I wish I had the time to rip this article to pieces but I don't. Here is something to get you started:
>>>Amazon.com sells a commodity. The reasoning that a company needs patent
protection or high-margin products to do well is fallacious. Here's a list
of names of companies selling commodity items that make their money from
service and efficient capital management: Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Home Depot
(NYSE: HD), Kroger (NYSE: KR), Fred Meyer (NYSE: FMY), Costco (Nasdaq:
COST), Dayton Hudson (NYSE: DH), Citibank (NYSE: CCI), Charles Schwab
(NYSE:
SCH), Dell (Nasdaq: DELL), Compaq (NYSE: CPQ), and GEICO, a subsidiary of
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A and BRK.B), all built brand names and
shareholder returns not by selling proprietary things but by selling
non-proprietary things better and cheaper than anyone else<<<
The above is a falsehood.....shows you how little the FOOLS know. Almost all the companies mentioned above DO NOT sell commodity items. A commodity item is an IDENTICAL item that can be sold by anyone. The only thing that distinguishes it is the price. Wheat is a commodity. DELL computers are not. If I order a DELL I get a different product than if I order from Gateway. Similar, but nonetheless easily differentiated. QUALITY, becomes an issue. Wal-mart sells many commodity items, but they also sell many proprietary items (such as clothing lines) found only at Wal Mart, AND they sell far cheaper than most. I could say the same about each and every company sighted in the above article.
AMZN is a RESELLER of a COMMODITY. PERIOD. LIKE WHEAT. If I buy the latest John Grisham novel at AMZN or BKS or BGP or at "Bob's bitchin' bookstore", I GET THE SAME IDENTICAL BOOK. The only differentiation is in price. The product is the same, LIKE WHEAT.
Therefore, AMZN CANNOT be compared to the above companies because their product cannot be differentiated from other RESELLERS of the same product other than by PRICE. If you search the 'net, you will find dozens of booksellers, delivering the same product, many of them FOR LESS MONEY. AMZN will not be able to turn a profit, due to the serious price competition, IMHO. They now have the heaviest debt load of all the big booksellers, and projected losses for another 2 years according to First Call.......Why in God's name would anyone put their hard earned money in this company? A sexy hype story is what Wall Street loves best, and this is what you got. If you want a real company, buy BKS or Walmart.....they are here to stay....AMZN has yet to prove it can survive.........;^) |
