Re: UKNM: Three cheers Amazon UK

[Nick Sweeney]

> > But I think the thing that impressed me most was the integrated invoice

> > and address label, printed on a single sheet of A4 so that the label,

> > complete with barcode, could be peeled off and stuck on the package.

> > Online commerce is all about the back end logistics.

> 

> Re: VC stuff

> If I remember rightly, this was all there when it was plucky UK-startup

> BookPages. As was the vastly superior(to amazon US) search capabilities.

> But would anyone invest in them in the UK? 


It is -- as Sam suggested -- now identical to the system used by Amazon in

the US, which is the one I've used. I'd be interested to see how it works

when I buy a US edition from Amazon UK.


> > Well as an exercise in building brand equity, the customer service

> > aspects of the transaction were far more influential than the last

> > banner (button) ad I saw for Amazon which said: "Books about +UK +rail

> > +e...."


It's experiential, though, isn't it? You can't *advertise* good back end

stuff and customer service, I'd argue, through traditional media; you

*can* encourage further purchases, once you've demonstrated to the

customer that your system worked.


> Amazon's co-branding,

> co-marketing initiatives (everything from the virgin.net deal to the

> little link sites you can build to them) have been ground-breaking.


The "affiliates" scheme, in particular, has locked into the personal

website culture perfectly. It makes me wish, in a way, that I could go to

my nearest high-street bookshop and demand commission on all the books

I've recommended to my friends in past years. They've done well out of me.


Nick

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