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

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (36133)	1/22/1999 5:25:00 PM
From: GST	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Michelle <it doesnt look like anybody is on the horizon now>. Barnes and Noble

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (36133)	1/22/1999 5:42:00 PM
From: Skeeter Bug	Respond to of 164684

>>I didnt say amzns future was in doubt Skeeter Bug.<< >>I dont know if amzn will succeed.<< michelle, you made these 2 statements. if not knowing whether amzn succeeds doesn't cast doubt on amzn's future then... please tell us what the 7th dimension is like - cause in this world - it does. amzn is a great buy - at the right price. we are nowhere near it now. you don't pay $15 billion for a company that might not succeed. that's like paying $1 million for a 50% chance at winning %1.5 million. amzn might be a great trade today - as long as you never leave your keyboard. but, it is not not great to buy a company that might not have a future for $15 billion.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (36133)	1/22/1999 6:04:00 PM
From: Rob S.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Michelle, compare the competitive situation now to what it is certain to become: Most established retailers have not yet made a major investment in the Internet because 1] There wasn't a viably large market until '98, 2] Many corporations had Y2K problems to deal with, 3] and Intranet infrastructure issues to lay the foundation for a major Internet push, and 4] They wanted to size up the opportunity and devise strategies to both build a market and MAKE MONEY. Not every company in the world is wildly geared toward losing money just because the Internet is growing by leaps and bounds. The Internet is still only a percent or two of total retail sales - it has hardly been something to kill off all other profits for. But now it is STARTING to look attractive for competition. Surveys have revealed that Internet spending by IS departments has lagged as a distant third to Y2K and Intranet infrastructure spending through '98 and as planned into the 1st half of '99. Several billions are being spent on the Y2K issue alone. The surveys reveal that spending to enable Internet e-commerce is expected to accelerate starting in the second half of '99 as more companies wrap up their Y2K remediation and testing. In 2000, the growth in e-commerce expenditures is expected to explode. The sleeping giants of the retail industry won't be sleeping for that much longer (in regards to e-commerce deployment). Now that they can see opportunities for significant revenues and as it becomes increasingly feasible to implement on-line sales tie-ins and publicity programs that cross-pollinate with traditional merchandizing methods and local store availability and service, the competition on the Internet will grow dramatically. The fish bowl perspective of uneducated investors prevents them from seeing adequately, IMO, past the current early adoption stage of the Internet and e-commerce. These stocks will likely continue to draw unbridled investor enthusiasm because competition is not yet the issue it will become in a year to 18 months. So it makes sense to ride this tiger carefully - these stocks aren't going to plummet to the ground anytime soon but can easily loose 1/2 their value - and still remain overpriced. Then there is the story line that Amazon or Yahoo! or anyone else has some marvelous lead in "Internet technology" that will prevent competitors from entering the market or competing effectively. That assumption would be laughable if it weren't so dangerous. What has happened in the past 18 months in Internet tool and facilities developments has been astounding and unparallel in the history of technogical development, IMO. "What we have here is NOT the failure to communicate": software for the internet is being developed upon a seasoned platform of programming tools, such as C++ and the emerging Java language. And the new Internet site development tools are maturing and extending their capabilities at an astounding rate because of that base and because the Internet itself promotes an incredible ability to collaborate on development, gain user feedback, do evaluation testing, and keep up with standards and competitive developments. Amazon ain't got nothing' in "Internet Technology" like some fool analysts asserted just last summer. Good luck and be careful going long on these stocks. Many will move up in the future, but many have met their highs for the next 6 to 12 months or longer.