit this (rather arbitrary) "once a year" description. Anyway, on your own purchases. Stylus, case, cable, cable. Basics has only been around for six years. And you really need to count all of the non-Basics purchases, because that is what Amazon is trying to capture. * I don't feel this way, but multiple people have told me the economy would collapse if everyone acted the way I do.
- thaumasiotes 11y ago
  But at one cable a year, you're not even close to buying each cable product every year, nor to buying each product that you're a customer for every year. If I fit the model you describe ("the items in the catalog are items that a person will buy at least once a year"), I wouldn't be buying one cable a year -- I'd be replacing every one of my cables every year. Instead, I never replace them at all, making them items that I bought once. If you want to say "the items in the catalog fall into categories, and a customer will typically buy a single item from any given category once a year"... then you've descended into meaninglessness. You can categorize fire pits however you want. They'll fit that definition some ways and they won't fit other ways.