william, i wish you luck. i think my point was that you aren't on the most likely to starve short list ;-)
be careful re: really cool things and making money. i love the net. i learned a LOT about computer programming in very little time. I learned a LOT about database programming. an answer to a question is usually 4 hours away on the newsgroups.
the net is very efficient in this manner.
however, i strongly believe the obvious point (obvious to me - so obvious that i can't fathom why other folks don't seem to get it) is that the internet empowers consumers to the detriment of sellers.
does this mean you can't make money via the net? absolutely not. it just means it is more difficult to make money and , when you do, you typically make less. this problem gets worse the bigger you are.
glenn makes money on the net = no doubt. amzn doesn't. two different goals.
when i buy on the net i can quickly scan 100 stores for price. beginning with the lowest price, i can quickly search the newsgroups and resellerratings.com to find legit companies. i save 20-30% of almost everything i'm buying.
now, that is not 20-30% of the profits gone from the retailer. that is like 100% reduction, or more, reduction in profits. the word "free" used to mean very little. the net changed that. there are valuable net freebies. there is a reason. people won't pay.
let's take an example. i'm searching for a tv (my 1986 20" ain't cuttin' it anymore ;-) and a new digital camera so my wife can take pictures of skeeter jr when he is born in may.
i am going to save 15% on the tv and 40% on the camera. am i buying over the net with some fly by night outfit and taking lots of risk? nope. the tv is too expensive to ship and, frankly, the good prices on the camera are at fly by night places.
i'm going to sears. they will match internet prices.
i'm saving $450 off a total retail purchase of $1700. now, i know of few companies with 27% NET margins. sears will marginally break even on this deal (iow, they won't make any money to pay rent, heat, employees, etc.).
their profits went zappo - unless they want to exclude operating expenses in their definition of "profit." william, think about that for a moment? exclude interest expense as though debt wasn't necessary to put them in their current position? why not just exclude cost of goods sold? this should tell you that bezos is a scammer.
one doesn't deal in TRUTH when the TRUTH ain't pretty. bezos will not deal with his "profit" truth and sees NO PROBLEMS leading you to believe he actually means profit when he means "profit minus those VERY LARGE expenses we don't choose to include." that's like the us saying the national debt doesn't matter!
this is the POWER of the net. consumer empowerment. i'm so empowered. i go to epinions.com, audioreview.com, pcphotoreview.com, etc. i buy the best stuff at the best prices. i quickly scan for the best coupons.
amazon rarely gets my business b/c they don't offer the best value (decent service, but high prices).
the NET is big. it just isn't big for fat profit margins AND high revenue due to consumer empowerment and the vicious level of supply unleashed by corporations. demand grew fast - but slower than supply.
again, the net is big. real profits, not fake bezos profits, are not. it is not a contradiction. |
