Amazon: Competition or Partner?, By Ron Kustek

FEATURED COLUMNIST

Amazon: Competition or Partner?

By Ron Kustek

Your small business may be considering selling your products through Amazon.

After all, Amazon is the world’s #1 online retailer and 3rd largest retailer - closing in on Walmart. Amazon is regularly in the news -- from their purchase of Whole Foods in August of 2017 followed by Ring systems, MGM studios and most recently, the Roomba robotics company.

Questions about how big they can get are swirling in Congress, so before you consider a partnership with Amazon, there may be a few things worthy of your consideration.

If you have a local store where you support the local community, your supportive customers may end up finding your products for sale on Amazon, and then potentially shop less frequently at your physical location. It’s likely that your current storefront also employs a number of people who depend on the sales from your business for their livelihood. As so many people use Amazon for their online purchases, you may end up trading out a portion of sales from your local physical store when selling online through Amazon. If there are shipping or product quality issues, your local customers may choose to bring the product back to your store to address the problem, and it will be up to you to determine if Amazon may have caused the damage to your item if they used faulty handling or packaging in their shipping. But it goes a bit further than that. You see, Amazon is a data-driven company, and the wealth of information they have about the person who buys your product online is likely better information about your customer than you have.

Amazon can cross-reference every purchase that person makes and be able to generate a profile of that customer, all for the benefit of Amazon. If another seller on Amazon sells a similar product for less than you do, then Amazon will likely promote that seller’s item to the customer, so that the customer feels they are getting a better deal on a similar product, all thanks to their friends at Amazon who are looking out for them by providing the lowest cost options available.

Amazon is also entering ‘brick & mortar’ retail, with their 4,000 square foot mini-variety store in New York featuring products chosen by Amazon, and only those that have obtained a minimum 4-star rating on Amazon. Products range from kitchen appliances to books, gifts, toys, and of course, Alexa-enabled devices. Oh yes, there are also products from Amazon Basics.

Remember we said Amazon is a datadriven company? Well, Amazon Basics are all Amazon-branded products ‘made’ by Amazon and only sold by Amazon.

So, if your company created and sold a coffee press on Amazon that people loved, it’s likely that Amazon analyzed all your reviews, including the improvements that customers may have wanted — and then created a coffee press of their own, with the improvements — in order to have their brand and product sell better than yours — both in the store and on the Amazon website!

It’s also likely they are able to sell their ‘Amazon Basics’ coffee press for less than you can make and ship it to an Amazon warehouse — and also likely their ‘Amazon Basics’ item includes Alexa as an added feature!

Amazon is an amazing online sales platform that expands your online distribution opportunities — as well as being everyone’s competitor.

Amazon is a great business that benefits Amazon — even if in the short-run they are able to help you expand the sales of your business.

It can be a worthwhile ‘partner’ — but be sure you are working with experts who know how Amazon operates, so you don’t find yourself fully dependent upon their company for the existence of yours. n

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Ron Kustek is a former senior executive at The Coca-Cola Company and small business entrepreneur currently teaching at Cabrillo College. Email him at rokustek@cabrillo.edu.

“Rental Fuel” from page 22

Why take vacation photos of your car? Because your rental car company probably won’t. If it finds damage to your vehicle, it will hold you liable. By the way, if you find a ding, dent or scratch on your car when you pick it up, make sure it’s documented in your paperwork. Or better yet, ask for a different vehicle.

Some car rental companies have started to take pre- and post-rental images of their vehicles. Andy Abramson, a frequent business traveler, rented several cars in Europe this spring. Some companies have new scanning equipment that captures an image of your vehicle before you leave and when you return.

“Using artificial intelligence, they compare the photos to detect scratches, dings, dents and other damage to the car’s body and windscreen,” says Abramson, who runs a communications firm in Los Angeles.

Renters tend to forget that car rental companies charge hefty fees for additional drivers. For example, Hertz charges $13.50 per day, a maximum of $189 per rental, for each additional driver. Julie Demaret, a director at the car rental firm Rhinocarhire, says you need to think about the extra driver before you rent.

“If you want to share the driving, try to find an offer with a free additional driver,” she says. “It’s always cheaper to book beforehand than on arrival.”

And look out for upsells. For example, insurance can add $20 or more per day to the cost of your rental. But you can get car rental coverage for about half that from a traditional travel insurance company. Allianz Travel Insurance has a product called Rental Car Damage Protector for $11 a day.

The insurance site iCarhireinsurance. com, which is operated by Halo Insurance, even sells a policy that covers you up to $1,200 for misfueling your car.

Make sure you understand the tricks of the trade, too. Car rental companies get busy during the summer. Nicole Gustas, a frequent traveler from Boston, couldn’t find a rental car in Los Angeles recently, so she used a strategy that became popular last summer: She rented a U-Haul truck for two days. Then she found an SUV through Enterprise at a remote, off-airport location.

“We wanted an economy car,” says Gustas, a marketing director for an insurance company. “But beggars can’t be choosers.”

She used another strategy to keep her car: The ability to extend her rental until the end of her trip, an option that many rental car customers don’t realize they have. Enterprise allowed her to do that, which solved her ground transportation problems.

Following the basic rules of car rental etiquette is particularly important now, not only because car rental companies have gotten stricter about adding cleaning fees for vehicles left dirty, but also because the continuing car rental shortage has resulted in fleets that are older than they’ve been in years.

“Etiquette is all about being mindful of other people, which certainly includes being mindful of the person who is going to be renting the car after you,” says Nick Leighton, an etiquette expert and co-host of the weekly podcast “Were You Raised By Wolves?”

Leighton says it comes down to common courtesy. Don’t smoke in your car. Clean up after yourself. “And if something breaks or isn’t working right, let the rental company know when you return the vehicle. Don’t let the next renter discover the USB outlet has been flooded by root beer and needs to be fixed,” he says.

Perhaps the biggest mistake you can make when it comes to your rental car is underestimating your budget.

“Be prepared to spend money,” warns Robert Walden, editor in chief of VehicleFreak.com, a car maintenance site. “Due to shrinking fleets, deferred maintenance on vehicles and many other factors, rental cars are at a premium today.”

Walden says higher prices aren’t the only thing to worry about. Vehicles will be in short supply, a sequel to last summer’s car rental shortage. That means some of us won’t even have the chance to make these common car rental mistakes. n •••

Christopher Elliott is the chief advocacy officer for Elliott Advocacy and publisher of the consumer newsletter Elliott Confidential. Email him at chris@elliott.org or get help with any consumer problem by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help. This story originally appeared in the Washington Post. © 2022 Christopher Elliott.