TriadCity Message of the Day
2002-06-22

As you may know, the Bookstore section of our website contains a comprehensive bibliography of the source works which TriadCity's authors have drawn upon in writing the game. This is a pretty awesome resource for you book lovers in the audience, and, when you buy through us, we receive a small commission from our affiliate partners at amazon.com. We're not getting rich, but, the income does help to offset our hosting and network costs. Thanks for your support!

So we thought we'd let you know that amazon.com now offers free shipping on all orders over $49. This is really making amazon look like a good deal to us. Most of their titles sell at good discounts; there's no sales tax; and now the shipping is free too. Not bad.

Here are the full details, in a broadcast email from amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos which we received yesterday:

We're doing an important test at Amazon.com that we wanted you to know about. It may be the most important experiment we've done to date.

Starting today, as a long-term test, you can get Free Super Saver Shipping on orders over $49. Previously, only orders over $99 qualified.

This past January, we launched everyday, 365-days-a-year, Free Super Saver Shipping on orders over $99, and it's been successful. Customers have adopted it in large numbers (it takes 3-5 days longer than our standard shipping, but it's free), and it’s proven economically sustainable for us as well.

Reducing the ordering hurdle to $49 makes it much easier for customers to get free shipping--more people will qualify and qualify more often. It will also be very expensive for us. That's why we're first doing it as a long-term test. We expect to run this test for 3-6 months. We’ll be looking to see if our current customers order more from us and whether we attract a greater number of new customers since it’s so easy to qualify for free shipping. The hope is we’ll generate enough new business to offset the cost.

At the conclusion of the test, we'll let you know whether or not we'll be able to make the new $49 hurdle permanent. In the meantime, for the next 3-6 months or so, please enjoy Free Super Saver Shipping on orders over $49. (We've also recently reduced product prices on many books, bestselling CDs, bestselling DVDs, electronics, and tools.) Whether this particular test works or not, you can count on us to be relentless in finding ways to lower prices and provide more value.

Thanks for your continuing support as a customer.

Sincerely,

Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com

Remember, there are only seven book-shopping months left until xmas. We really appreciate your support!

Back to the current MOTD index.
Not yet a member? Get started today!