Amazon thoughts
The Everything Store brought up a few more ideas that have been swimming around my head lately: 
  1. Amazon's sole purpose for existence is to make their customers happy.  As a customer of Amazon and a customer in general, I reap the benefits of that purpose and enjoy them immensely.  Almost any practice that leads to my paying less for an item I desire is a win for me.  Unfortunately there's a hidden side to all this, which is the low wages and hectic working environment Amazon creates, as well as its considerable pressure on manufacturers.
  2. Manufacturers have an idea of how much they think their products should cost, but merchants are under no real compulsion to conform to that idea.  This gets back to value and cost, and how something is really only worth something if someone is willing to pay for it.  It's interesting that manufacturers are sometimes so attached to the perceived value of their products that they're willing to exclude merchants like Amazon.
  3. I have absolutely no compassion for manufacturers who feel bullied by Amazon to provide their products at a lower cost or in a somewhat different configuration.  The option in a free market is always in the manufacturer's favor.  You don't want to sell your widgets to Amazon for less than $10 a piece?  You absolutely have the option to walk away.  But don't whine and cry that Amazon wants too much of your business and it'll force you to cut costs.  By selling to Amazon, you're making a profit.  Don't want a profit?  Don't sell to Amazon.  End of story.
I'd say Walmart is a similar company in terms of prices, and Zappos is a similar company in terms of customer service. #business

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