The Observation Deck

I am taking an E-Business class and my professor talked about business to consumer websites today. I started thinking about how many there were and what my favorite one was.

My favorite B-to-C website would have to be Netflix. I first used Netflix when it first came out and I loved it. I loved not having to go out to find a movie I wanted to see. I loved how you can browse their collection of movies and pick out the ones you like and enter them in a list of movies you want to see later. As long as you keep returning the movies, they will keep coming in the mail.

I just recently started using Netflix again when the Xbox 360 intruduced streaming Netflixs movies via the xbox 360 game counsel. Now I get movies in the mail and I can go online and find a movie I want to watch instantly. So I can watch movies through the xbox and my computer. The only thing keeping me from not going to the movie store is renting games for my son.

What is your Favorite Business to Consumer website???

I think Amazon does a good job. They have a lot of variety and multiple lines, so you don't have to spend time figuring out what store carries what you are looking for. They do a good job of providing information from the manufacturer, and usually have a lot of reviews by customers who are often very well informed, and not afraid to suggest an alternative to the product you are looking at. Finally, their delivery is surprisingly prompt, and they keep you informed of where your package is and when it will arrive. In this age where everything is packaged to death, I think you can get better information on a product from Amazon than from a local store, where the item is wrapped in enough plastic to defeat a terrorist atttack. Its also convenient to be able to shop for people who live at a distance and have it delivered to them, rather than buying locally and having to carry a rocking horse on a commercial flight.

My only complaint would be that they comply with a sales tax procedure that is less organized than something Rube Goldberg would have invented. But that is the fault of our legislators, who seem incapable of realizing how much money they are losing, and how to do anything about it. Do they really think any of us knows enough about the vagaries of the sales tax to calculate our use tax?

I subscribed to to the subscriber-only content at www.achewood.com. I have also ordered several books from the website. I am a fan of Achewood.