Free Republic

During AlphaBay's two-year reign as the world's largest online black market, many observers believed the eBay-style site owed its success to being headquartered out of reach of U.S. authorities behind a re-emerging Iron Curtain. The Russia explanation seemed obvious until the site was busted this month. Court documents and official statements released this week say the site actually was run by Canadian citizen Alexandre Cazes, who lived in Thailand, had bank accounts in Switzerland and Liechtenstein and owned properties in Cyprus and the Caribbean. The FBI said in a statement its work "to seize AlphaBay’s servers and shut down the...

Five years ago Best Buy Co. looked like a retail dinosaur, another victim of e-commerce juggernaut Amazon.com and other online sellers. The big-box electronics chain was suffering dwindling sales and profits due in good part to “showrooming,” when shoppers would come in to a Best Buy store to check out televisions, computers and other items in person, and then buy them at cheaper prices at Amazon or elsewhere online. Best Buy also was struggling with executive turmoil and facing a buyout threat from a major stockholder. The chain in 2012 named a new chief executive, Hubert Joly, but the Frenchman...

•Ruby Corp., formerly known as Avid Life Media, denied wrongdoing in agreeing to the preliminary class-action settlement. •the breach cost privately held Ruby more than a quarter of its revenue, and prompted the Toronto-based company to spend millions of dollars to improve security and user privacy.

A Citigroup analysis finds each box gets a $1.46 subsidy. It’s like a gift card from Uncle Sam. In my neighborhood, I frequently walk past “shop local” signs in the windows of struggling stores. Yet I don’t feel guilty ordering most of my family’s household goods on Amazon. In a world of fair competition, there will be winners and losers. But when a mail truck pulls up filled to the top with Amazon boxes for my neighbors and me, I do feel some guilt. Like many close observers of the shipping business, I know a secret about the federal government’s...

The potential energy of ecommerce has yet to be fully unlocked. Retail jobs are hemorrhaging throughout the United States. Credit Suisse predicts that 8,000 retail stores will close in 2017. Radioshack is closing 1,430 stores, Payless Shoes is closing 800 stores and Sears is closing 265 stores. According to the U.S. Census reported by The New York Times, department stores have lost 448,000 jobs in the last 15 years, offset by a net gain of 645,000 net jobs in the retail sector in that time, due to natural economic growth. Warehouse clubs (which presumably includes Wal-Mart as well its Sam’s...

Introduction Today, we take a look at the two online retail titans, consider how each business model differs and delve into the trends shaped by the financial results. The biggest difference between the two is that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) primarily sells directly to consumers, building a network of warehouse and distribution centers with a goal of ever-improving fulfillment. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), on the other hand, is less capital intensive and provides only a platform from which other businesses can sell directly to consumers. While both offer a platform for other sellers, AMZN is more focused on the logistics and engaging directly with...

One of the many holes in the “social contract” theory of government is that the power of the state is so often harnessed by interest groups to protect themselves against competition. Nobody ever agreed to that, but it happens all the time, inflicting losses on the consuming public. A recent instance of this is the aggressive lobbying campaign being waged by the American Optometric Association (AOA) against innovations that now make it possible for Americans to get accurate eye exams and lens prescriptions over the Internet. By using such innovations, millions of Americans who need vision correction could save substantial...

With more than half of 2017 still ahead, the retail industry is seeing a record-setting pace for bankruptcy filings and store closings — and more are expected in the not too distant future, despite what most consider a healthy consumer. This tipping point for retail is the result of a number of compounding reasons, but the inability to pay looming, massive debt bills is dealing the final death blow to many. More online shopping Yes, more shopping is shifting online in general, and to Amazon specifically, as in-store shopping traffic and sales trends fall for many retailers and shopping...

Wal-Mart is hoping to gain ground against online rivals by rolling out new discounts for buying items online for in-store pickup. Starting April 19, the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer “will launch what it calls the Pickup Discount,” Fox Business reported Wednesday. Customers will be able to get lower prices on about 10,000 different items if they order them ahead online for shipment to a local store.

A couple of months ago, my card was hacked, not my account, so I waited for a new one to re-submit my FR donation.

In a 10-K filed on Friday afternoon, Amazon disclosed that certain transactions and business ties with Iran may have violated U.S. sanctions, warning that it may be penalized after a regulatory review of the activities. In the "Other Contingencies" section of its 10-K, Jeff Bezos' company had determined that, between January 2012 and December 2016 it had "processed and delivered orders of consumer products for certain individuals and entities located outside Iran covered by the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act or other United States sanctions and export control laws. The consumer products included books, music, other media,...

A top lawyer for internet retailer Amazon is taking a victory lap for the company’s role in the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision to retain the temporary restraining order halting President Trump’s travel ban. “Proud of @AGOWA, the Amazon legal team that helped on the case, and amici — who all made today’s 9th Circuit ruling possible,” David Zapolsky, Amazon general counsel, wrote Thursday night on Twitter. It’s unknown what precise role, if any, Zapolsky’s team played in the appeals court decision. But there has been bad blood between Trump and Amazon owner Jeff Bezos for over a year. On...

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — After being robbed a handful of times in the past few months, one Baltimore coffee shop is no longer accepting cash to stop the robberies and keep their staff safe. Nowadays, many people don’t carry cash in their wallets day-to-day, and at Park Cafe in Bolton Hill, cash payments are no longer on the menu. “We’re not going to accept cash anymore,” said Park Cafe & Coffee owner David Hart. “I’m going to take that out of the equation.” Park Cafe was robbed five times from October to January. While the armed suspect is now behind bars,...

Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said the e-commerce giant is working with lawmakers and state officials to explore legal options to counter President Donald Trump’s executive order on immigration. In an email to staff Monday, Mr. Bezos said the company has reached out to members of Congress to explore legislative options. The company’s public policy team in Washington, D.C., also has reached out to senior administration officials to make clear its opposition, Mr. Bezos wrote. In one of the strongest signs of corporate disapproval of the order, Mr. Bezos said Amazon has prepared a declaration of support for a...

It is inappropriate for a CEO of a consumer service to make such a political statement. I am cancelling my Netflix account (don't ever watch it anyway) and encourage my fellow Trump supporters to do the same (and spread this far and wide!). The Tweet that will cost this company a LOT of customers: Reed Hastings 9 hours ago Trump's actions are hurting Netflix employees around the world, and are so un-American it pains us all. Worse, these actions will make America less safe (through hatred and loss of allies) rather than more safe. A very sad week, and more...

Millions of retail jobs are threatened as Amazon’s share of online purchases keeps climbing ___ Amazon.com has been crowing about its plans to create 100,000 American jobs in the next year, but as with other recent job-creation announcements, that figure is meaningless without context. What Amazon won’t tell us is that every job created at Amazon destroys one or two or three others. What Jeff Bezos doesn’t want you to know is that Amazon is going to destroy more American jobs than China ever did. Amazon has revolutionized the way Americans consume. Those who want to shop for everything from...

Walmart has announced that it will invest $6.8 billion in the United States and create 10,000 more jobs for Americans in stores and e-commerce, a strong response to the victory of President-elect Donald Trump. The investment will create 59 new or relocated Walmart and Sam’s Club stores throughout the country which will in return create an estimated 24,000 construction jobs, the company said in a statement. “With a presence in thousands of communities and a vast supplier network, we know we play an important role in supporting and creating American jobs,” said Dan Bartlett, Walmart executive vice president for corporate...

Wal-Mart is reorganizing its e-commerce team and upgrading executives from its recent Jet.com acquisition to compete with Amazon with higher selectivity and lower prices. The changes are aimed at making Wal-Mart more customer-focused, Jet founder Marc Lore, who is now the Executive Chairman of Wal-Mart's e-commerce operation, said on Friday in a memo Bloomberg had access. Wal-Mart bought Jet in September for about $ 3.3 billion and is appealing to the startup to push for an online operation that has lagged behind Amazon. "We've talked a lot about becoming a more customer-centric organization," Lore said. "Our strategy is to offer...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWaquDNvggU

Retailers are bracing for a fresh wave of store closures at the start of the new year. The industry is heading into 2017 with a glut of store space as shopping continues to shift online and foot traffic to malls declines, according to analysts ~SNIP~Nearly every major department store, including Macy's, Kohl's, Walmart, and Sears, have collectively closed hundreds of stores over the last couple years to try and stem losses from unprofitable stores and the rise of ecommerce. But the closures are far from over. Macy's has already said that it's planning to close 100 stores, or about 15%...