e-commerce 23

I’ve started vibe shopping, i.e. using ChatGPT to shop for small, daily items and buying without verifying. For example: “A metal rack for the floor: at least 2 ft * 1 ft * 2 ft, small gaps, popular options on Amazon.in.” https://chatgpt.com/share/68d61d68-7040-800c-936b-354749539308 “An optical wired mouse that’s smaller than usual, 4*+, popular, Prime-eligible for Chennai by the weekend on Amazon.in.” https://chatgpt.com/share/68d61e0d-420c-800c-bc71-821b9f9296a9 The best use is when I don’t know the right terms. In this case, the terms were wire rack and mini mouse. ...

I called a few movers in Chennai, including “Unicorn Packers & Movers”, listed at 7015580411. He couldn’t understand what I said. I said, “We’re shifting to a house in Mylapore,” and he asked, “Shifting house where in Hyderabad?” (The reason became clear later.) It seemed I had the wrong number, so I said, “No, sorry, we need someone else,” and hung up. His phone rage began. He called back and said, “Why did you wake me up and waste my time?” From his tone it was clear I couldn’t say anything helpful. From the quality of my signal it was clear I couldn’t have a meaningful conversation. So I just put the phone down without cutting it. ...

Cool abused amazon images.

Shanahan’s Amazon Zuggest. It searches Amazon live.

100 Amazon hacks.

You can buy Jet airways tickets online.

I was trying to buy the Mathematical American but the server seems to have some problem.

The Indian Railways reservation site is among the largest e-commerce sites in Asia-Pacific.

Froogle. A product search from Google. The way Google is going, I don’t think there’s any point in most sites bothering about design. Google will just offer it to customers the way they want to see it. via Kiruba

There’s some good tech stuff at Accenture’s R&D page. via andersja

Amazon’s Red Cross Fund has collected over $3.6 million as of today. The Internet’s proving a great way to mobilise funds!

Orbitz, the travel site backed by Delta, Northwest and American, is online. It cuts through travel agents and lets passengers book flight tickets directly with the airlines. (I tried booking a flight from Mumbai to Bangkok, but for some reason, it kept giving me an error.)

Better be a bit careful about online payments. A Russian hacker stole from 40 companies. Amazon’s subsidiary was hit. And IBM’s Net.Commerce is buggy.

With the Internet economy booming despite the collapse of dot-coms, the OECD countries are getting ready to tax the Internet.

You can make a tip on the Web using Amazon’s honour system.

Dot-coms go bust, but e-commerce initiatives in companies still thrive.

I did some quick layoff calculations. It appears that Layoffs have been increasing over time The dominant reason for layoffs is cost-cutting E-Commerce companies have laid off the most If the NASDAQ or S&P 500 fall, layoffs increase If the Dow Jones falls, layoffs fall !

Strong numbers searches through auctions and tells you what the fair price of any product is. Now, that’s market information!

inc.com has lots of good articles on anything to do with business – business plans, customer service, e-commerce, law, strategy, etc. Especially their guides.

A neat joke on Amazon.com.

First and second looks much cheaper than Fabmart or Rediff. Compare Archer’s “To cut a long story short”, for example. Rediff: 167. Fabmart: 127. First and second: 105. Or “Built to last”. Rediff: not available. Fabmart: 354. First and second: 274. Oh well, I’m going to need a bot. Why can’t I make one?

Clinton signed the e-signature law. To be implemented in October, it’s an interesting contrast to our IT Bill.

The IT Bill has been passed. That means digital signatures are the same as written ones. We’re hoping to make money on that! We wrote a first-draft proposal for our Business Modules in E-Commerce course.