Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: H James Morris who wrote (11793)	7/26/1998 11:26:00 AM
From: MR. PANAMA (I am a PLAYER)	Respond to of 164684

One more good down day and I may re enter ...actually a good down morning may just hit the spot. Tanks everyone....Tanks a million..GRIM

To: H James Morris who wrote (11793)	7/26/1998 11:27:00 AM
From: MR. PANAMA (I am a PLAYER)	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Morris this post is tooo long...please try to keep them short and sweet...GRIM...

To: H James Morris who wrote (11793)	7/26/1998 1:29:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

Glen we might question his business model but I'm starting to like the guy. <Inside Seattle's biggest online bookstore H, Good story. Thank you for the post. I am leary of articles about an individual. Particularly when it is a business and is located in the town in which the publication is based. The "nice" information is reported whereas, the not so nice is hidden. It is good for the local economy. I am not implying the article is not accurate. It may vary well be. I just wonder about the need for so much secrecy for a bookseller and not permitting the press in on the conference call. I honestly could not make a true opinion about Bezos without meeting him. It would be unfair. Regardless, the business is doomed to fail. Glenn

To: H James Morris who wrote (11793)	7/26/1998 2:41:00 PM
From: Rob S.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

I agree. Bezo has made it clear that operating the company is his passion and the stock price has little to do with that - probably more of a distraction and "necessary evil" than a benefit for a company with many typical growing pains. I think part of what is fueling Amazon.com is all the Microsoft and other high-tech money that is floating around Seattle and other tech corridors in the hands of enthusiastic yuppie types. The fervor the the latest, greatest "hot ticket" is incredible. But a similar fever infected other NorthWest tech companies and hot ideas in the recent past; Ride Snowboards, and micro-brewery companies are examples. It "just feels so good" to buy into the enthusiasm at the time. Bezo has that 'urban high-tech chic' attitude that makes him highly directed yet down to earth at the same time. Some recent companies that have had a similar corporate climate have met with mixed results; the super energetic, fly-by-the-seat of the pants atmosphere works extremely well during the early stages of growth: it's OK that people run around as if their heads are cut off as long as a lot of work is getting done and the company is of a size that management can easily practice "management by walking around". But this very same culture that helped create the machine for incredible growth can also quickly lead to a log jam of troubles or even business failure (Virtual I/O was a very similarly oriented downtown Seattle "corporate culture" that failed a couple of years ago). Management finds it increasingly difficult to get their arms around the business and changing the style to include more controls and segmentation often creates friction and misunderstandings that reduce employees rampant enthusiasm to work to the point of utter exhaustion. I tried to get a tour of Amazon.com's facilities but was told they don't give tours but on rare occassions. Bezo emphasized during the conference call that they wanted to concentrate on the product core areas and had difficulties expanding because of "executive bandwidth" limitations. That is both an indication that growth must slow down and that Bezo realizes the need to get the operations running more efficiently. A very likeable guy.

To: H James Morris who wrote (11793)	7/26/1998 3:02:00 PM
From: llamaphlegm	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

HJM: Great story. Most interesting bearish points -- someone ought to TMF know. <<<<While Amazon.com is touted as an Internet company, that doesn't accurately describe how it functions. Customers place their orders on its Web site, but the books are sorted by workers in distribution centers in South Seattle and New Castle, Delaware. Trucks start pulling into the South Seattle facility at 5:30 a.m. and don't stop until late afternoon. The company would not divulge how many books come through the warehouse or even how many trucks arrive daily, citing competitive concerns. Each book contains a bar code that is scanned by hand, and then placed on a bookshelf. Later, the book is retrieved and matched with an order. The book is then packaged, put in a large aluminum bin, and trucked to the post office. Generally, the process takes two to three days from order to delivery.>>> Does this sound like no real world costs? <<<Most investors bet on a company's potential. For Amazon.com, that means it must expand its offering from just books. In June, it began offering music CDs on its Web site. Videos are next. But providing a slew of items on the Internet isn't easy. The people who buy CDs generally make less money than book buyers, and are less likely to use credit cards, said Rick Ayre, Amazon.com's vice president and executive editor. That's a marketing challenge with no easy solutions, he said. Despite the booming stock and investor enthusiasm, Amazon.com is still a young company with an uncertain future. Barnes & Noble and Borders are both aggressively marketing their Web sites, and the competition will undoubtedly become tougher. Finding enough programmers, writers and warehouse workers to fuel its rapid growth is a constant challenge. Given the vastness of the Internet, Amazon.com must also keep focused on doing a few things well. The stratospheric stock price may prove a temporary distraction, but company executives know the real danger may lie in trying to do too many things at once. Without discipline and a clear vision, the plain wooden desks and no-frills office become nothing more than a corporate gimmick. "Not only do you have to avoid the bad ideas, but you have to avoid many of the good ideas for reasons of focus," said Bezos. "Ideas are important, but they are relatively easy. What's hard is taking that list of hundred ideas and ranking them and picking the three that we're actually gonna do.>>>> a. Three lines of business, not thirty. b. Demographics of CD and Videos are different (different eductational level, use of credit card rates, computer penetration rates into the home, willingness to make on line credit card purchase) from books, and margins are lower.