Love your thoughts Chris, allow me to comment on s...

2010-05-25T19:10:00.559-07:00

Love your thoughts Chris, allow me to comment on some things that stuck out.

1. $1B companies making $1.6M mistakes is not common. A company like Zappos (with the resources of Amazon) can shrug it off, but a $1.6M screw up is still a MAJOR SCREW-UP no matter how big your company is. These things simply don't happen on a regular basis, and it is BIG NEWS when it happens (especially with a high-profile company like Zappos).

2. I believe that Zappos has been CFP for at least 3-4 years. "Technically" being profitable is a very fuzzy line to walk. Enron (and many others) proved that long ago. Creative accounting can move profits to losses and vice versa. I don't believe Amazon would have paid $1.2B for a company that was losing money. Maybe, but I doubt it...especially in the current economy.

3. I love your reference to Cialdini's book. One of my favorites. Love love love that book.

4. This is perhaps the most brilliant $1.6 million dollar marketing campaign ever created. Did they do it on purpose? Probably not, but they couldn't have spent it in any better way.

Keep up the great posts, I always enjoy them.

Good point Chris! The truth is, there is a handful...

2010-05-24T23:42:29.271-07:00

Good point Chris! The truth is, there is a handful of people who can get into the consumers mindset 10x deeper than the rest of us. And once there, they trust their gut and go for it!

Venture Capitalist Fred Wilson (http://avc.com) wrote last week that one of the best questions from a Google I/O panel was "What is the biggest no-no for a start-up?" The answer is Fear. It is quite apparent that neither Jeff Bezos or Tony Hsueh let fear influence their decisions when doing what's right.

Comments on Read Chris: Zappos and the Age of Reciprocity

Love your thoughts Chris, allow me to comment on s...

Good point Chris! The truth is, there is a handful...