With Amazon (AMZN) losing money on both Kindle hardware and (in some cases) e-book sales, Farhad...

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Storm Warning Comments (108)
 
I found publishers making titles available on their own sites without DRM restrictions for only $1-3 more than Amazon's price.

I'll go direct to the publisher and avoid the DRM lock-in to Amazon.

I had that hassle before with MP3s and Amazon adding their own DRM beyond what the publisher asks doesn't make sense.

Amazon is losing business as I'd like to do all my business in one place, but the minute that business begins to try to lock me in, I'm moving on. Listening, Apple, who also has yet to get my business?
6 May 2012, 06:28 PM Reply Like

$CLU Comments (202)
 
So does this mean that if on the next earning call we hear Einhorn's voice we all sell short as fast as we can? His name is becoming the kiss of death on earnings calls.
6 May 2012, 06:52 PM Reply Like

Jaayd Comments (51)
 
The writer of this article doesn't understand why AMZN will lend books? As a Prime member, only one book per month can be borrowed. Readers that borrow a book and enjoy it will be likely to purchase the next instead of waiting a month.

This is the first article written by him that I've read--it's just a reminder why I don't subscribe to Time or Business Week.
6 May 2012, 07:16 PM Reply Like

krk Comments (574)
 
What? You mean to say not everyone's drunk on the kool-aid spiked with the intoxicating “..Random forests, naïve Bayesian estimators, RESTful services, gossip protocols, eventual consistency, data sharding, anti-entropy, byzantine quorum, erasure coding and vector clocks ..” Bezos blather!
http://1.usa.gov/IAyDRN
6 May 2012, 08:22 PM Reply Like

Paul Price Comments (1465)
 
Amazon has been caving in to more and more states on the collection of sales taxes.

Any state that doesn't go after them for that now is insane.

The average state level sales tax is higher than AMZN's net profit margins. They cannot and will not absorb that blow.

There goes a good portion of their attractiveness to buyers.
6 May 2012, 08:54 PM Reply Like

Josh Krause Comments (1365)
 
It won't affect their profit margins. Their margins will remain the same.

The customer will see a price increase but for Amazon, they will not necessarily have to take a hit on margins.

Now, if you say that the customer will reduce purchases or move on due to the increased expense of state sales tax, then i agree with you.

Amazon could try to eat the margin hit to eliminate the price increase, but I doubt that will happen. They don't have state specific prices in the states that they are already collecting sales tax on.

It will definitely impact top line growth, it does not necessarily have to impact the bottom line or margins.
7 May 2012, 10:58 AM Reply Like

marshamak Comments (12)
 
I see Amazon in the single digits by next year. I think they book sales they do not have. Twice this year an imaginary order was canceled by Amazon--I never placed an order, or even two.
7 May 2012, 02:53 AM Reply Like