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: Spytrdr who wrote (29923)	12/15/1998 10:44:00 AM
From: Mark Fowler	Respond to of 164684

From Article: "The good news about this type of revenue is that it carries a much higher gross margin than straight product sales do--a feature that could help the company achieve the 28 percent to 30 percent gross margin we estimate that it is capable of (versus 23 percent today)," said Blodget.<< Amzn is going after the sweet spot in e- commerce with an easy way to use comparison shopping on the web watch out competition.

To: Spytrdr who wrote (29923)	12/15/1998 11:36:00 AM
From: Rob S.	Respond to of 164684

Slice it and dice it - it's only your money so what the heck. The use of the term "shop bot" should be stricken from the media's vocabulary when writing about Amazon. The concept of a shop-bot is that it will go out on the web to a large number of vendors and database their products, delivery, prices along with customer feedback and revues. It is really just a specific search, data parsing and formating engine. Right now the "technology" is being taken over by the portals and companies like Amazon and is being used more as an advertising or subscription vending service rather than as a customer oriented "shop-bot". The way Yahoo!, Amazon, and others are using it should more correctly be called a "Vendor Bot". Studies have shown that the number one interest of consumers is finding "value" in their purchases. The definition of "value" takes in loyal customers of a Nordstrom as well as people who shop at WallMart. Sales results this shopping season has shown a boom in general, "low-end", merchant's sales. For generic on-line product sales, products that don't have to be touched or seen up close, the "value added" content of a merchants offerings includes the "web experience". But how much does a crisp experience influence the buyer versus a better price? At this early fad stage of the internet, in which people are just getting comfortable with the idea of buying things online, price has already been found to be the number one concern. As the novelty wears of, maybe in another year or so, the market for offering true "shop bots" will grow and little will stand in the way of entrepreneurs from capitalizing on that. Large, spendy companies such as Amazon that offer Vendor Bots and extract a piece of the sale, will compete increasingly with leaner and more cost efficient shop bots, IMO. Anyway you cut it, margins can only be spread so thin.