Earth to Bezos, Earth to Bezos: Of course people care about price
comparisons. Ignore that obvious fact at your peril.
(Quote above is from LP's note on Eric Savitz's article in Barron's)
As mentioned before, one of the virtues of the 'net is that it makes price comparison both effective, easy, and fast. This is in contrast to driving around town, or pouring over the newspaper. Partly, that is how Onsale.com and Ebay.com came into being ... they could focus enough users into one place that they could both create an effective auction (which often provides a better price for the seller, at the same time offering value to the buyer).
If, at the end of the day, there will be only one/two shopbots standing (they exist purely based upon their ability to generate traffic, so in that light, the headstart AMZN has with their 3 mil. book customers, and 1.5 mil. planetall customers gives them a lead), then perhaps AMZN moves from books to shopbot, but still offering selling from their own inventory. This would be similar to the way that Onsale.com, apparently sells other people's inventory, or buys some popular items on its own, and then sells those "direct". Don't know how this will make more money for AMZN, but it may help them compete. |
