Comments on Jason Jones' articles RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/jason-jones/articles http://seekingalpha.com/article/38978-where-does-comcast-s-new-email-client-fit-in-with-its-tivo-yahoo-deals?source=feed#comment-368969 368969 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:37:12 -0500 http://seekingalpha.com/article/35242-ebay-launches-feedback-2-0-system-should-boost-revenue?source=feed#comment-87667 87667 Mon, 04 Jun 2007 13:52:54 -0400 Just to give a perspective on the new feedback system, here is how it will play out. Let's say I am the seller and you are the buyer. As an established seller I do not need your feedback and it has minimal affect on my overall score, etc. So now that the feedback system allows the buyer to be more specific in his rating of the seller (more categories), however, the seller side of the equation remains status quo. First I as a seller have know reason to leave feedback 1st; so I simply don't. That leaves the burden of feedback on the buyer. Now if the buyer leaves too negative of comments in any of the categories, the seller will retaliate with neutral or negative comments.
The old feedback was pretty much the same, now it will just delay the timeframe of the feedback and create a more complex system to create false and retalitory feedback.
For example, you as the buyer feels that it took too long to get your item, otherwise the transaction was okay. So you give the seller good marks in everything but shipping. The seller sees this feedback and can retaliate with negative feedback. Sure in the perfect world we are all honest and give each other the benefit of the doubt. But we arent in a perfect world and this is reality. So I as the seller notice that the buyer took excessive time to pay for his item (let's say 10-14 days) and he opted to send a money order rather than Paypal. Now as a seller I am perfectly fine with this as it saves me Paypal fees; but it does have a tendency to delay things. I am at the mercy of the USPS, or whatever mail delivery system. Now I have to deposit the money order and make sure it's legit. (Yes there are scammers out there using fraudulent money orders to pay for items and it's not until after it has been deposited that the bank notifies the seller that it is fake. At which time, if the seller already shipped he is out the money). So I deposit and wait 2-3 days for it to process before I ship. This whole process is considered too long for my buyer and his only recourse of complaint is thru the NEW/IMPROVED ebay feedback. Good luck guys but your feedback system is still flawed and this 'enhancement' will only prove the point further.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/35538-amazon-acquisition-of-dpreview-com-should-drive-traffic-from-cnet?source=feed#comment-86163 86163 Tue, 15 May 2007 08:43:09 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/35120-omniture-websidestory-why-the-extreme-valuation-difference?source=feed#comment-86150 86150 Tue, 15 May 2007 02:07:22 -0400
Google is clearly committed to this space, because better e-commerce conversion rates mean higher bids for key words on Google searches.

I wouldn't want to bet against Google in an area that is core to its business. Makes your short case for OMTR one of fundamental positioning, not just valuation.

Full disclosure: no position in GOOG, OMTR or WSSI.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/35242-ebay-launches-feedback-2-0-system-should-boost-revenue?source=feed#comment-85949 85949 Fri, 11 May 2007 11:03:44 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/34649-moo-prints-and-yahoo-s-flickr-to-disrupt-getty-images-vistaprint?source=feed#comment-85636 85636 Mon, 07 May 2007 10:12:41 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/33725-think-equity-notes-ipod-growth-ends-larger-questions-with-apple?source=feed#comment-85254 85254 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 22:46:35 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/33941-apple-s-steve-jobs-on-subscription-music-customers-don-t-seem-interested?source=feed#comment-85218 85218 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 09:03:48 -0400
For my part, I believe Jobs knows more about the music biz than I do, and it does strike me that none of the subscription services seem to be able to turn out a profit. I am confident that if that fact changes, so can AAPL's iPod business model, in response.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/33939-microsoft-s-revolving-internet-door-the-talent-brain-drain-continues?source=feed#comment-85216 85216 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:55:25 -0400
Frog Design is highly regarded; it is surprising that they'd hire someone from MSFT. Maybe the guy is really good MSFT wouldn't implement any of his ideas?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/33725-think-equity-notes-ipod-growth-ends-larger-questions-with-apple?source=feed#comment-85149 85149 Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:27:38 -0400
iPods are going to slow down now that everyone has one. But they will continue to sell as people buy replacements, Mom and dad stop fighting over the one the kids gave them and they buy one each, etc.

iPhone could be a flop, at first, and there's no question that whether it's even real or not that the specter of it has changed the game. Again, people were happily spending $500 on iPods two years ago. Now you get a micro-laptop for the same money. I think it's a ridiculously high price for a phone. And I'll be first in line to get one because I'm tired of spending $100 on crap phones that can barely make a call for all the useless gadgets.

Spend more money and get more value, it's so retro...

Leopard. Good lord, most of the people loudly wringing their hands over the delay couldn't tell you one of its features. It's OSX 10.5, not OSX 11. A three month delay is to be expected. This isn't Microsoft delivering a substandard product 3 years late that will take 2 years for most users to adopt.

CS3 & Final Cut. I would be interested to know how much of the upcoming $1 Billion election cycle will be spent on Apple hardware and the high-priced editors that use it. Final Cut is one of the few non-partisan choices left in America. It's not necessarily a huge bump in sales but it is a few thousand laptops in the field and few hundred sales of Final Cut Server.

The rapid adoption of CS3 and migration to new, high-margin, pro hardware will also be a small but measurable bump in sales.

Apple laptops are de rigueur. They're the new Dell. They look as good in a Targa as they do in Louis Vuitton. The same can't be said for myself.

Options scandal. Here's where it gets interesting. Two years ago Steve Jobs was told he had 6 months to live because of cancer. He beat it and he's with us today. But Apple has already gone through the scenario of "Life Without Steve." Don't think he hasn't left a few stone tablets on Mount Cupertino explaining his wishes for the next 10 years of Apple products.

There are no sure bets. $100-$110 is probably an accurate value for Apple at the moment. The iPhone still has to play out, but even if the iPhone is a failure, Apple is on rock solid footing.]]>