Amazon seems to be the most innovative and ambitious company on the planet.
A company that has laser focus on "improving the customer experience."
It also seems to have plans on total and complete world domination.
So bottom line...
Is Amazon good or evil?
| +77 | GF doesn’t care about her looks | 49 | 6h | |
| +44 | Affair with my Associate… In Desperate Need for Advice | 22 | 14h | |
| +39 | Insurance as High Finance? | 10 | 1d | |
| +38 | 400k/year in HVAC sales? | 26 | 17h | |
| +38 | How to sound more eloquent? | 13 | 19m | |
| +33 | Would you rather live alone in an outer borough or with roommates in Manhattan? | 23 | 1d | |
| +31 | Framed Photo of CEO on desk. | 16 | 2d | |
| +27 | Why do people listen to Jim Cramer Investing Advice? | 10 | 1h | |
| +25 | Is my boss gaslighting me? | 3 | 22m | |
| +25 | Carnivore Diet | 9 | 1h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
idk man you tell me
Would have been funny if you posted the link on Amazon
God damn it you're so right
I think they're awesome -- company that strives every day to improve their customers' lives, and make things more convenient. Go visit the check-out-less grocery store they've set up in Seattle, "Amazon Go." Just an example of how they utilize their collective brain power to improve all of our lives. I mean, to be able to walk into a grocery store, pick whatever you want off a shelf and not even have to scan it before you walk out the store? It might sound small, but stuff like that will change your life.
Good for now, will become evil later
Yup. At some point when growth slows they'll be tempted to make decisions that aren't favorable to consumers.
I don’t know about that — look at their early track record: they didn’t care about profits! That runs counter to the actions of almost every other publicly owned company. Now, you can argue this was to establish market share, but another reason might be because they were focused on providing the best product/service for their customers, regardless of cost. This is a company that might actually put the customer first.
I mostly agree. And I think it's likely more than a decade away, but at some point when growth slows, and they start being valued on P/E, the temptation will be there to boost profits. It could very well be after Bezos is gone 30 years from now, but with Amazon likely to be around for generations, it's hard to imagine them not becoming, at the very least, less good / friendly to consumers.
I agree and I disagree. That pressure usually comes from investors wanting to price a company fairly with competitors. If there are no competitors, investors have to just shutup. It's one of the reasons Musk could go balls deep in on that investor call. If there are competitors, price increases should only fall within where the market dictates.
And speaking of competitors, I saw an article yesterday that said 40 percent of ALL online commerce is done through Amazon. 40 percent! That’s astounding that one company could be so dominant in such a huge arena.
So you’re saying that monopolies are inherently good for the consumer...?
How could I make a declaration like that and how in that statement could you try to have put into my mouth a declaration like that?
I don't see any monopolistic behavior -- they aren't forcing their customers to "bundle," their Amazon Prime service doesn't seem to be higher than any competitor's ($129 per year for 2 day delivery, access to hundreds of hours of original programming, discounts at Whole Foods... of course, when you think about it, what they offer doesn't seem to be similar to any competitor, meaning that -- at the moment -- they are in a class of their own).
Umm, words?
MMbanker: "it's hard to imagine Amazon not becoming, at the very least, less good / friendly to consumers."
IBankedUp (you...): "Agree and I disagree. That pressure usually comes from investors wanting to price a company fairly with competitors. If there are no competitors, investors have to just shutup. It's one of the reasons Musk could go balls deep in on that investor call. If there are competitors, price increases should only fall within where the market dictates."
Since I speak, ya know, English, I will summarize what you said: Amazon, a future monopoly with no competitors, is likely to not be bad for consumers because investors won't be pressuring Amazon because Amazon has no competitors by which to compare. In other words, Amazon being a monopoly will be good for consumers, or at least not bad for consumers.
So, to reiterate:
Your question: How could I make a declaration like that and how in that statement could you try to have put into my mouth a declaration like that?
My answer: Uh, I read English?
Bezos does have the Evil Leader look.
Good until unobtainium deposits are discovered
Amazon is good at the moment but it has the potential to be evil due to the nature of business where you try and maximise profit there are always winners and losers
But that’s my point — up to this point, Amazon doesn’t seem concerned with maximizing profits... which you’d think would be bad for shareholders but, ironically, so far that hasn’t been the case.
It's a generous mixture of both but down the road will be more evil than good.
What the fk is this thread? I felt like I just read "good now evil later" rehashed 20 times in different ways.
Nope, I gave some incisive analysis. Ha.
They treat sellers like shit but they are great and forced a lot of companies to play catch up.
Good, of course. Placing customers first has always been, and will always be, the guiding principle for everything that we do. The fact that >40% of all e-commerce sales flow through Amazon is a testament to how much customers love us. :)
I see someone received P72's hirevue question as well.
Yup ahahaahha
don't think it is evil per se. it's just emblematic of the butchered form of capitalism that we have. no way amazon should be issuing debt at the yields that it is..
AMZN is more concerned about revenue growth than profit for the time being. I think as soon as they stop growing the top line the way they are, they will begin to focus on their profit margins.
I agree that when rev growth slows, profits will be more in their crosshairs... but to get back to the original question, don’t know if this will turn it into “evil” company. Will probably make it less hospitable to emoloyees, as it already sounds like a potentially unpleasant place to work. But unpleasant place to work/great for customers are not two mutually exclusive things.
Well it is doing accounting Fraud to make numbers in the form of Amazon web services
Can you expound?
I hate when something is being forced into a box of good or bad. So few things in life can truly be labeled as one of these. Amazon simply is.
And is it good or bad?
That's actually what I like about the question: you've gotta take in all of available information, digest and assess it, then push one of two buttons -- "good" or "bad."
enron 3.0
google is enron 2.0
Evil. Their strategy is to destroy competition by selling products at a loss with free S&H, then lower product quality or raise prices once they have a large enough market share to do so without penalty. The prime membership allows them to do this because margins are not high enough for small businesses to sell a quality product without S&H. Amazon is going to continue expanding their Amazon label product line by buying distressed manufacturers at pennies on the dollar after they had a huge role in bankrupting them in the first place, then cut costs as much as possible.
Dolorum magnam voluptas pariatur. Exercitationem sed quos ut libero accusantium dolor hic. Accusantium ea at ut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Veniam occaecati qui magni pariatur. Mollitia dolores illum quia quas quia et fugiat. Voluptates ut exercitationem eum dolore ut.
Ab rem sapiente dolor est deserunt quia fugiat facilis. Et dolore autem quia suscipit consequatur rerum explicabo delectus. Vel ullam nisi deserunt neque aut at. Ipsa dolorum dolores est dolore.
Facilis qui architecto accusantium nihil hic expedita velit. Esse ratione debitis nihil dicta illo deserunt dolorum. Blanditiis sit explicabo omnis doloribus omnis et deleniti aut.