Product Diversification
As noted, I work for Alibris, an online media exchange for books, music and movies. There's a pretty obvious Big Boy in the online book business, something about a big river in South America or something. But Amazon is, of course, much more than just books these days. It's been obvious for awhile, but a gander at this posting really drove that home for me.
This post sums up what the most expensive items in each category are for Amazon. I'll reprint a few of the more interesting ones below, though the article is worth reading in its entirety.
But what really struck me was not the prices - it was HOW MANY CATEGORIES Amazon now has. I'd seen it a bit more visually, but laid out in black and white like this, it's somewhat stunning.
By my count, Amazon has 33 product categories. Wow.
Books: Super Bowl Opus MVP Edition (Leather Bound), $40,000 (with free shipping!). The second-most expensive “book” is a $12,000 collection of 201 psychology books.
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Audio-Video Electronics: A grandfather clock for $12,463.50. You were expecting a big TV? You’re wondering why a grandfather clock is Audio-Video Electronics? How about that.
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Musical Instruments: Gulbransen Bottle Organ, $33,150. Now that’s the kind of thing I want to see as the most expensive thing in a category! The runners-up here are big outdoor searchlights, like you’d expect at a theatre opening, and a $17,500 violin-playing robot.
Good stuff.