maximus wrote:
So this is how Am*zon got to be so big…
Not so much with that type of trickery generally speaking. Though, Am*zon's goal is to keep you a happy customer and locked into the mindset of coming to Amazon to shop by any means necessary. Not finding what you are looking for on Am*zon is a no-no in Am*zon's book. They want you to go to Am*zon's website for everything possible, or at least try there first. Obviously, getting things delivered in two days (and soon it will be one day deliveries - they built enough fulfillment centers around the country and adopted the Uber-like delivery contractors to possibly make this happen) "for free" is very convenient, therefore motivating enough for many to go there first to search (especially young people [free prime shipping for students at check out] - they have built a culture, very much like Ap*le has). There was even a silly poll study where results show young people would choose the convenience of shopping on Amazon over having sex if they had to choose one over the other. Wth?!!? Really?!
The way they got so big is rather with a bold massive
convenience oriented plan of attack through borrowing money from private sources in the beginning/IPO later and retailing products cheaper than the rest of retailers one category at the time (they started with books, then CDs, and so on) until forcing the other businesses to go out of business, or sell into Amazon. This was a long term strategy, as Amazon was not profitable for a very long time, until they turned the corner.
Famous example: Zappos.com - very successful shoe online retailer. Eventually, it was acquired by Am*zon because Am*zon entered the shoe category and dropped the price strategically over time until enough customers shifted buying shoes on Am*zon rather than Zappos. When Zappos' profits shrunk so badly that scared the founders, they finally gave in and sold to Amazon.
Highly recommend reading Am*zon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos' book called: The Everything Store. The vision is in the title and people around the world are making it come closer to reality one purchase at the time due to our addiction to convenience.