Amazon Posts A Profit Even Though It's Not Christmas
from the where's-Santa? dept
We generally try to avoid posting everyday earnings announcements unless there's something special about them, but Amazon's latest quarterly earnings are getting some attention, mainly because it's the first time ever the company is posting a profit outside of the holiday season. Jeff Bezos is apparently claiming that "free shipping and low prices" made this all possible (which may seem counter-intuitive - except to those who remember the "we'll give away a dollar for every ninety cents - but we'll make it up in volume" business plans of the late 90s). However, others are pointing out that they've benefited greatly from overseas sales, where the decline in the dollar has ended up helping them out.
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Mikes ISP woes, my online distributor woes...
I used to spend a lot of money through Amazon, but in July of this year, Amazon screwed up on one of my orders (by not mailing it,) and then spun me up about how they sent it to me (I figured it was lost in the mail.) They sent a replacement, which was eventually received, but the original shipment, which they had told me was shipped, never made it out of their distribution plant. Needless to say, a few tax dollars were wasted by the postal inspector to find out it was their fault.
Being ignorant, and not seeing the writing on the wall, I placed two more orders (for movies I later purchased in the store for much less than they were selling them for,) only to have both orders "rejected" for no apparent reason, and the only thing I got was an email which said "There is a problem fulfilling your order. From time to time we have problems with our warehouse having sufficient stock to complete your order...if you still have not received your package in a week, let us know." These were followed by "Your order has been cancelled," messages a few days later.
Of course, by that time I had forgotten what I had ordered, and they kept no record of what I had ordered, so I figured they really didn't want my money. Then, to add insult to injury, I was told the reason my shipment was cancelled was due to non-payment (I was paying with a credit card, and the credit card company said my card was valid, and I had made minor purchases before and after the said try by Amazon to charge the card which were all successful.) I figured they really didn't like me, so I switched to using other online book, movie, and music vendors not associated with Amazon.
And for some reason, I haven't looked back. Maybe we both won on the deal. Just watch out Barnes and Nobel...you might want to cut to the chase and get rid of me too, if you are concerned about making a profit!
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