What if Amazon Were to Go Bankrupt?

I heard this morning that Amazon's earnings are way down, but that the stockholders don't care about the loss of profit. I'll bet Jeff B. does, though, and I doubt if he's willing to work for nothing. But what if Amazon were to fail?

Would it be too late for the bookstores that Amazon put out of business to come back? Would other online retailers have a fair shot again?

What about all the websites and affiliates who make a living or at least something from their promotion of Amazon products?

The implication in what I heard is that because of this report, Amazon is being praised because it serves now as an example of a corporation that has a heart and gives customers what they want at low prices instead of being very concerned about profit. Supposedly this glorious corporation does not exploit its customers like that greedy Walmart does. I notice nothing was said about Amazon's working conditions or the exploitation of third party sellers -- the ones from whom Amazon gets the most.

What's your take on all this? Some of it?

Comments: 19

Ms Lee P. Jan 30, 2013, 3:47pm UTC

Interesting.

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Nora D. Jan 30, 2013, 4:17pm UTC

OMG, I've not heard anything like that.....however, I did notice that Amazon stock is way, way up.....to $270 a share.....I'd commented to the guys that I should have gotten smart long ago and bought stock in Amazon, since our son and I shop there soooooo much! I just can't imagine Amazon ever going out...it's a great place to shop, with really good customer service.

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 4:33pm UTC

It's not quite as good for employees and third party sellers. I understand they are finally getting A/C warehouses in the hot areas where they used to have to keep ambulances parked to take the employees who got heat stroke rushing to fill orders in the heat to the hospitals for treatment.

Nora D. Jan 30, 2013, 4:44pm UTC

OMG..........honestly, I'd never heard anything about that......if anything, it's always Wal-mart that I'd heard so many, many things about, but never Amazon. Maybe we should have second thoughts about shopping there anymore?? Thanks for sharing all this info!

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 6:51pm UTC

This was in the news several months to a year ago.

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Marsha C. Jan 30, 2013, 5:38pm UTC

I can't even imagine that amazon would ever go bankrupt, or out of business...they are just too big.

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 6:53pm UTC

Don't get me wrong. They aren't there yet. Even so, is anyone too big to fail? Oh, wait. Maybe the government can save them. Or maybe not. I don't think they were unionized last I heard.

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Trudy O. Jan 30, 2013, 5:42pm UTC

Very very interesting!!

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 6:55pm UTC

I'm not saying they are on the verge of bankruptcy. I'm just wondering how long they can keep their shareholders happy when they aren't making money. As Nora said, their stock price is up, even as their profits are down. That's kind of an unusual situation.

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John S. (arizona) Jan 30, 2013, 7:03pm UTC

I haven't heard about this, but wouldn't be surprised if business was down due to economic reasons overall. I read earlier the whole country GDP shrank slightly (negative growth) last quarter, so they wouldn't be alone I should think. I really like Amazon, and have always had good service and fast results from them on things I've ordered on their website... some good info there too.

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 9:32pm UTC

I think business is down. It sure is for me. I haven't bought a thing yet this year. One of my suppliers called this morning to find out why, and I said I still have a lot of unsold inventory just sitting here. She said business is down for them, too, since I'm not the only of their retailers who is seeing this slowdown.

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Larry H. Jan 30, 2013, 7:29pm UTC

thanks for sharing

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 9:32pm UTC

Thanks for so faithfully reading and looking at my posts and commenting, Larry. I appreciate it.

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William M. Jan 30, 2013, 8:51pm UTC

We will wait and see. They can sure save time and money sometimes.

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 9:36pm UTC

True, but it still pays to compare prices. Out of print books can be cheaper and still get to you quickly from independent booksellers such as those at tomfolio.com. Many Amazon third party sellers are not professional booksellers and may up the price of a common book that's worth $5 -$10 to a ridiculous price like $50 must because they don't see another one like it on Amazon. That might be because it's so common it's not worth the time of other sellers to list it when Amazon's fees for sellers are so high.

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Rebecca P. Jan 30, 2013, 9:29pm UTC

I can't imagine amazon going bankrupt. They're too big and their sales are still high

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 30, 2013, 9:36pm UTC

i can remember some banks and insurance companies that were too big to fail, too.

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Heather - child of God, C. Jan 30, 2013, 10:15pm UTC

Thanks Barbara, I hadn't heard.

Barbara Radisavljevic Jan 31, 2013, 12:24am UTC

Don't misunderstand. Amazon is still very much alive. I was just doing some wondering aloud here.

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What if Amazon Were to Go Bankrupt?

Comments: 19

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