Posted on 12/09/2011 10:29:04 AM PST by Razzz42
The row has broken out only days after James Daunt, the managing director of Waterstone’s, criticised Amazon – calling it a “ruthless, money-making devil”. The new Amazon Price Check app and promotion, which is starting from this Saturday, will allow people to perform a price check on an item in a shop, by scanning in the bar code using the app on their iPhone or Android device. The online retail giant will then offer a $5 discount to shoppers who carry out this market research for it for free, on any item across the site, including the same item they wanted to buy in the first place.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I strongly dislike Amazon.
I strongly dislike Amazon.
I wonder how long before retailers outlaw the use of cell phones in their stores.
They could lose a lot of customers by doing that.
I wonder how WalMart feels about this? Historically if someone from a competing retailer was in there checking prices they would be physically removed from the building. With enthusiasm!
I'm pretty sure buggy whip makers didn't care for Henry Ford either.
***Historically if someone from a competing retailer was in there checking prices they would be physically removed from the building. With enthusiasm!****
I was told by a woman who worked at one grocery that one time she went to a competing grocery to buy things her grocery did not stock.
She was told in no uncertain terms to “Leave the store, NOW!”
Neither store was a Walmart store.
Yes, it is. But Amazon is more interested in a free-ride than a free-market. Of course you can offer a lower price if you avoid the expense of having employees that have to deal with those pesky customers who ask questions and examine the merchandise. And you save lots by not having to display a "sample", pay rent, heat and electricity.
So if you want the low price - shop Amazon. If you don't need to see how sharp the TV is, hear the speakers, see how the controls work and ask questions - don't pay for those services. Go ahead and shop Amazon.
But if you DO want those services, expect to pay for them. If you use the services and then save a couple of bucks by using Amazon, very soon you will not have the services. There is no free lunch.
In any case, big box retailers will quickly get around this by demanding manufacturers give them unique model numbers and UPC codes that are exclusive to their store. Otherwise, they might as well close up shop.
From the referenced article:
"Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief and founder, recently told the US magazine Wired: "There are two ways to build a successful company. One is to work very, very hard to convince customers to pay high margins. The other is to work very very hard to be able to afford to offer customers low margins. They both work. We're firmly in the second camp."
BS. Amazon doesn't work at being able to "afford" low margins - they are charging the highest margins they can get away way (like most other retailers). But when they are forced to compete, sure they can beat a retailer's price. They don't have the expenses. But they will ONLY beat it if you are in front of a cheaper unit, ready to buy.
Bezos says: "Our vision of a perfect customer experience is one in which our customer doesn't want to talk to us." Translation: Just send us your money and don't expect any service. We have instituted layers of low-paid zombies to insulate us from having to deal with you peons.
Now, they will get you your stuff fast - and they will deal with damage claims and lost merchandise quickly. But god help you if you need to discuss something with someone who needs the ability to make a non pre-determined decision. Lots of luck.
"They're a ruthless, money-making devil." AB-SO-LUTE-LY. But, they differ from other retailers only in their ruthlessness. Businesses are in business to make money. Some try to do it within the framework of what is moral. Amazon has no such scruples.
God bless the free market!
I love to see all those inefficiencies and impediments to competition eliminated!
Now, be honest, do you really need to pick up and handle that DVD, or electric razor, or toaster oven in person? it’s not like you can preview, or shave, or cook in the store to test it out.
The online seller has a high-resolution picture of it, plus scans of the instruction manual, and technical details not available in person, plus reviews by other purchasers.
Fewer and fewer things benefit from sitting in rented space for customers to go visit, and possibly take home.
Puppies. Shoes, sometimes. Uh...
This is actually something the retailers will need to react to, but I don’t see how... - as I understand it, the app encourages people to walk into a real store, scan the item they want, and get it from amazon (with a discount, but not sure if that is a one-time thing or every visit), almost always for less, even with discount cards at the store. Most active buyers have shipping free on amazon after a one-time annual payment, and Amazon doesn’t charge sales tax in most states.
I guess the ability of people to go into a store to buy from a competitor without being run out in shame is a helpful social development for amazon.
>>Of course you can offer a lower price if you avoid the expense of having employees that have to deal with those pesky customers who ask questions and examine the merchandise. And you save lots by not having to display a “sample”, pay rent, heat and electricity.
Good! I want good products at low prices, without subsidizing the fondlers , shoplifters, confused idiots, and without wasting all that energy.
>>If you don’t need to see how sharp the TV is, hear the speakers...
I shop online, because the reviews tell me more than some poorly-calibrated out-of-date model on the floor. Speakers are special, unless you’re just playing movies like 99% of buyers. I also rely on reviews for minor things like an iPod speaker.
>>In any case, big box retailers will quickly get around this by demanding manufacturers give them unique model numbers and UPC codes that are exclusive to their store. Otherwise, they might as well close up shop.
Model equivalencies are or will be trivial to access on your smart phone. Let the retailers who can’t compete by providing a superior customer experience perish.
>>Amazon doesn’t work at being able to “afford” low margins - they are charging the highest margins they can get away way (like most other retailers).
But those margins are lower, which is why they succeed.
>>Translation: Just send us your money and don’t expect any service.
I don’t want service, I want the product I desire at the best price, delivered fast, with generous refund and return policies.
>> Some try to do it within the framework of what is moral. Amazon has no such scruples.
You actually fail to support this slander. They are open, and customers know what to expect. And we get it, and keep coming back.
I used this service last night at Best Buy. I needed a new wireless router. I would have only saved about $3 by going to Amazon, but shipping was about $6. The one with free shipping was $7 more than at Best Buy. So Best Buy got my business and I went home knowing I got a pretty good deal.
I should add that these poor old traditional retailers have perfect access to info about what Amazon charges, and can compete accordingly.
They do that now. You know what? In less than five minutes I can go to a number of websites and find the code the the model numbers so I can compare. I comparison shop. Some times Amazon wins, sometimes they don't. It is in my best interest to get the most value for my money. I dislike being told it is a bad thing to find the best deal. The man in this article would probably complain just as load if another book store moved in, and started to price lower than him.
As long as ‘ruthlessness’ results in lower prices, I’m all for it.
Walmart and I’m sure Amazon profit margins are less than 3%, closer to 1.5% so both deal in volume to make their money.
Walmart had/has their own version of healthcare with a flat rate prescription drug plan because they are so large a purchaser that they can demand their own pricing terms from manufactures including drug companies. Beats union dues that are priced into merchandise.
As long as there is no price fixing schemes or collusion among retailers, everything should work out.
Wow, spellcheck murdered that one.
Indeed. Apple does the former, to great success.
I strongly like Amazon. Competitive, all in one place, fast and convenient.
How do you suggest they compete on total net price including Sales Tax?
How do you propose they communicate book prices that are not the printed prices on the titles?
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