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View Full Version : Who's the Best Company Amazon or Apple?



nophin
09-30-2011, 01:35 PM
After this statement by the CEO of Amazon Jeff Bezos on the home page of Amazon's website I'm going to have to say Amazon.

"There are two types of companies: those that work hard to charge customers more, and those that work hard to charge customers less. Both approaches can work. We are firmly in the second camp."

Tablets for 199.00 just before Christmas genius. Can you imagine how may kids now can get an affordable tablets. Kindles for 79.00 great move Amazon. Now all they need is a mobile phone, but I don't think they want to deal with the greedy mobile carriers.

vangogh
10-03-2011, 11:24 AM
I think both companies are good. I don't think the quote you mention makes Amazon better though. It's really just a bit of marketing and it's based on how the two companies do business.

Amazon makes its money selling books and music and movies, etc. They create a device like the Kindle or Kindle Fire not to make money on the device, but to give you an easy way to connect to their store and buy good from them. They give away the razor in order to sell more blade.

Apple makes its money on the device. They also sell music and apps, etc, but use those more as a way to entice you to buy their device. Apple sells the razor. They don't work to charge customers more as the Amazon statement implies. They work to continue to make a better device at the same sales point.

Where tablets are concerned Amazon is going to think price first and is going to do what they can to keep their own cost down. That does mean their tablet will do less and it likely means they'll use cheaper parts to build it. Apple on the other hand is thinking about how much value they can put into the device. Their tablet will do more and have better parts and construction.

I think both are viable ways to build a tablet. They're just different approaches to reach different people. I actually prefer Apple's way because I'm more concerned with the value I'll get from the device than I am the absolute cost of the device. I'm fine with paying more for something I think better and something I think will provide more value for me.

Both companies are great companies. They just have different ways of doing things based on their own strengths.

Spider
10-03-2011, 01:34 PM
Better for what?

As I write this, Apple shares are selling for $376 and its P/E ratio is 15
Amazon shares are selling for $212 and its P/E ratio is 94

Apple shares are 1/6 the price of Amazon. Is Amazon worth 6 times what Apple is worth?

If you own the shares, Amazon is clearly the better company, in the opinion of Wall Street, but if you are considering buying shares, Apple is the better value, at this price.

scottish
10-13-2011, 04:11 AM
Yeah, I think amazon's "save the customer money" philosophy is the better one. I like apple stuff but it's horribly over priced.

vangogh
10-13-2011, 11:59 AM
I think give the customer more value for the price is the better philosophy. Cheaper doesn't mean better. It just means cheaper and often only in the short term. A lot of products priced higher outlast cheaper products in the category meaning you have to buy replacements less frequently. Sometimes the more expensive product is actually the less expensive one when you consider the lifetime of the product.


but it's horribly over priced

And yet both of my Mac laptops cost considerably less the the Dell laptops I owned before them with equivalent specs. The iPhone costs about the same as other high end smart phones and the iPad has actually cost less than most tablets that have hit the market.

Diego
10-26-2011, 07:42 AM
I donīt know how Apple remunerates its employees, but Amazon ist not know for good wages. Of course they can charge less with that philosophy, but does that make them a better company?

vangogh
10-26-2011, 11:58 AM
I think a lot more than price determines which company is the better company. I happen to like both Apple and Amazon and they do have different philosophies and strategies behind each company. I still prefer Apple's way. Each of the products I buy from them delights me and surprises me in some way. They all tend to do more than I expected and I always feel like a lot of care went into their creation. I don't mind paying a premium because even at the premium price I expect I'll get more value in return for the price I pay.

Amazon offers convenience and a good price. I appreciate the system they've built to allow others to share thoughts on products. If I'm looking to buy something that's going to be available in several places, Amazon is going to be one of my first stops. However it's still to buy someone else's products and that sense of delight isn't there. I do feel like I get more value than what I pay, but not to the same degree as I feel from Apple even though Apple might be charging more money.

claudiusjaeger
11-01-2011, 05:34 PM
Gee, Apple introduced songs for 99 cents, in an era of $15 CDs. I think Apple has been more innovative

melanie
11-09-2011, 12:02 PM
I think Vangogh sums it up really. Both are brilliant at what THEY do. They are both completely different businesses with different products, customers, etc so how can we compare?

vangogh
11-09-2011, 06:18 PM
Exactly. They aren't the same company and they appeal to different markets. Like I said at the start I like both and buy from both and plan on continuing.