Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN)

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  • commenter
    User 250541
    Aug 25 12:26 PM
    When To 'Believe the Hype' of a New Product [view article]
    Like many people out there, you mistake hype and buzz. Hype is what a person/company does, buzz is the effect.

    The iPhone had buzz without having to hype it up.     Reply
  • commenter
    Larry
    Bellehumeur
    Aug 25 11:52 AM
    When To 'Believe the Hype' of a New Product [view article]
    Texasgolfer -- thanks for your note.

    I know of a stronger challenge in Canada, with Comwave's main product (like Cisco, also a VoIP product), where it dragged out for much longer and was much more of a threat to Apple's launch of the iPhone. The Cisco one seemed to be settled quickly, as I recall.

    Doubt that was an intentional part of Apple's plan, but I am sure that they enjoyed the free press!

    I just wanted to point out that the purpose of the article was not to slam Apple......I think they did a miraculous job, in fact, and I say so in the article. People seem to become extremely defensive about this company when they sense (incorrectly in this case, I might add) that someone may be saying something bad against it. The purpose of the article was to examine whether product (and more importantly, Sales and Earnings from the product) live up to the hype and how investors might gain for it. It wasn't meant to be a forum on Apple, but it appears that it may have become so...

    I guess like Apple's legal challenges, it doesn't matter why people read, as long as they read....=)

    Larry     Reply
  • commenter
    texasgolfer
    Aug 25 11:39 AM
    When To 'Believe the Hype' of a New Product [view article]
    There was some "legal" wranglings about the name. I thought it had to be purchased from CSCO or someone. All part of the hype?
     Reply
  • commenter
    Larry
    Bellehumeur
    Aug 25 11:02 AM
    When To 'Believe the Hype' of a New Product [view article]
    TanToday -- Thanks for your comment. I appreciate all comments, even those with differing opinion than my own.

    Interesting that you say that Apple did nothing.....why is it that they pre-announced the product months in advance of launch? Why is it that they gave pictures, brochures, marketing material, FAQ answers to the carriers months before they launched (I know, as I have contacts at AT&T and Rogers who have them)? Everyone knew exactly what the iPhone was about long before it ever hit the stores.....that is EXACTLY what pre-launch hype is.

    I encourage you to check out this article:
    www.nielsenbuzzmetrics...

    It shows:
    - Apple informed the world of the iPhone in January 2007, despite the fact that it was launching in June 2007
    - Quote from this web page, "“Apple’s iPhone is riding an unprecedented wave of pre-launch conversation and expectations are mounting,” said John Latona, Vice President of Client Services, Consumer Technology, at Nielsen BuzzMetrics. “Starting next week, the nature of the conversation will shift to very explicit and descriptive commentary about actual experiences with the product, and this will have a huge impact on ongoing trial, advocacy and sales.”
    - Stats from the same web page: Traffic to the official corporate site, apple.com, spiked following the iPhone announcement. According to Nielsen//NetRatings, the iPhone section of the site had 1.79+ million unique visitors in January 2007 and the keyword “iPhone” was searched 870,000 times. Consumers continued to visit the site during February and March frequently, with more than 980,000 unique visitors per month, with a slight decline during April (almost 637,000 unique visitors). Web traffic to the site increased again during May with more than 701,000 unique visitors a month prior to release.

    Maybe Apple didn't fully intend to have this kind of publicity, but you can't honestly tell me that this product didn't launch with perhaps the biggest hype of any new product in recent memory?

    Cheers
    Larry

    Reply
  • commenter
    TanToday
    Aug 25 09:25 AM
    When To 'Believe the Hype' of a New Product [view article]
    Bull.

    Apple did NOT "hype" the original iPhone, when asked what premarketing approach Apple had for the phone, Steve Jobs answered "We had NONE."

    Same with the new iPhone.

    ZERO, hyping. In fact, there is hardly a company around that goes to such massive lengths to ASSURE THAT there will be NO advance information on a product prior to it's release.

    So, the title is misleading, and the article is PURE SHAM where the author is either clueless, or trolling for hits.     Reply
  • commenter
    Finito
    Muscletini
    Aug 23 03:06 AM
    Report: E-Commerce Is Recession-Resistant [view article]
    Any industry that doesn't listen to any reason and lives like a brain on drugs will suffer, regardless of the so-call E-conomy. People are NOT mindless cretins that exist to carry a wallet. Reply
  • commenter
    User 205610
    Aug 22 03:30 PM
    Hedge Fund Tracking: Lone Pine Capital (Steven Mandel) [view article]
    It's good that you are tracking these companies. Really saves time to quickly catch up on fund moves here. Reply
  • commenter
    skeptical
    conservative
    Aug 22 10:57 AM
    EBay's Aim at Amazon: Off Target [view article]
    As a long term seller and having built a family business around Ebay selling of over 1 million a year, I have to say it is symptomatic of the short term, instant gratification of Corporate America and Ebay is a reflection of it. Today our DRS's dropped below and we lost our Platinum Powerseller rating. Of course it was entirely over shipping (we generally ship within 48 hrs, have a great overall rating) Shipping Rating is entirely subjective to the buyers whims and or ignorance. Ex: Auction ends Monday, they pay following Friday night, Monday we get an email" why hasn't my item shipped yet??? I will leave negative if i don't hear back".
    Of course we drop everything to get it out, Get a negative anyway because they didn't read the auction (Ebay should have a minimum intelligence quiz for buyers before they can Bid) So the moron (oops i mean customer) leaves a negative due to the fact that he won 15 days ago and should have had it already, even though 10 of the days delay were of his own doing. So of course, our DSR goes down, we lose our ratings, our discounts and our love of Ebay. Given any other alternative, we would jump there in a heartbeat.
    Now they want to force you into lower shipping costs even though they are going up 10 percent a year... and the costs will be somewhat determined by what customers would want to pay???? C'mon bring back the original people or start a new Ebay that mirrors the old one.     Reply
  • commenter
    WebDesignMia
    mi
    Aug 22 09:20 AM
    My Website
    Cloud Computing: Could Customer Service Be Its Waterloo? [view article]
    Kudos to the Cloud Crowd for Re-Inventing the Wheel!

    One thing 30 years in the IT industry has taught me is that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Another is that the only memory we seem to access is short-term. A third is that techno-marketeers rely on that, so they can put labels like "revolutionary&qu... and "innovative" on platforms, products and services that are mere re-inventions of the wheel ... and often poor copies at that.

    A good example is all the latest buzz about "Cloud Computing" in general and "SaaS" (software as a service) in particular:

    tinyurl.com/6let8x

    Both terms are bogus. The only true cloud computing takes place in aircraft. What they're actually referring to by "the cloud" is a large-scale and often remotely and/or centrally managed hardware platform. We have had those since the dawn of automated IT. IBM calls them "mainframes"...

    tinyurl.com/5kdhcb

    The only innovation offered by today's cloud crowd is actually more of a speculation, i.e. that server farms can deliver the same solid performance as Big Iron. And even that's not original. Anyone remember Datapoint's ARCnet, or DEC's VAXclusters? Whatever happened to those guys, anyway...?

    And as for SaaS, selling the sizzle while keeping the steak is a marketing ploy most rightfully accredited to society's oldest profession. Its first application in IT was (and for many still is) known as the "service bureau". And I don't mean the contemporary service bureau (mis)conception labelled "Service 2.0" by a Wikipedia contributor whose historical perspective is apparently constrained to four years:

    tinyurl.com/5fpb8e

    Instead, I mean the computer service bureau industry that spawned ADAPSO (the Association of Data Processing Service Organizations) in 1960, and whose chronology comprises a notable part of the IEEE's "Annals of the History of Computing":

    tinyurl.com/5lvjdl

    So ... for any of you slide rule-toting, pocket-protected keypunch-card cowboys who may be just coming out of a fifty-year coma, let me give you a quick IT update:

    1. "Mainframe" is now "Cloud" (with concomitant ethereal substance).

    2. "Terminal" is now "Web Browser" (with much cooler games, and infinitely more distractions).

    3. "Service Bureau" is now "Saas" (but app upgrades are just as painful, and custom mods equally elusive).

    4. Most IT buzzwords boil down to techno-hyped BS (just as they always have).

    Bruce Arnold, Web Design Miami Florida
    www.PervasivePersuasio...
    Reply
  • commenter
    Whole Truth
    Aug 22 05:20 AM
    Which CEOs Have the Best and Worst Approval Ratings? [view article]
    sorry for the double - eric schmidt - hard to understand - they do so many things to destroy and not unlock shareholder value. Reply
  • commenter
    Whole Truth
    Aug 22 05:16 AM
    Which CEOs Have the Best and Worst Approval Ratings? [view article]
    and all lower than democrat congress, which is even lower than pres. bush. drill now! Reply
  • commenter
    Et tu,
    Brute!
    Aug 21 08:36 PM
    EBay's New Fixed-Price Move: Amazon Envy? [view article]
    Response to Tony P:

    I think you have hit the nail directly on the head. For years now ebay has attempted to pry the buyer's interest away from the special and unique. This last year, especially 2008, proves this.

    I agree wtih you absolutely! The prized market could have continued to thrive if ebay had not set about trying to smash it! Look how hard it's been to destroy!

    Idiots!!!
    Reply
  • commenter
    brez21
    Aug 21 07:00 PM
    Cloud Computing: Could Customer Service Be Its Waterloo? [view article]
    actually, Amazon offers a premium support service. Reply
  • commenter
    User 247417
    Aug 21 02:11 PM
    My Website
    EBay's New Fixed-Price Move: Amazon Envy? [view article]
    “This is a half-hearted attempt by eBay to address recent seller complaints: they essentially appear to be just subtracting fees on one end and adding them to the other. I’d be surprised if online sellers fall for this. They are more savvy now than ever and know the profits they want to earn, which is why we developed Wigix.com to be very straightforward with a simple, transparent fee structure (no listing fees and no limitations on listing periods) that allows sellers to keep their profits.” Reply
  • commenter
    leapingcat
    Aug 21 11:15 AM
    My Website
    EBay's Aim at Amazon: Off Target [view article]
    Another response to Redbaron:

    Some excellent points about Ebay and collectables, I agree with much of what you said, but I approach it from a different angle. One of the great successes of Ebay was the way in which it created a vast transparent market for collectables, which meant that they were able to find a true market price and not one artificially inflated by speculators. I was able to add to my collection at an affordable price, and as my tastes changed, easily sell the items that I wanted with low fees and no dealers profit margin to reduce the price that I got.
    That is the market that Ebay are rapidly destroying by their changes in policies and constant fee increases, and their attempts to become an Amazon clone. Alternatives such as ebid.net are starting to fill that vacuum by providing the sort of environment that collectors want, the latest changes can only speed that process. In the meantime, if I want to buy a book or DVD, I would still look at Amazon first. I feel more confident dealing with a company that still seems to make items easy to find and provides a hassle free service. Perhaps this is in part a reason for the different P/E ratios.     Reply
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