DTEJD1997 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 I wonder when AMZN is going to get hit by lawsuits for counterfeit goods that are being sold on their website with impunity. I got aware of this when looking for genuine replacement batteries for my Samsung S4. It seems that based on users comments and other reports, 95% of all the "genuine" batteries sold are knockoffs. I don't think a major retailer like AMZN can get away with enabling some vendor to simply sell their counterfeits on Amazon, possibly even under the "prime" label. Same is true for many luxury goods (handbags, watches). At some point, this is going to be blow up big time in their face, as it will be apparent that AMZN enables those vendors. Just imagine what happens, if one of those products turns out to be unsafe and starts to hurt people. The lawsuits will go after the company with the money, not the shady vendor in Hongkong or who knows where. Once investigations start, it will be clear that AMZN knew about this and did nothing about it apparently. I don't know what and when it will happen, but I think it is a tail risk that AMZN investors should be aware of. I like AMZN prime, but I have started to switch purchases of some goods to websites, where I think I will get genuine goods, not knowoffs. The lawsuits have already begun. Apple sued them last week. I have seen some very odd things for sale on Ebay. I had some Apple "lightning" cables for sale. On Ebay they are selling "genuine" Apple cables for as little as $3, BRAND NEW! I simply couldn't figure out how they can sell them this cheap. Mine are used. I got a higher price for gently used than for brand new! Why? A Russian guy bought some of my cables, and found that they were indeed the real product and genuine. He then proceeded to buy every single one that I have. He claims that almost every Apple cable on Ebay is a fake...especially those coming from overseas/China. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
undervalued Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-says-many-genuine-apple-products-on-amazon-are-fake-1476984451 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted October 27, 2016 Share Posted October 27, 2016 Q3: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=97664&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=2216758 Operating cash flow increased 49% to $14.6 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $9.8 billion for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2015. Free cash flow increased to $8.6 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $5.4 billion for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2015. Free cash flow less lease principal repayments increased to $4.9 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $3.1 billion for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2015. Free cash flow less finance lease principal repayments and assets acquired under capital leases increased to $3.4 billion for the trailing twelve months, compared with $637 million for the trailing twelve months ended September 30, 2015. Common shares outstanding plus shares underlying stock-based awards totaled 496 million on September 30, 2016, compared with 489 million one year ago. Net sales increased 29% to $32.7 billion in the third quarter, compared with $25.4 billion in third quarter 2015. The favorable impact from year-over-year changes in foreign exchange rates throughout the quarter on net sales was $52 million. Operating income was $575 million in the third quarter, compared with $406 million in third quarter 2015. Net income was $252 million in the third quarter, or $0.52 per diluted share, compared with $79 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, in third quarter 2015. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted October 31, 2016 Share Posted October 31, 2016 Jeff Bezos on Charlie Rose (10/27/2016) https://charlierose.com/videos/29412 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowAppreciation Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Not sure if this has been posted already, but another VIC writeup: https://www.valueinvestorsclub.com/idea/AMAZON.COM_INC/138820 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 https://www.cnet.com/news/meet-amazon-brand-central-secret-new-plan-to-squash-counterfeits/ New tool to fight knock-offs and counterfeiters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 https://www.cnet.com/news/meet-amazon-brand-central-secret-new-plan-to-squash-counterfeits/ New tool to fight knock-offs and counterfeiters. Amazon Gets Real About Fakes The company is starting a new initiative to banish counterfeiters. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-28/amazon-gets-real-about-fakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex.N.B Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Is AMZN really trading a only 3x sales?? seems like shares are far from over-valued. Who wouldn't buy AMZN at a fair price? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spekulatius Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Is AMZN really trading a only 3x sales?? seems like shares are far from over-valued. Who wouldn't buy AMZN at a fair price? I buy many stocks at a "fair" price. I just don't think AMZN fair price is anywhere close to where the stock is trading now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhacker Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I buy many stocks at a "fair" price. I just don't think AMZN fair price is anywhere close to where the stock is trading now. +1 My wife and a few friends have been bitching to me lately about how Amazon is doing more annoying games with pricing (special pricing only visible to PRIME, higher minimums to ship for free, more prices changing for no reason on a day-to-day basis, more 3rd party vendors trying to stick it to you). I'm actually surprised at how big the retail side of AMZN has become without provide much value beyond their review system and convenience (I think those are both very valuable aspects of their moat). Overall, I think AMZN still likely looks to be a world beating business, but the valuation seems too rich by half at least... I do think Bezos is the man, and the overall business had exceeded my expectations (owned briefly ~10 years back for a nice 50-70% return.... doh!). My 2 cents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooDiligence Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I love the reviews too but reliability depends on the product category. Book reviews are usually trustworthy albeit subjective (add a pinch of NaCl depending on your own tastes.) Electronics & inexpensive consumer products seemed to get their reviews gamed more often. FakeSpot.com does a good job of scanning listing reviews & giving a reliability rating. Too bad there's not a website that'll do this with K's Q's & conference calls... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooDiligence Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Could Amazon Go seriously reduce shrinkage? I wonder how fast (or if) other retailers will pivot to this concept? Imagine not waiting in line at WalMart. Think about Old Navy doing a "shoplifters" sales event. This could be the beginning of true contactless payment. BTW - Not advocating buying Amazon; just noodling about the implications of GO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkbabang Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Could Amazon Go seriously reduce shrinkage? I wonder how fast (or if) other retailers will pivot to this concept? Imagine not waiting in line at WalMart. Think about Old Navy doing a "shoplifters" sales event. This could be the beginning of true contactless payment. BTW - Not advocating buying Amazon; just noodling about the implications of GO. I wonder if they will have someone at the door to stop real shoplifters? If someone who didn't even have an Amazon account walked into the store grabbed a few things and walked out he would look exactly like the legitimate shoppers to the casual observer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DooDiligence Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Could Amazon Go seriously reduce shrinkage? I wonder how fast (or if) other retailers will pivot to this concept? Imagine not waiting in line at WalMart. Think about Old Navy doing a "shoplifters" sales event. This could be the beginning of true contactless payment. BTW - Not advocating buying Amazon; just noodling about the implications of GO. I wonder if they will have someone at the door to stop real shoplifters? If someone who didn't even have an Amazon account walked into the store grabbed a few things and walked out he would look exactly like the legitimate shoppers to the casual observer. A quick promo (vidi well...) Not sure but I'd assume that customers would have to keep their phones powered on while shopping. If you attempt to actually steal something, a robocop rolls up & blasts you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkbabang Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 If you attempt to actually steal something, a robocop rolls up & blasts you! Sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted December 13, 2016 Share Posted December 13, 2016 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amazon-prime-announce-india-launch-955619 Amazon Prime Video apparently coming to India soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161214005486/en/ Amazon Prime Video Now Available in More Than 200 Countries and Territories Around the World Looking forward to seeing The Grand Tour & The Man In The High Castle Pricing seems very reasonable! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161214005486/en/ Amazon Prime Video Now Available in More Than 200 Countries and Territories Around the World Looking forward to seeing The Grand Tour & The Man In The High Castle Pricing seems very reasonable! Finally! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkbabang Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161214005486/en/ Amazon Prime Video Now Available in More Than 200 Countries and Territories Around the World Looking forward to seeing The Grand Tour & The Man In The High Castle Pricing seems very reasonable! I haven't watched The Grand Tour yet, but I was really disappointed in The Man In The High Castle. I wanted to love it, but it was so boring that I only made it about half way through season 1. Good Amazon shows that I've seen and liked (in order from best to not as good) are: Mad Dogs, Transparent, Hand of God, Goliath, and Bosch Amazon originals that I've seen and didn't like are (in no order they are both bad): The Man In The High Castle and Alpha House Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelius Posted December 14, 2016 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Prime Air (drone) trial has started in Cambridge, UK: https://www.amazon.com/b?node=8037720011 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Interesting post about Alexa as an operating system, and also an overview of what makes OSes attractive, with history about MSFT, GOOGL, FB, etc: https://stratechery.com/2017/amazons-operating-system/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fareastwarriors Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161214005486/en/ Amazon Prime Video Now Available in More Than 200 Countries and Territories Around the World Looking forward to seeing The Grand Tour & The Man In The High Castle Pricing seems very reasonable! I haven't watched The Grand Tour yet, but I was really disappointed in The Man In The High Castle. I wanted to love it, but it was so boring that I only made it about half way through season 1. Good Amazon shows that I've seen and liked (in order from best to not as good) are: Mad Dogs, Transparent, Hand of God, Goliath, and Bosch Amazon originals that I've seen and didn't like are (in no order they are both bad): The Man In The High Castle and Alpha House I actually really liked the High Man in the High Castle... Can't wait for another season! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogermunibond Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 https://www.ft.com/content/876ede9c-d97c-11e6-944b-e7eb37a6aa8e More on Alexa as the home OS. ******* ATSG - an oldey but a goody keeps chugging along with more AMZN related investments. Wilmington Air Park is looking to reopen its second runway for air freight operations... likely meaning AMZN expansion. http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2017/01/09/amazon-prime-air-cargo-wilmington-air-park-runway.html Which follows ATSG's acquisition of an MRO company in Tampa that converts 737s to air freighters, likely eventually leading to 767s, which is ATSG's preferred airframe. http://beta.mro-network.com/maintenance-repair-overhaul/amazon-s-link-pemco-purchase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liberty Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Lately, Amazon has widened its selection of name-brand parts — and is already selling them for less than its brick-and-mortar rivals. For example, a 34 Series RedTop Optima Battery was recently being offered at $166 on Amazon, versus $216 at AutoZone. In a September report, investment bank Jefferies said Amazon is offering same-day delivery for auto parts in 40 major US cities — at prices that average 23 percent less than those of O’Reilly, Advance and AutoZone. http://nypost.com/2017/01/22/amazons-next-frontier-to-conquer-auto-parts/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkbabang Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Lately, Amazon has widened its selection of name-brand parts — and is already selling them for less than its brick-and-mortar rivals. For example, a 34 Series RedTop Optima Battery was recently being offered at $166 on Amazon, versus $216 at AutoZone. In a September report, investment bank Jefferies said Amazon is offering same-day delivery for auto parts in 40 major US cities — at prices that average 23 percent less than those of O’Reilly, Advance and AutoZone. http://nypost.com/2017/01/22/amazons-next-frontier-to-conquer-auto-parts/ Interesting. I recently bought wiper blades at a local Autozone and was kind of pissed about how much I paid. I went to my computer logged on to Amazon and sure enough, I could have gotten the exact same set of blades for my car for about $20 cheaper. I spent over $50 on two Bosch Icon blades and the some ones on Amazon would have cost me a little over $30 with free prime 2day shipping. I won't be buying them locally next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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