is Amazon getting worse?

October 2nd, 2015 at 7:29:29 PM permalink
reno
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384
Quote: Nareed
Anyone can start a cloud computing company to compere with Amazon's.


No, not anyone. It's extremely expensive. You can't just spend $10 million or even $100 million or $200 million. It takes much more capital to compete at Amazon's level. For example, Alibaba is trying to break into the market, and they've had to pump $1 billion into cloud infrastructure.

Quote: New York Times
At the moment, there is no contest: Amazon is dominant and might even be extending its lead. Its resources, however, are fewer than most of its competitors, who have tens of billions of dollars stashed away. And if there is one thing that cloud computing demands, it is heavy investment to set up enormous data centers around the globe.
September 2nd, 2016 at 1:55:12 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Amazone Prime Video seems to be pushing customers to upgrade. You get some seasons of a series but not all. Or you get the first episode free and later episodes as brief rentals or you get pushed into Acorn tv subscriptions that are free for one week only.
More and more of Video Prime is grade B stuff or foreign language stuff or slap happy oriental fighting surrounding by a very weak script.

Buttons encourage repeat orders of higher priced brand name products. (Those buttons can be used to find your lost phone though).

Alot of merchandise seems bundled with multiple packages or available only as monthly orders.

I recently priced one item: lots of different offers from Amazon but all were more expensive that the company's offer on their own website.

Well, Ijust got dinged for my annual membership fee... wish I had thought about it some more.
September 2nd, 2016 at 3:57:28 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Are you paying for Prime Video by the month?
It's $8.99, the same as Nflix.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 2nd, 2016 at 4:10:35 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
Annual.
I might try to switch but my bandwith is too narrow to really do netflix well.
September 2nd, 2016 at 11:23:38 PM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Fleastiff
Annual.
I might try to switch but my bandwith is too narrow to really do netflix well.


How about Acorn TV? It's only $50 a year and it's got a decent selection.

Acorn TV requires consistent bandwidth of 1600 kbps (or 1.6 mbps) or above. If you are experiencing issues with buffering or stuttering, please try the following troubleshooting tips:

Turn off your device for at least one minute and then power back up.
Connect your device directly to the router via Ethernet cable.
Disconnect other devices from your network.
You can also check with your Internet provider to see if your capabilities can be improved. If bandwidth is not an issue, then please use the contact us form to fill out a ticket, which will send us a diagnostic report that we can use to help resolve the issue.
September 3rd, 2016 at 1:20:27 PM permalink
Fleastiff
Member since: Oct 27, 2012
Threads: 62
Posts: 7831
I may try to save up for Acorn once my year of Amazon Prime expires. (Fleastiffs can't do both, you know).
My XP operating system may be at fault or the very old computer.
Even YouTube denies me some videos and certainly never lets me live stream things like Coechella Valley or Burning Man in Firefox and doing videos in Chrome can be a joke when just after start they offer me the option of stopping because of such obsolete equipment.
September 3rd, 2016 at 1:27:46 PM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Fleastiff

My XP operating system may be at fault


Ya think? Do what I did, go online and buy
a 2 year old rebuilt Dell desktop for $150.
Windows 8, huge memory, huge RAM,
it'll change your online life. The rebuilt
Dell's come from companies that buy
them new by the hundreds. They are
gently used office computers and will
last you just as long as a new one.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
September 9th, 2016 at 3:37:38 PM permalink
reno
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 58
Posts: 1384
Quote: reno
Their sales pitch for Amazon Prime is growing increasingly loud & obtrusive.


I was shopping for computer printers, and I used Amazon's customers reviews as part of my research. I finally found the perfect printer for me (Brother MFC-L2700DW) and was all set to add it to my Amazon shopping cart.

But Amazon has 2 prices for that particular printer: $129 for Prime members or $156 for non-Prime members. I'm not a Prime member, so I spent 5 seconds searching Google Shopping and found that B&H Photo has the model for $129. I've bought from B&H many many times before and never had a problem, so this decision was a no-brainer.

Amazon does not have a monopoly on Brother printers. Are they aware of this?

The Costco business model is to only allow members to physically enter the store. Amazon doesn't seem to mind that I use their website for research, so long as I don't actually buy the Prime items. Plus, B&H doesn't charge sales tax in my state, so Amazon did me a favor by forcing me to shop the competition. Yay Amazon!
September 9th, 2016 at 3:42:00 PM permalink
Nareed
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 346
Posts: 12545
Quote: reno
The Costco business model is to only allow members to physically enter the store


Kinda.

I've entered many times with an expired membership card, at Sam's Club too. They just don't look at them.


Quote:
Amazon doesn't seem to mind that I use their website for research, so long as I don't actually buy the Prime items.


Well, people tend to go to brick and mortar stores to look at merchandise, or even to try on clothes, and then purchase them from someone else, like Amazon, online.

Turnabout and all that.
Donald Trump is a one-term LOSER
September 10th, 2016 at 12:38:40 AM permalink
Pacomartin
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 1068
Posts: 12569
Quote: Nareed
Well, people tend to go to brick and mortar stores to look at merchandise, or even to try on clothes, and then purchase them from someone else, like Amazon, online.

Turnabout and all that.



People are much more apt to do that with electronics than clothing. They were digging Best Buy's grave a few years ago, and in the investment world the nickname was Showcase. The reason being that so many people were going to Best Buy to look at equipment, and then going home and ordering it on Amazon.

Bestbuy made a dramatic turnaround by offering to match online prices and became a darling of Wall Street. But now the recovery may be short lived.