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Comment by systemvoltage | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how many small businesses and shops have been wiped out by Amazon.

Yes, on average its not a zero sum game. Ask your corner bookstore if its not a zero sum game. Local effects are real.

Just in another thread I was greeted by how much of a bargian GSuite is. For $5/month, you get world class in the cloud office/productivity tools + gazillion other services and email, SSO. No other SaaS can compete with this.

Github with free private repos, why would anyone choose another competitor? It has all the things and more.

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The people who really got wiped out were Borders and Barnes & Noble. If you’re a small bookstore you actually have an niche now.

You can’t compete with Amazon’s virtually infinite selection and they can’t compete with your local presence and the physical experience and customer service you offer to your patrons. If you’re incapable of doing a good job with any of those then you’re toast, but then again maybe you shouldn’t have been running a small bookstore anyways.

> For $5/month, you get world class in the cloud office/productivity tools + gazillion other services and email, SSO.

And if they ever decide to lock you out, you lose everything. That cheap price comes with a cost.

GSuite can't just "lock you out" if you're paying, that's why there is a contractual relationship. There are all sorts of third party business relationships (e.g. banks, HR systems, counterparties, other SaaS products, etc.) that all companies depend on running smoothly, I don't see why GSuite is any different.

I asked the guy at the corner bookstore if it was zero sum, and he said no. Then he offered to sell me an Econ 101 textbook, but I got it on Amazon for 1/2 the price.

We both wonder how many shops have been wiped out. I also wonder how many online businesses have been created. I work with many online vendors who sell on Amazon that would not have been viable if they had to open a brick and mortar retail location.

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