Hoody-frickin-hoo. Amazon posts its first quarter in the black. One of my biggest fears in the dot-com impolosion was that Amazon — with such a wealth of resources and customer customization — would die a horrible, money-bleeding death. I now feel a bit better.
I know there are a lot of folks who despise Amazon. In some cases it’s been because of an instance of poor service (I’ve had a couple of them, but by and large I’ve found their service to be solid). In other cases it’s been because of an aesthetic rejection of big business and the threat that Amazon holds toward small, independent bookstores (I’d worry about B&N succeeding in its on-line business, in that case).
Amazon has made me happy. In return, I feel like I’ve been personally responsible for a big chunk of its profitability ….
You also find the most amazing things there. In my case, it was a book title forwarded me by my friend, Marina, A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis. I mean, that’s not exactly a paperback you’d find at the check-out stand at the Piggly-Wiggly.