To: Mark Fowler who wrote (28882 ) 12/4/1998 7:53:00 PM From: llamaphlegm Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 164684
mark i did not mean to imply that you were stupid -- quite the contrary -- you're brilliant at anticipating and guaging the depth of manias -- your FA however is non-existent for even if i conceded that ALL commerce throughout the world would be conducted on the web, i'm confident that i could with a quickie dcf, 5 forces analysis, and a few other basic undergraduate or mba business concepts blow apart the utterly insane notion that amzn is worth $2 billion, let alone $10 billion dollars ... now on the topic of stupid, the contest is herebye declared over for the most lucid, insightful analysis on any board, we give you this gem from tmf -- ah the look the feel the density of skull Subject: Re: What's hot on the web... Number: of 10160 Author: babybull read profile | read interview Date: 12/3/98 9:34 PM Richard, I'm really curious as to how all this shop bot stuff will work out. I think you're probably right that Yahoo's surf-the-web shop bot will disappear. Not a surprise, really. Bezos indicated as much when he said Amazon was not in the business of licensing its shop-bot software. (Yahoo's web shop bot runs on Junglee software, as you noted). Since the Junglee shop bot will disappear one day, Yahoo has come up with an alternative, its own little shopping mall of member companies. (No need for a shop bot, per se, since the companies have all volunteered to be a part of Yahoo's service). One interesting point is Amazon, B&N & Borders are all avoiding Yahoo's mall. Why? One reason is that Yahoo is probably charging an arm and a leg. Another reason is that no intelligent company likes price warfare. And Yahoo's mall is a forum for price warfare. There is no brand, no distinction between companies, hell, they don't even have identities. Are you buying at Yahoo number 1 or Yahoo number 2? Well, I'm shopping at the one that's 17 cents cheaper. Sites who have spent lots of money developing brand are not likely to want to be put on the same level as mom and pop bookstores. (It's why we never see the Libertarian or Communist candidates in presidential debates). Amazon and B&N have spent millions creating brand, and they're not about to treat a generic book-order laundry list as an equal. Price wars, in my opinion, are insane for companies. It's like a suicide pact. And ultimately they are not good for consumers, either, since everything is reduced to price. Money is the only issue and (here's some touch, feel, and experience!) we become coarser as a people. That's what brand is all about, making capitalism a little nicer and more pleasant for people. Not just about money. You suggest Yahoo has the brand so it's irrelevant that its generic stores have no brand. Unless Yahoo is going to actually sell the stuff--and deal with customer problems--then Yahoo is not the brand. Worse, if Yahoo IS the brand, then it will sink to the level of its member companies. Bad service, and people will associate Yahoo with bad service. Now, Yahoo can certainly create a credible eBay. But it has to do a lot better than this before it's a competitor for Amazon. I don't say it's impossible for deep discounters to make money in the internet. But that's not really Amazon's market. Their prices are what they have to be--competitive--but the selling point is incredible selection, ease of use, and a cool site. In a word, brand. Taylor