Posted on 01/01/2015 7:05:39 AM PST by Red in Blue PA
Amazon.com AMZN 0.00% turned in its worst year on the market since 2008, taking a big bite out of founder Jeff Bezos’ personal net worth.
Chief Executive Bezos saw his Amazon holdings lose about $7.4 billion in value over the course of the year as the e-commerce giant’s shares fell more than 22%. Still, Bezos’ 84 million shares, equal to 18.3% of the company, will ring in the New Year with a value of roughly $26.1 billion.
Shareholders punished Amazon for its free spending on projects such as the Fire smartphone and other gadgets and a widening network of warehouses close to urban centers. The company has admitted it botched the phone’s rollout, mainly blaming its price for slow sales.
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.wsj.com ...
I love Amazon. I hate shoppnig and you can find almost anything on Amazon. They have pretty darn good customer service too.
I hear ya!
I tried to buy a taco once for 25C, two marbles and a wee bit if stone.
I did my very best this year, Amazon was outstanding, replacing a very expensive gift that went missing after being delivered,no questions asked, and in record time.
We adopted the UPS delivery man because he came to my door so frequently that he became part of the family.
I’ll do better this year.
When I first bought Amazon Prime the cost was 79.00 per year. In the last two years the company has increased this to 99.00 per year.That is a 25% increase or 12.5% per year. I don’t mind buying products from responsible businesses. Heck I don’t mind when prices increase in moderation however, what has given me concern is that Amazon seems to “play” with this money as if it will never end and when they raise prices beyond moderation to facilitate their “playing” with money then it gives cause for me to wonder.
While I like Amazon.com, I used the streaming service, the Kindle for PC service and used the 2-day free shipping service. However, across the web 2-day free shipping has become the norm to most web retailers. When I am prompted to pay for two-day shipping it behooves me to actually find out the cost of the service and see if the shipping really does cost what is being touted. In almost all cases the shipping has been marked up. If I am asked to pay for shipping, I ask myself do I really need it in 2 days?
I consciously stopped my Amazon Prime service. I found Safari Books Online to be the better deal for what I needed and found other streaming services like Hulu Plus and Netflix to be comparable. Sure there are only certain shows on Amazon Prime and its the same with Netflix and others. With HBO Go on the horizon and more channels to follow, I don’t need a company to nickel and dime me for each episode I would like to watch as Amazon is far more likely to do given the nature of the business model they have.
As far as books go, usually a publisher will sell you an ebook, or even the Kindle version if you have Kindle software, you can read no matter if you have Apple or Andriod and in which you can also read on your computer.
While I do not begrudge Amazon for its services, I do begrudge them for raising costs beyond what is considered moderate on the consumer for being fiscally irresponsible with the money they have earned. For those who say they earned the money they should do with it as they want, then my retort is of “Amazon should stop boasting and letting everything they do leak to the media.”
As is my consumer right in a free capitalistic society, I as a consumer choose not to execute that right to purchase their subscription or renew it until Amazon becomes more fiscally responsible with the capital they have earned as consumer sentiment and currency. Will I buy from Amazon in the future? Probably but that is after I have exhausted all other avenues in which to get the best deal I can find on the internet, sadly Amazon is not always the best deal, meaning return policy and warranty, in addition to purchase price, but they are usually the most convenient.
3. It was too expensive.
I hate malls. I bought a few things from Amazon this year for the first time. Very pleased with the prices and service.
And there are fraudulent sellers on Amazon that don’t ship what was ordered and attack the buyer when the buyer tries to have the matter corrected.
It goes both ways.
A very large percentage of the iBillionairs got rich because of luck, not skill. The proof of this is in how most squandered large parts of their wealth on failures after their first success. Bezos seems to also be marching along that path.
Amazon is cool with me....never had a problem
Ok, maybe I am missing something, but I just went to look at Safari Books, they are $40 a month? And you find that to be a better deal than less than $10 a month to get get a few free to cheap books, free second day shipping, free tv shows, free music, free storage, the list goes on?
And I am not sure what you think you are seeing, but 2 day free shipping is not the norm.
Hulu Plus = commercials, no other benefits, $10/month.
Netflix is the King of the Mountain = $8 a month, no other benefits.
Amazon’s new book service is $10 a month. Something I don’t use, but still, that is cheaper than $40 a month.
Actually, looking more and more at Safari Books, I can get everything they are offering for free from youtube and other sources.
Dang.
We had a book go missing in delivery and Amazon, no questions asked, shipped us a new one.
Several months later the original “misdelivered” book showed up on my doorstep. Because Amazon has my loyalty, I called them up - hey, can I send this back to you? Sure, no problem.
I needed a specialty USB cable for my camera,
Looked it up online and Walmart said they had it in stock at the local store for $7.49
Went to walmart, used gas, used 1.5 hours of my time, they had no such cable, the entire episode was a goat rope.
Came home, ordered the cable on Amazon for 59C, they threw in a free tablet stylus, and with shipping it was like $5 total.
Showed up 2 days later and works like a hose.
Amazon ROCKS!
Amazon has spent a lot of money on the fire line.
They are positioning themselves to run the big media providers out of business.
Nobody is happy with their lousy cable plans or Dish plans.
When Amazon and Netflix give you what you want when you want ala carte for less money, Time Warner, Cox,Dish and the others will all die.
Glad to hear that.
I understand Why Amazon was making Fire proprietary but don’t like it.
Apple does the same stuff.
Still I want a Fire TV to unlock.
Did they unlock Fire TV as well?
That would save me some effort.
Love Amazon. They had a contract with USPS this year. One day I had UPS and USPS arrive at the same time and about an hour later FEDEX showed up. I have never had an issue with Amazon or their secondary suppliers. I’m sometimes taken aback by the delivery dates given for items that are evidently coming from overseas, but they always seem to arrive way before the expected date.
I can't believe there isn't a Freeper Fan Club for "Animal House." It contains a lot of profanity, but that doesn't bother me greatly, and it is hilarious. While created by Gary Trudeau, it is an equal opportunity basher of Repubs and Dems in Washington.
I've downloaded an entire library of classic rock and country music to my phone.
I've been satisfied with every purchase I've made. It's not just books anymore... I've bought light bulbs and underwear. I check their "lightning deals" a couple of times a day. The "Lending Library" is a pretty cool idea, too.
All in all, it's a lot of bang for the buck.
Amen and Amen!
We are going on 2 years cable/satellite free. When we vacation and we will watch cable TV. After awhile we are hooking up a roku and streaming netflix/amazon. The commercials are overwhelming when you aren’t used to them.
It has completely revolutionized the way millions (I'd guess) of people get their in-home entertainment.
We have two, one for the main room and one for the basement man-cave.
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