These guys are really getting funny<VBG>
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Officials at JVC, a Japanese maker of televisions, stereos and other gadgets, have become increasingly dismayed to see its products for sale on Amazon at cut-rate prices, even though JVC doesn't sell to Amazon. The pricing has prompted some JVC retail customers to complain to JVC, which in turn has been talking with Amazon management. Amazon officials weren't immediately available for comment. Amazon has 43 JVC items listed for sale, compared with slightly more than 140 items for Sony, which sells directly to Amazon.
By buying JVC products from someone other than the manufacturer, Amazon sidesteps restrictions on how it displays and sells the gear, restrictions that brick-and-mortar retailers such as Circuit City (CC:NYSE - news) and Best Buy (BBY:NYSE - news) accept. But it also misses out on lucrative discounts, raising the question of whether Amazon is actually profiting on each sale. With the company racing to become profitable by the end of this year, the capital markets looking uninviting and the economic slowdown crunching sales forecasts, Amazon can ill afford sales that put it in the red, analysts agree. Amazon shares were up 31 cents Thursday at $10.50. "
There is a lot more at the link below.
thestreet.com |
