View Full Version : A weak endorsement?
A recent comment from Bezos on Segway:
quote:“[The product] probably will be useful… it’s a genine innovation. I’ve been riding his early models and I can guarantee it’s fun and genuinely interesting. It’s gyro stablised, and it’s an unusual feeling when you’re not used to standing on it.”
http://www.internet-magazine.com/news/view.asp?id=2792
Bezos does claim credit with the redesigning though!
Brooster
10-07-2002, 01:15 PM
Interesting ... why is he riding the early models?
Brooster
ftropea
10-07-2002, 06:01 PM
Yeah, sounds pretty weak. Could it be Bezos hasn't gotten the financial "IN" he was hoping for? Perhaps he got edged out by other VCs and never saw a second round offer. Who knows how these business deal works.. but that Amazon letter was a little suspicious, although I think in the end - a net positive since it essentially spammed all those people who signed up about "Ginger" and let them know it's now called "Segway-HT" :)
Regards,
Frank A. Tropea
Amazon has not been selected as a distributor so far. Could that be the reason for Bezos lukewarm recommendation of Segway? They certainly have been capitalizing on the attention paid to Segway!
Blinky
10-07-2002, 08:16 PM
quote:Yeah, sounds pretty weak. Could it be Bezos hasn't gotten the financial "IN" he was hoping for? Perhaps he got edged out by other VCs and never saw a second round offer. Who knows how these business deal works.. but that Amazon letter was a little suspicious, although I think in the end - a net positive since it essentially spammed all those people who signed up about "Ginger" and let them know it's now called "Segway-HT" :)
Frank A. Tropea
Absolutely right. The conflict could also be in the marketing strategy of Segway. They might not want to sell their machine on Amazon. Not to knock Amazon is any way of course. Maybe they don't like the 'look' or 'feel' of Amazon.
Segway might be taking a more old fashioned approach at this. Like the way they sell cars. Maybe alot of television Ads and radio.
Only Segway knows how they are going to go about attracting/advertising the public.
Casey
10-07-2002, 08:38 PM
Amazon is a mail order company. To me Segway is not a mail order device. Transportation devices need to be seen and ridden or driven to know which one suits your needs. Mail order does not allow the luxury of testing them.
Brooster
10-07-2002, 08:54 PM
quote:Originally posted by Casey
Amazon is a mail order company. To me Segway is not a mail order device. Transportation devices need to be seen and ridden or driven to know which one suits your needs. Mail order does not allow the luxury of testing them.
Yeah, I agree ... but once Segway opens their online "Segway Store" (and we know that's their intention, from the errant "test" e-mail that went out), it'll essentially be the same thing.
A worldwide network of local dealerships (or as 4Seg says, "resellers") would make more sense to me. I understand that such distribution networks don't just appear overnight, however ...
Brooster
ziggystardust_
10-08-2002, 09:21 AM
How's this for a distribution idea that could reduce costs with a JIT process? When Segway consumer comes out, rather than stock Segway stores with hundreds of Segways and wait/hope for consumers to come in and buy, what if Segway kept a handleful of training models in each Segway 'outlet'. People would come in, choose the accessories that they want and then go through a test drive on an indoor or outdoor track (both to test out the machine as well as to give Segway reps a little peace of mind that the customer has had at least some training on it). Once the customer has decided to buy he fills out a PO (purchase order), gives a credit card number, the order is automatically retrieved via computer network at the manufacturing plant, the machine is built and shipped to the address that the customer supplied.
Much easier, keeps inventory to a minimum, need less square footage for retail outlets (could even have them in malls, etc.).
I think the Amazon hesitance points to the fact that, from a safety and liability standpoint, they just don't want people randomly buying these if they've never even been on one. The testing retail outlets allow them to at least get on and ride for a while before they have the unit shipped to them.
The Zigman
I like your distribution idea Ziggy. I would also suggest that the distributors hold manditory courses for the customer before the customer gets to order. The distruber could verify that the customer has completed the course when the purchse order is sent to the manufacturer.
ziggystardust_
10-08-2002, 11:16 AM
quote:Originally posted by Lawrence
I like your distribution idea Ziggy. I would also suggest that the distributors hold manditory courses for the customer before the customer gets to order. The distruber could verify that the customer has completed the course when the purchse order is sent to the manufacturer.
absolutely. some kind of certification of completion. Of course that won't stop the person that buys it from letting his friends and family hop on and ride, but Segway can only do so much to make sure people's riding experience is safe.
Ziggy writes:
quote:absolutely. some kind of certification of completion. Of course that won't stop the person that buys it from letting his friends and family hop on and ride, but Segway can only do so much to make sure people's riding experience is safe.
Since the owner owns the starterkeys, the owner could be held responsible for any injury occuring due to the Segway. That would make anyone think twice as to who would be allowed to borrow the machine.
As for Bezos recent statements, I am surprised that he never adressed the quotes attributed to him by Kemper. Wasnt it Bezos who predicted that Kamen would be Time's man of the year?
ziggystardust_
10-08-2002, 01:20 PM
quote:Originally posted by Lawrence
Ziggy writes:
quote:absolutely. some kind of certification of completion. Of course that won't stop the person that buys it from letting his friends and family hop on and ride, but Segway can only do so much to make sure people's riding experience is safe.
Since the owner owns the starterkeys, the owner could be held responsible for any injury occuring due to the Segway. That would make anyone think twice as to who would be allowed to borrow the machine.
As for Bezos recent statements, I am surprised that he never adressed the quotes attributed to him by Kemper. Wasnt it Bezos who predicted that Kamen would be Time's man of the year?
I think that, given a different global economy, Kamen could have done much better with this business. As much as I really hate to use 9/11 as a scapegoat for corporate problems, I think what happened to corporate spending after that date (as well as when the .com bubble burst in 2000) made the world a difficult place for Segway to succeed in. Plus that fact that Segway's most important prospect, USPS, saw a huge drop in revenue and total mail volume after the anthrax scare didn't help matters either. The timing was unforseeably bad and any purchase that isn't seen as quasi-mission critical is being put on corporate spending backburners.
The Zigman
Lawrence, this reminds me of a movie on PBS the other night. It was a documentary film by fellow New Hampshirite Ken Burns, who has done superb works such as "The Civil War". This one was on another American genius, and someone who reminds me of Kamen in many ways, architect Frank Lloyd Wright(also one of my early heroes).
I could write for an hour on the subject, but two quick stories will suffice. They interviewed another famous American architect numerous times in the story; Phillip Johnson. At one point he was talking about the unbelieveble creativity and genius of Wright, and he paused and said, "Of course, I hated him". We could see some of the same understated jealousy in the Bezos statement.
Like Kamen, Wright was famous for his bragging, and was very controversial for many reasons. Once he was in court, on one of his many appearances for bad debts. The judge looked at the profile Wright had written for himself that the court requested, and said to Wright:
"Mr. Wright, you describe yourself here as the greatest architect in the history of the world?"
Wright Replied:
"But your honor, you DID say I was under oath!"
quote:"But your honor, you DID say I was under oath!"
That gave me a chuckle... Wright had to tell the truth as he believed it!
As far as Bezos being jelous of Kamen, it is possible. Bezos did take credit for helping to improve on the early models. Segay LLC did make public that Amazon was using the publicity that Segway has received to attract attention to its site. Possibly, Segway and Amazon were at some point trying to work out a distribution deal that didn't pan out. By stating that Amazon did not have a distribution agreement for Segways, it made Amazon and Bezos look bad. But this is all rather speculative. Maybe Bezos really believes that Segway is not such a big deal. He has after all said a while back that Segway is the most overhyped product in history.
JohnM
10-09-2002, 02:27 PM
Look at it this way:
A weak endorsement from someone not trying to sell you the product is more believable than a glowing endorsement from someone who will profit from the sale of that product.
That makes it doubly bad. Bezos was trying to sell us the product via Amazon!
JohnM
10-09-2002, 09:13 PM
Lawrence,
In the future, will you please refrain from editing my postings.
JohnM
Casey
10-10-2002, 01:51 PM
John, I saw that post before the "edit", and I don't see anything different. What was there that was changed?
quote:In the future, will you please refrain from editing my postings.
I am not aware of having done any editing of anybody's post to date. It is not inconceivable that I mistakenly edited a posting instead of a quote of a posting. I am new as moderator. What was edited out of your posting? It happens at times that I quote a part of somebody's statement. Is that what u might be referring to?
JohnM
10-10-2002, 03:05 PM
quote:Originally posted by Casey
John, I saw that post before the "edit", and I don't see anything different. What was there that was changed?
"That makes it doubly bad. Bezos was trying to sell us the product via Amazon!" , was added.
Not that I don't agree, but the fact that certain individuals can edit the postings of others makes everything posted here suspect. Next thing you know, someone will suggest that Lawrence and I are the same person. Heaven forbid! ;)
Casey
10-10-2002, 03:21 PM
None of us have ever intentionally changed a post. If and when we do, there will be an explanation posted as to why the post was edited. I think Lawrence simply did as he suggested, and hit the "Edit" icon that is available to a moderator, instead of clicking on the "Reply With Quote". This is the first time any of us have edited somebodys post intentionally or otherwise.
Please accept our appology and assurance that we will not do anything to change yours or anybody elses posts unless they are abusive or in some other way offensive. That does not fit into our way of running a forum.
Thanks for your patience.
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