Amazon's evolving business model and competitive position in e-commerce

Amazon.com - Outdated?

It is difficult to believe that before 1995, e-commerce was almost a non-factor in global business. One of the first shopping sites was Amazon.com, which has since become a household name. It took until 2004 for the company to actually make a profit. What made Amazon so successful was its business model, which actually is now becoming outdated.

Amazon, which now carries almost everything either under its own name or affiliated with other online ventures, started out with books because of ability of so many different ones to be on sale and to be of interest to different buyers. Also, there is not a large need to try the product out like clothing.

Amazon also actually helps the buyer. When going on the site, it actually states what other books may be of interest in the same subject area and what other books customers recommend. The fact that it is possible to actually see inside many of the books is also helpful. I liked the earlier approach of seeing pages more than the one they have now with PDF files and less choice.

The other benefit is being able to search and find out-of-print and used books at either new or used prices from a number of different vendors. It was an easy e-bay. One of the drawbacks from Amazon, which is indicative of many e-commerce, is not having a telephone number to call for customer service. The number is so buried, that the buyer can be old and gray before finding it or not find it at all. This leaves having to ask questions in e-mail about service, which can be frustrating and maddening.