Okay knowitall, some people still dont have a clue.
In the Spirit of the Upcoming Holiday Season...
Let's talk about digital commerce.
If only for the reason that those companies lucky enough to be in this space seem to be shooting up at least 100 points every five minutes.
Here we go.
The concept itself is not too hard to grasp. Just imagine your favorite store/product/service up and running for you to peruse/browse/eventually buy whenever you happen to have the time.
And all you have to do is fire up your computer, along with your internet connection, to do it.
Much better than getting in your car and going through the pleasant exercise this holiday season of flipping off other drivers at will to get that coveted parking space at your local mall.
Not to mention the benefits of completely bypassing your favorite rude/condescending/clueless salespeople.
Or even dealing with other inane/rude/desperate fellow shoppers, all of which you more than likely end up fighting with/waiting for to get to your chosen items.
Yes, this is a bit better.
And it will only continue to get better.
And that would be because...
The entire digital commerce concept only works if it is tailored to your needs.
Plus, in most cases, it serves to totally bypass any and all human contact.
What more could you ask for.
But in all seriousness, the above will only serve to aid the explosion in the area, as merchants/purveyors of products and services in the off-line world, realize and take advantage of the opportunities in the online world.
As confirmation, just look at the benefits involved on the other side of the transaction.
Given the chosen merchant/purveyor of products and services hits all the right buttons with regards to customer preferences and ease of use, they now have a store that is open 24 hours day without the high overhead of all of those salespeople, building rent/maintenance costs, etc.
Now let me just offer two quick thoughts here:
1. Functionality and ease of use is very important. Any site that is not blatantly intuitive with regards to customer service can kiss its website investment and any expected earnings goodbye. After all, given the customer has made it though the stigma of "security", they are more than likely ready to buy. Consequently, any site that doesn't make this easy to do can say "hello" to a lost sale.
2. Longer term, as this trend continues to explode, it does not bode well for the commercial real estate market.
My response on the latter?
Tough tooties.
Now let's shift the focus a bit to some thoughts on the stocks.
First, let me state the obvious.
There are a limited number of stocks that fall into this category, thus significantly narrowing the pool that investors can participate in.
Not to mention that the floats in all of these stocks, whether it be eBay, AMZN, etc., are fairly thin.
Which brings us to where we were a few days ago, that being one small catalyst/event was all that was needed to get these stocks rocking and rolling.
And that's all it takes to merit increased attention and new money, as individuals and institutions alike chase performance.
Which inevitably leads to...
Valuation concerns.
Which brings with it....
The shorts attempting to "make a statement."
And we all know where that usually goes.
Now let's just expand upon the valuation issue just a bit.
Valuation is in the eye of the beholder, whereby, believe it or not, there is more than one opinion on the issue for any given company during any given time period.
Not to mention the thousands, if not millions, of investors whose opinions are never heard.
But they are all involved in the stocks.
As such, "reasonable" valuations for the only group on this earth that has the rosiest prospects ever known to man, albeit which have yet to completely prove themselves, is at the mercy of those involved, as highlighted above.
So to expect individuals that are driven by the primary primal forces of greed and fear to just come their senses and realize that eBay, YHOO, AMZN etc., should trade in line or very close to their growth rates is a bit silly.
And that's all that needs to be said.
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