E-Commerce

[RedAnarchist]

E-Commerce is growing in popularity. Sites like E-Bay and Amazon are household names. Is E-Commerce a kind of ‘cyber-capitalist’ globalisation?

What are your views on e-commerce and what are your opinions as to the pros and cons of e-commerce?

By the way, some replies will be in my BTEC National work about E-Commerce, so if you do not want your reply used, say so. No member names will be used. Obviously, i would prefer it if i had a few replies from both commies and cappies, to avoid bias.

[LSD]

E-Commerce:

Popular? Yes
Profitable? Well....


Amazon.com may be a "household name", but there single greatest achievement last year was not loseing money.

Remember when they "defied all expectations" and had a "profitable quarter"?
They were ducking the trend and reinvigorating the internet....

And how much did a company with over 100 million dollars of debt make in that fantasic record-setting quarter? .........a little under 5 million.
As a contrast, recall that in 2000, Amazon had loses of nearly 400 million.


Simple fact is that while the internet is convienent and easy, no one really trusts it. People are still fundamentally tactile and interactive, most people still aren't comfortable with computers, and in the end, no one likes giving out their credit card numbers.

Besides, there's WAY too much free stuff on the internet for people to be spending that much money. (Plus it's legal now so....)