Overstock.com announced last week that it would be undercutting Amazon book prices by 10%. Not to be outdone, Amazon matched. by Emily Dreyfuss July 29, 2013 10:51 AM PDT (Credit: Screengrab by Emily Dreyfuss) If you've been waiting for Dan Brown's "Inferno" to come out in paperback, you might want to check out how much the hardcover is selling for on Amazon today. Discounted from the list price of $29.95, you can grab the book for $10.48 right now. That's a 65-percent savings on a relatively new best-seller. Though that is not exactly what Overstock.com hopes you'll do. As Shelf Awareness.com noted on Saturday, Amazon's sudden extreme discounts seem to be in direct response to Overstock.com, which sent out a daring press release last week announcing that it would beat Amazon by 10 percent on popular books. Head over there and you can nab "Inferno" for the exact same deal. (Credit: Emily Dreyfuss) I actually had no idea that Overstock sold books. I have used the Web site in the past exclusively for furniture. In Overstock's original announcement from July 25, CEO Bryne stated, "If you're going to buy a book this week, you're crazy not to shop Overstock.com first. And if you weren't going to buy a book this week, you should re-consider." Neither Overstock nor Amazon were immediately available for comment, but as it's now July 29 and the discounts still stand, it seems the "week" referenced by Bryne was short-sighted. Now that Amazon is competing with Overstock's prices, the two companies are locked in a kind of chicken: which will raise the prices back up first? Probably not Amazon. "We're having a great year and want to thank our loyal customers for making it happen," Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne wrote in the announcement of the discounted prices. That may be so, but Overstock's great year is chump change next to even a mediocre year for Amazon. The interesting thing is that both companies reported revenue increases of 22 percent in the second quarter of 2013. But that number means vastly different things for each of them. For Amazon, it was a disappointment, for even as revenue grew from $12.83 billion with a "b" to $15.7 billion, it wasn't enough to outpace the increasing manufacturing costs of the spread-thin company. However, the company's long-term revenue is strong, and just today it announced that it is hiring 7,000 new employees in the U.S. alone. Overtstock's "great year" comes in the form of $293.2 million in revenue up from $239.5 million last year. It is incredibly nice of Overstock to thank its customers with a substantial discount, but is it wise of the company to poke a sleeping bear? Clearly, Amazon can keep these discounts much longer than Overstock. Since Amazon has the power to immediately match the discounts, was this a lose-lose promotion for Overstock by driving more users over to Amazon? I have put these questions into an Overstock represenaative and will update when I hear back. In the meantime, I surmise that at least it alerted customers like me to the fact that overstock sells books. And in the race for low prices, the consumer comes out on top. At least while it lasts.
Overstock.com announced last week that it would be undercutting Amazon book prices by 10%. Not to be outdone, Amazon matched.
(Credit: Screengrab by Emily Dreyfuss)
If you've been waiting for Dan Brown's "Inferno" to come out in paperback, you might want to check out how much the hardcover is selling for on Amazon today. Discounted from the list price of $29.95, you can grab the book for $10.48 right now. That's a 65-percent savings on a relatively new best-seller.
Though that is not exactly what Overstock.com hopes you'll do.
As Shelf Awareness.com noted on Saturday, Amazon's sudden extreme discounts seem to be in direct response to Overstock.com, which sent out a daring press release last week announcing that it would beat Amazon by 10 percent on popular books.
Head over there and you can nab "Inferno" for the exact same deal.
(Credit: Emily Dreyfuss)
I actually had no idea that Overstock sold books. I have used the Web site in the past exclusively for furniture.
In Overstock's original announcement from July 25, CEO Bryne stated, "If you're going to buy a book this week, you're crazy not to shop Overstock.com first. And if you weren't going to buy a book this week, you should re-consider."
Neither Overstock nor Amazon were immediately available for comment, but as it's now July 29 and the discounts still stand, it seems the "week" referenced by Bryne was short-sighted. Now that Amazon is competing with Overstock's prices, the two companies are locked in a kind of chicken: which will raise the prices back up first?
Probably not Amazon.
"We're having a great year and want to thank our loyal customers for making it happen," Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne wrote in the announcement of the discounted prices. That may be so, but Overstock's great year is chump change next to even a mediocre year for Amazon.
The interesting thing is that both companies reported revenue increases of 22 percent in the second quarter of 2013. But that number means vastly different things for each of them. For Amazon, it was a disappointment, for even as revenue grew from $12.83 billion with a "b" to $15.7 billion, it wasn't enough to outpace the increasing manufacturing costs of the spread-thin company. However, the company's long-term revenue is strong, and just today it announced that it is hiring 7,000 new employees in the U.S. alone.
Overtstock's "great year" comes in the form of $293.2 million in revenue up from $239.5 million last year.
It is incredibly nice of Overstock to thank its customers with a substantial discount, but is it wise of the company to poke a sleeping bear? Clearly, Amazon can keep these discounts much longer than Overstock. Since Amazon has the power to immediately match the discounts, was this a lose-lose promotion for Overstock by driving more users over to Amazon? I have put these questions into an Overstock represenaative and will update when I hear back.
In the meantime, I surmise that at least it alerted customers like me to the fact that overstock sells books. And in the race for low prices, the consumer comes out on top. At least while it lasts.
