Amazon’s Downward Spiral

Whats up at Amazon? The Washington Post takes a look. I think these desprate lurches are going to just speed up the decline. I’m not sure why Amazon is so confused about what needs to happen… frankly its pretty simply to me:

  1. Amazon should be the online store. Its got the reputation but not the selection to prove it. If you want Books, CD’s or DVD Amazon works alright but if you look for other things you may find a pretty horrible selection.
  2. The online market place idea sucks ass. I hate thinking that I’m buying from Amazon but actually buying from John’s Bait and Cookware Shop. It damn near feels like bait-and-switch (no pun).
  3. Integrating other large brick-and-morter stores like Toys’r'us, etc, has never really been comforting. Frankly, Amazon should be Amazon and not stretch itself out.

I recently made a purchase from Amazon. 3 books and 1 CD… the shipment got split up into 3 shipments, I recieved the CD, then a week later 2 of the books, and finally after 3 weeks I canceled the 3rd book and bought it instead from Barnes and Nobel. Maybe its just my experiences with Amazon but they really need to get their act together and focus on what they already should do well rather than branch out.

4 Responses to “Amazon’s Downward Spiral”

  1. Well, I have been using Amazon exclusively since 1999. I agree with you on the “bait and switch” feeling you get when the realization that the product you ordered is not coming from Amazon.

    On the other hand, the books and DVDs I have ordered were always on time. My O’Reilly “shrine” is 95% Amazon purchased books.

  2. Louis Gray says:

    Ben, that’s almost exactly the conclusion I reached in a post I published on July 1st… “Amazon No Longer Relevant”. Of course, when I opted to give them another try, it took 3 days for my shipment to get from Richmond, CA to San Jose, CA. I could have driven up to get my stuff in an hour instead.

    http://www.louisgray.com/live/files/amazon_irrelevant.html

  3. AC says:

    I don’t mind the bait-and-switch so much as seeing S&H skyrocket when selecting from several vendors. Several bailed shopping carts due to that.

  4. Trudy says:

    Very interesting article: “Amazon’s Downward Spiral”