Amazon
 

is really living up to its name. I just got and filled out a survey asking if Amazon sold electricity, would I be interested in purchasing it from them. Followed up by would you like to be part of a focus group. Of course I said yes.

Hope I can and they do, my E- bill is way too high.

If they do, your bill might go down for a while, but long term I think it will go up. Current electric companies have already made large investments in the infrastructure and they often break up the costs between fixed and variable bill items. Since it seems pretty clear most areas are heading towards a deregulated energy model, the electric companies are already front loading fixed costs.

The lesson is you can buy all the electricity you want from whoever, the electric companies still own the poles and wires that deliver that energy and they expect those costs to be covered and profit on top of it.

...on the upside if you're willing to pay $99/year the electric delivery charge will be free. Amazon Electric Prime.

Since my delivery charge is $150 to $250 every month, I'd be OK with $99 a year.

Amazon start by acquiring customers then systematically taking each next step until they control the entire channel end to end.

I would not be surprised if this started out as them providing energy through existing systems and ending up with them having built a renewable energy grid comprised of their customers that actually sells surplus back into the system.

Amazon is the Standard Oil of the 21st Century.

Maybe, but they will have some catching up to do since Warren Buffet has a head start on them, and has the money to keep pace.

Jeff is worth $50 billion more than Warren who is 88, Jeff is 55.

Jeff's company just posted tax free profits for the year equal to 1/4 of Warrens net worth.

Warren has built a product to generate energy.

Amazon does not build product, they build channels to monetize others products.

isn't there already companies that work as the middle men to provide power to houses? Was talking to a guy out in fort monmouth about that. Not a new concept if it follows along those lines.

Amazon is the borg. That said I'm in as long as they're cheaper. But ultimately they're the borg and will assimilate all. Thankfully by then I'll be a daisy pusher upper. YMMV

Whole Foods prices are going up not down. They're blaming the suppliers when the suppliers haven't raised prices.

Be careful what you wish for.

Too big to fail?

Standard Oil’s business model was similar. It used monopoly power to push prices DOWN in order to eliminate competitors. Using monopoly power to push prices up is short sighted since monopoly pricing encourages technological innovation that will eventually overcome the monopoly. See IBM versusMicrosft, Microsoft versus Google, Facebook and Amazon.

Every time I've investigated using another provider, I've found that my electric company will simply up the delivery fees to the point I end up paying more.

I wondered how that worked. I keep getting solicitations to by my pixies from another company and save $$. It always seemed a bit sketchy to me.
I rely too much on Amazon, but it’s so easy to get on line and order something that will be here in a day or two. It’s a 30 minute drive from here to the nearest city that has a decent variety of stores, one of which might have what I need. I’m going to try using WalMart as an alternative, but ... it’s WalMart.

Amazon? whaz dat?

So how long until Amazon gets broken up due to antitrust issues?

They sell blinders.

I also found that if I "pre-bought" my natural gas from my utility during the summer (at allegedly lower rates), they'd up my delivery fees to make it cost me more. And if it was a particularly harsh winter with high natural gas prices and it looked like I might come out ahead, there was a clause in the contract that allowed them to charge me market prices plus increased delivery fees if the cost of natural gas exceeded some low limit. It was all a scam to charge me more.

Another scam was my mortgage company tried to get me to enroll in their "equity accelerator" program. Basically, my mortgage would be due every two weeks instead of once a month at roughly half the payment. I'd be making 26 half payments instead of 12 full payments. I read the fine print, and I saw that my mortgage would be due the 1st and 15th of each month with a 5 day grace period, and I would be charged a fee roughly equal to two half payments to enroll.

Amazon is more like Wal Mart every day, except I never go to Wal Mart and I buy from Amazon all the time because it fits my needs. I don't shop at Wal Mart because I am afraid someone will take a picture of me and post it on the Walmartians sites. Amazon has stuff I need and they deliver it to my door.

I can't imagine I will ever have any chance of buying utilities from them. My electricity is produced and delivered by OG&E and they are great. They are highly rated in the industry, and they are cheap and very reliable. My natural gas is ONG and they too are great. Both are fully regulated monopolies and provide great service.

It might be that Amazon buys the cable providers or even AT&T, but they are unlikely to buy the utility companies in Oklahoma,

I've received similar offers; who is dumb enough to take them up on that?

That offer is legit accept for the fee. Make sure that wasn't a 3rd party offering a service like that. It's a great business model in that they get a set up fee (bank would only charge a nominal fee, if any) and then have you direct deposit to them and they in turn send the money on to your bank. How would that be a great model? They would not change your payment date and keep that money as 'float' paying once monthly while you're paying 2wice monthly. IIf a company signed up enough mortgagees that they might have a few million or so in their back earning daily interest. If they were really successful it could be a lot more.

"Use a Third Party
There is an option of using a third-party company to pay your mortgage biweekly for you. This will cost you and can be a bad idea if the company pays late or folds. Essentially, the company is debiting your account biweekly by splitting your monthly payment into two payments and charging you every other week. They still pay your mortgage only once a month, but the extra that they are charging you by your paying biweekly is added to your monthly payment and creating the same benefit as a biweekly payment." ( link to source)