I’ve been waiting seven years for this explanation from Amazon chief Jeff Bezos. Why did auctions soar at eBay but flop at Amazon?
Pretty simple, Bezos says. Amazon customers just can’t be bothered with auctions:
We make it really, really easy to buy things…. If you’re a customer who wants that kind of quick service, you do not want to wait till an auction closes. An auction is more about playing a game. There’s some fun involved. You’re not necessarily just trying to get the job done. It’s a different kind of thing and a different customer segment.
OK, I’ll buy that. But further down Bezos gives a squirrelly explanation for why zShops got the ax. Something about it being stuck off in another department.
The real answer is that Half.com showed Amazon they could charge sellers 15 percent instead of 5 percent.
2 Comments
In that last sentence, don’t you mean:
The real answer is that Half.com showed Amazon they could charge sellers 5 percent instead of 15 percent.
Plus, I don’t think Half.com showed anybody anything. Maybe they’ve fixed it, but 3 years ago as soon as you tried to manage more than 20,000 books on their site, it crashed incessantly.
Ryan
http:/www.usedisbetter.com
Great subject guys!