Let's assume for a moment that each of us, as individuals are really the best channel or distribution point for purchases by the members of our network.

If that's the case, each of us will need a 'storefront' and a 'back-end processing system' to manage the business side of our sales.

I think there's an Internet turf war going on, in this regard, between eBay and Amazon.

And, my hunch, admittedly based on very limited data is that Amazon is winning.

Both have 'destination sites,' we know that, but I think Amazon is really digging deep to make it easy for people to employ a distributed channel strategy.

As a member of Amazon Associates, I can quickly go to the Amazon site, add a product to my store, get the code and embed it in my own blog or wherever.

On top of that, I recently purchased a Card Scanner on Amazon and had the following exchange with the seller, Richard at Windmill Trading:

I'm actually moving from eBay to my OWN site and Amazon, but of course can not utilize Amazon's message system to make THAT statement! :)

I'm not moving away from eBay because of the buyers, but rather because of eBay management the the direction they've taken the site over the last year.

They're making it ever-more impossible for a seller to make a decent profit, and while Amazon is actually more expensive for a seller (on Amazon I make about half the profit on this item compared to eBay), I believe that in the long run Amazon is going to better than eBay. Much better.

Owning the "long tail" of commerce for a hyper/super-distribution strategy is going to be profitable. Particularly if Community Driven Marketing is at the core of your strategy.

It'll be interesting for all of us to watch how this one plays out.

 

Now Playing: John Lee Hooker - Box Full Of Blues - I Like To See You Walk %AmazonAlbumUrl%

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