This week in Amazon news, Staples is closing 200 stores, Forbes gives advice on avoiding sales tax and Oscar winners see a bump in Amazon sales.
Keep reading to learn more.
Staples to Close 200+ Stores
Say Goodbye to Staples – This Tech Crunch article blames Staples’s closing of 225 on “The Amazon Effect.” I’m not sure if this is warranted however. This represents about 10% of Staples’s worldwide stores and the closing is attributed to a desired to focus on online sales. Of course, if Amazon’s dominance in online sales is the cause of this move, Staples partially has themselves to blame. Two years ago, they allowed Amazon to install delivery lockers in Staples stores. Then last year they abruptly removed them (along with Radio Shack, who is closing about 1,000 stores). Don’t let the fox in the henhouse 🙂
How Customers Avoid Online Sales Tax
3 Ways to Avoid Online Sales Tax – Here’s a different spin on the multitude of sales tax articles we’ve been seeing for the past few years. Instead of talking about how retailers are fighting sales tax, this article talks about ways that customers can avoid sales tax. They mention the possibility of shopping on Ebay, using smaller ecommerce websites and trying to contact merchants directly after finding products on Amazon or other websites. The latter strategy is very dangerous for Amazon sellers, who risk losing their account by conducting transactions outside of Amazon. If you’re an Amazon seller, don’t do this!
How Winning an Oscar Influences Amazon Sales
12 Years a Slave Skyrockets – I’ve talked about this before, but it’s important to remember how current events influence Amazon sales. On Sunday, 12 Years a Slave won the Oscar for Best Picture. Within hours, the book the film is based on had cracked the top 20 in Sales Rank for Books on Amazon.com. Keep an eye on trends like this and price accordingly!