Oh, I’m sure the pillows must exist elsewhere. Just not on Amazon and nowhere else I know offhand. I didn’t try the manufacturer. Probably in cheap discount places, because foam rubber is so declasse compared to down or feathers.
This used to be true, and really gave them a leg up… until the internet became a major and viable place to buy from. It is sometimes cheaper to buy from Kitchenaid or Dyson or any other mid to higher brand directly than it is to walk into that store and buy something. They’re grossly overpriced to their competitors. The only benefit they had was being local and in the days of 2-day shipping from Amazon, Target and now Wal-mart… who cares about that?
Home Good is an interesting one because it seems like those I know who love that store, I am not one of them, are heavily driven by color, like matching things to what they already have and screens can really get in the way of knowing whether your green is a true match to that green. I am sure there are other reasons people like that store, but that’s my experience.
Depends on exactly what you mean by foam rubber. I just got myself a latex pillow (from Amazon, as it happens), and it was about as expensive as a (medium quality) down pillow. It’s certainly considered a premium brand.
Meanwhile Best Buy is doing everything it can to stay in the game, and Amazon is making further inroads to physical retail.
Amazon just reported a monster quarter and the stock is skyrocketing
What is Trump going to do about this? He hates Bezos.
Probably going on Fox and Friends to rant about it.
Oh wait…
I have been ordering from Amazon more than usual, lately. Maybe I should stop.
I still find it surprising, shocking actually, that many of these companies were (in some cases still are) sitting on a few hundred million in cash. Thats more than enough money to create their own customer friendly online business and/or to diversify into other areas to grow their businesses.
Instead they stick their heads in the sand and moan about Amazon.
Amazon was funded to the tune of $8M , heck go ahead and double that to account for various changes over time if you want. But the fact of the matter is it is significantly EASIER to make an Amazon competitor today than it was for Bezos to create a competitor to retail.
Its just insane to me that none of these companies, none of them, have thought "hey why dont we go and try and take Amazons market share by innovating instead of playing catch up with them?
Bed Bath and Beyond doesnt have to be a retail store, hell it could become a style and fashion site and retailer, it could become an online hosting company, it could and still can do any of the things Amazon did. But they choose not to.
I guess business leaders with vision and a taste for innovation like Bezos really are valuable.
Bezos figured out the trick sometime after Amazon started to take off selling books that the best thing you can do, is do the opposite of what your investors tell you. They will always say , and still do to this day, “focus focus focus”. Bezos has always done the opposite and ignored his investors. He refuses to focus. If he did he would still be running an online book seller. Maybe the CEO’s of these other companies might think about doing the same.
Not really. It’s easier to set up a website, sure. But Amazon has market power unlike any retailer but Walmart, and even more financial and tech and logistical resources. It’s way more entrenched than bricks and mortar retail was.
Yeah, Amazon sells basically everything, probably for a better price, and has a vast warehouse and shipping operation across the globe that can get those things to the customer for (what is perceived to be) free in anywhere from 2 days to 2 hours depending. I’m sure it’s possible to compete with that but I don’t know how you would short of having a unique product that everyone wants bad enough to deal with your inferior shipping.
Giving me an Amazon without the see of counterfeits would be a good start. The problem though is Amazon is more than just a store, now. It’s part of my entertainment consumption too.
Just sort the “sold by” to just Amazon.com. It’s the marketplace sales that have all of the crazy items, wild prices, etc.
Don’t think its that easy. From what I understand, the fake stuff even makes its way into that. Its down to the way things all get stored on the same shelves I think.
Amazon co–mingles. Buying from Amazon is not a guarantee. They also solicit directly from Chinese sources which doesn’t help either.
What fake stuff are you getting from Amazon directly? Note, I’m not talking about sorting to just Prime shipping (3rd party sellers can pay for Amazon warehousing and shipping). I’m talking about sorting to “sold by Amazon”.
To be honest, I haven’t personally noticed any counterfeit stuff when I’ve ordered from them. But have read lots of comments on forums / articles that mention that especially in the US, the way the goods get sorted, its easy to receive fake stuff even if you stick to “sold by amazon”.
Quick google search gave me this article, though I’m sure there are more.
However, even “ships from and sold by Amazon.com” products are not immune to counterfeits, as these items too are often commingled into the general FBA stock:
All those products often get pooled together by bar code, regardless of whether they come from the brands themselves or other distributors. That way, Amazon can grab whichever product that’s ordered at the nearest warehouse to the customer.
That means even if you buy something that is technically sold by Amazon under the brand’s name, you might end up with a product supplied by a third-party merchant, which may or may not be the real thing.
I’ve purchased a TON of stuff on Amazon. I’ve never run into any counterfeit stuff (that I’m aware of) sold directly by Amazon, nor am I aware of any friends or family that have had that happen. The article you linked is an interesting one, but how commonplace is that problem? So much so that there is a large population of buyers that would welcome an Amazon competitor that could some how guarantee 100% genuine goods, even if that comes with higher prices, costlier shipping, or less selection?
Nesrie, you were the one who mentioned the sea of counterfeits—have you ended up with counterfeit goods sold directly by Amazon?
We’ve got an entire thread on the topic.