20 Things I Hate About Amazon

By AnnaLisa Kraft - September 25, 2012 | Tickers: AMZN, AAPL, GOOG | 0 Comments

• Email
• Print

There are twenty things I hate about Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN).

1. I hate that the media keeps reporting the reviews on the Kindle Fire HD tablet were “tepid.” Read the actual reviews.
2. I hate that astronomical P/E at 313.61. (Although the forward P/E is 109.56.)
3. I hate that Wal-Mart won’t carry Amazon products anymore. Cowards.
4. I hate that I missed that move up from the $180’s to $230 after the Q1 earnings last spring with sales up 34%.
5. I hate that I have so many books on my Kindle that there’ll never be enough time to read them. It's like the ”The Twilight Zone” episode called “Time Enough at Last “where the bookish teller finally has enough time to read all the books he ever wanted after a nuclear war and then (spoiler alert!) breaks his reading glasses.
6. I hate that my daughter ever heard of Amazon's Zappos’ shoe and clothing store. Yes, so many shoes, so little money is how she justifies it .
7. I hate that anyone can self-publish on Kindle. It’s great for authors who receive a much higher percentage for their book sales but for the love of God, please hire a destitute English major to edit your book.
8. I do hate that you have to pay extra to get ads taken off the new Fire.
9. I hate that the next time I move I’ll have 20 less boxes of books to schlep. Not.
10. I hate that my daughter’s college can’t offer all her textbooks as e-books yet. At least I’ve saved over 50% by buying them on Amazon.
11. I hate that I don’t have to brave Wal-Mart on Black Friday. Again, NOT. I’m not the only one, e-commerce is expected to grow by double digits again this holiday season.
12. I hate that next-day shipping isn’t where I live yet. I can’t wait!
13. I hate that the new Fire has X-Ray for movies and TV shows. It’s always so pleasant to have the actors’ names and filmographies just on the tip of your tongue and remembering them two days later.
14. I hate that Amazon allows me to indulge my latent agoraphobic tendencies. And now they have the nerve to deliver my groceries.
15. I hate that every year Amazon announces it was the best holiday season ever. Let’s ramp up the hyperbole a little—it was the most amazingest, superlativest, fanatsticest holiday season ever.
16. I hate that CEO Jeff Bezos said the new Fire was the best tablet out there. Reporters called him crazy. Crazy like a fox, I’d say. A CEO should believe in his products.
17. I hate the Amazon mission statement,”To be Earth’s most customer-centric company.” I think Pluto was already feeling left out and now this.
18. I hate that Google’s motto, “Don’t be evil.” is a little cooler. But Amazon’s logo is right on the money.
19. I hate that Amazon makes it easy for people to make money on Amazon in this no job growth economy.
20. I hate that I know the UPS guy’s name and not my librarian’s. It used to be the other way around. I think that’s sad but I can get any book I want from from Amazon whether it's actual paper or from the Kindle Store. I can even read for free from the Kindle Lending Library.

OK, you do realize this is tongue-in-cheek, I hope. I don’t really hate Amazon. I actually think their foray into creating content in collaboration with Warner Brothers Pictures is very promising. The Amazon website is still the most visited website out there. And the reverse razor and blade model that CEO Bezos has repeatedly told the media is the Amazon strategy will lure people into buying content.

Yes, the P/E of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is much, much lower at 16.53 and Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) at 21.76 is also but Cantor Fitzgerald just rated Amazon a buy. Right now, it’s all about the tablet wars and the new Fire HD rated favorably against the Google Nexus 7 in reviews by major tech writers. In some cases they preferred the Fire for consuming film and book content to the iPad.

Sales of the Fire could be compromised by an iPad mini but only if Apple is willing to sacrifice margins to bring the price point down. If that happens however, share price could be affected adversely, to say the least. Otherwise I think the Fire will compete successfully against the Google tablet this holiday season.

Apple and Google both hit all-time highs on September 21. Then on September 24 Google went even higher while Apple sold off on less than expected iPhone 5 sales.

Actually, I like all three names but I think Amazon is at an earlier place in their growth trajectory than Google or Apple, thus the P/E dilemma. Like David Pogue of The New York Times wrote in his review of the Fire,”It’s not a disappointment. It's really not!."  I don't hate Amazon. I really don't!

Interested in Additional Analysis?

If you’re an investor in retail stocks, you have to look at Amazon.com, the company intent on disrupting the entire sector. Whether you’re researching Amazon itself or one of the companies it's taking sales from, you need to understand the company and its prospects. That's why the Fool has created a new premium report on Amazon, sharing everything investors must know. The report also has you covered with a full year of updates, so click here now to get started.

• Email
• Print
• Feedback