7 ms·

Ask HN: What Weaknesses Does Amazon Have?

Say you were starting a company in an area where Amazon operates (shopping/ecommerce, cloud, etc). You are pitching to an investor and Amazon comes up as a potential or existing competitor. What are their weaknesses? How would you exploit them?

gregjor 7y ago
No dark mode on their ecommerce website, or in the AWS console. Seems like a critical weakness.
- WhatNewSoftware 7y ago
  Sorry what is "dark mode" and why is this important?
  - non-entity 7y ago
    They're referring to a (default?) dark color scheme on the web products, to make it better on the eye with better contrast.
    - WhatNewSoftware 7y ago
      Not really what I'm asking but OK... I doubt a lacking of a color scheme is going to add much to your competitive analysis.
      - jklein11 7y ago
        Of course you doubt it Jeff, that’s why you don’t see it coming.
        Blakestr 7y ago
        I think a wood grain texture would be the right choice
      - gregjor 7y ago
        Your humor detector got turned off, I think. In lieu of any actual progress dark mode got hyped in many products recently as an important new feature.
        gregjor 7y ago
        https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22dark%20mode%22&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
byoung2 7y ago
The same weaknesses that come up when you make any David/Goliath comparison. They are big, and slow to react, so you can hit them with speed and agility. Think early 90's when MicroSoft was slow to move to the web while tiny startups ate their lunch. Amazon will be hesitant to make major changes because they don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.
- WhatNewSoftware 7y ago
  How about something specific to Amazon? Obviously those are all good, re David/Goliath. But in my experience investors dont think along those lines as much.
  - byoung2 7y ago
    You can hit Amazon with niche categories. For example they have shoes and clothing, but there is no "Amazon for nurses scrubs or school uniforms" or other niche categories. They also do not serve many countries (e.g. Philippines). A startup that served these needs would not have Amazon as a competitor at all.
    - greenyoda 7y ago
      Out of curiosity, I just searched Amazon for "school uniforms" and there's a lot of stuff there. (Makes sense, since there are millions of kids in private and parochial schools - it's a big market.) Even if you manage to find a retail category that Amazon is not currently involved in, you might wake up tomorrow to find that they've suddenly become your competitor.
      - byoung2 7y ago
        You have found a category that Anazon serves, but does not serve well. I buy nearly everything on Amazon but I still have to buy her uniforms in person (each school has a specific color scheme, plaid pattern, collar style, etc.). My wife still buys her nurse scrubs from a guy who comes around the hospital and only takes cash. These are things you just can't get easily on Amazon, even though it looks like they have that category covered. Also, you could compete with Amazon on any category just by having a bigger selection of same day delivery in some niche.
bdcravens 7y ago
The biggest issues I see Amazon's e-commerce operation having are discoverability of products, and quality of products (namely counterfeits and used products being sold as new via FBA)
rajacombinator 7y ago
AWS is pretty expensive. Might be possible for a tech driven company to cut out all the MBA types and undercut them on price.
- dmlittle 7y ago
  I would be very hesitant to use a new hosting service for anything business critical or sensitive. I don’t know how well they will operate nor the security of my data. AWS/GCP/Azure/etc. do a lot to physically secure your data.
- scarface74 7y ago
  Have you looked to see all AWS offers? If you just want VM hosting, their are plenty of cheaper offerings - including from AWS - Lightsail.
rubinelli 7y ago
One issue that has been mentioned multiple times on Hacker News is that, in some categories, it is almost impossible to find good products: https://www.vox.com/2019/2/28/18168354/amazon-marketplace-prime-counterfeit-goods-fake-reviews https://www.vox.com/2019/2/28/18168354/amazon-marketplace-pr...
mstaoru 7y ago
BigCo problems: slower decision speed, dehumanized support, limited social presence, volume requirements w/ supplier side, draconian terms, data collection and privacy issues... Marketplace problems: limited control over 3rd party suppliers, fake products, lack of accountability for indirect damages... Volume problems: fake reviews, hard to find specific niche products, lack of product details, standardized photos...
QueensGambit 7y ago
I think their biggest weakness is their relationship with sellers. Sellers hate Amazon because their livelihood is dependent of Amazon's ever changing policies and bans. This is why most of them have a Shopify store and hope to create a brand on their own. But, they haven't succeeded yet. If you can provide a credible alternative for these sellers, there will be a stampede of sellers out of Amazon.
Nextgrid 7y ago
Lack of curation. I would personally be happy to pay extra for a marketplace with a limited set of products that have been tested & vouched for, instead of Amazon's Wild West full of Chinese no-name fly-by-night brands.
segmondy 7y ago
Amazon's weakness is that they're big. Big like an Elephant, do you know why Elephants are scared of mouse? Because they are small and fast. Read "Innovator's Dilemma"

gregjor 7y ago

No dark mode on their ecommerce website, or in the AWS console. Seems like a critical weakness.

WhatNewSoftware 7y ago
Sorry what is "dark mode" and why is this important?
- non-entity 7y ago
  They're referring to a (default?) dark color scheme on the web products, to make it better on the eye with better contrast.
  - WhatNewSoftware 7y ago
    Not really what I'm asking but OK... I doubt a lacking of a color scheme is going to add much to your competitive analysis.
    - jklein11 7y ago
      Of course you doubt it Jeff, that’s why you don’t see it coming.
      - Blakestr 7y ago
        I think a wood grain texture would be the right choice
    - gregjor 7y ago
      Your humor detector got turned off, I think. In lieu of any actual progress dark mode got hyped in many products recently as an important new feature.
      - gregjor 7y ago
        https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&query=%22dark%20mode%22&sort=byPopularity&type=story https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...

byoung2 7y ago

The same weaknesses that come up when you make any David/Goliath comparison. They are big, and slow to react, so you can hit them with speed and agility. Think early 90's when MicroSoft was slow to move to the web while tiny startups ate their lunch. Amazon will be hesitant to make major changes because they don't want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

WhatNewSoftware 7y ago
How about something specific to Amazon? Obviously those are all good, re David/Goliath. But in my experience investors dont think along those lines as much.
- byoung2 7y ago
  You can hit Amazon with niche categories. For example they have shoes and clothing, but there is no "Amazon for nurses scrubs or school uniforms" or other niche categories. They also do not serve many countries (e.g. Philippines). A startup that served these needs would not have Amazon as a competitor at all.
  - greenyoda 7y ago
    Out of curiosity, I just searched Amazon for "school uniforms" and there's a lot of stuff there. (Makes sense, since there are millions of kids in private and parochial schools - it's a big market.) Even if you manage to find a retail category that Amazon is not currently involved in, you might wake up tomorrow to find that they've suddenly become your competitor.
    - byoung2 7y ago
      You have found a category that Anazon serves, but does not serve well. I buy nearly everything on Amazon but I still have to buy her uniforms in person (each school has a specific color scheme, plaid pattern, collar style, etc.). My wife still buys her nurse scrubs from a guy who comes around the hospital and only takes cash. These are things you just can't get easily on Amazon, even though it looks like they have that category covered. Also, you could compete with Amazon on any category just by having a bigger selection of same day delivery in some niche.

bdcravens 7y ago

The biggest issues I see Amazon's e-commerce operation having are discoverability of products, and quality of products (namely counterfeits and used products being sold as new via FBA)

rajacombinator 7y ago

AWS is pretty expensive. Might be possible for a tech driven company to cut out all the MBA types and undercut them on price.

dmlittle 7y ago
I would be very hesitant to use a new hosting service for anything business critical or sensitive. I don’t know how well they will operate nor the security of my data. AWS/GCP/Azure/etc. do a lot to physically secure your data.
scarface74 7y ago
Have you looked to see all AWS offers? If you just want VM hosting, their are plenty of cheaper offerings - including from AWS - Lightsail.

rubinelli 7y ago

One issue that has been mentioned multiple times on Hacker News is that, in some categories, it is almost impossible to find good products: https://www.vox.com/2019/2/28/18168354/amazon-marketplace-prime-counterfeit-goods-fake-reviews https://www.vox.com/2019/2/28/18168354/amazon-marketplace-pr...

mstaoru 7y ago

BigCo problems: slower decision speed, dehumanized support, limited social presence, volume requirements w/ supplier side, draconian terms, data collection and privacy issues... Marketplace problems: limited control over 3rd party suppliers, fake products, lack of accountability for indirect damages... Volume problems: fake reviews, hard to find specific niche products, lack of product details, standardized photos...

QueensGambit 7y ago

I think their biggest weakness is their relationship with sellers. Sellers hate Amazon because their livelihood is dependent of Amazon's ever changing policies and bans. This is why most of them have a Shopify store and hope to create a brand on their own. But, they haven't succeeded yet. If you can provide a credible alternative for these sellers, there will be a stampede of sellers out of Amazon.

Nextgrid 7y ago

Lack of curation. I would personally be happy to pay extra for a marketplace with a limited set of products that have been tested & vouched for, instead of Amazon's Wild West full of Chinese no-name fly-by-night brands.

segmondy 7y ago

Amazon's weakness is that they're big. Big like an Elephant, do you know why Elephants are scared of mouse? Because they are small and fast. Read "Innovator's Dilemma"