Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for startups?

Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by scottmf on Monday February 06, 2017 @07:45AM (#13578927)

Or telling, perhaps?

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by david927 on Monday February 06, 2017 @01:37PM (#13582511)

Bezos is infamous for his ego, and I think he just doesn't see it.

Actually, I think that this is the chink in Amazon's armor, the bare patch on Smaug's underside.

Only a few European countries have Amazon stores and the brand loyalty for them isn't strong. A single EU store would become quickly popular and has the potential to be bigger than Amazon, given that the EU is larger than the US in market size.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by adventured on Monday February 06, 2017 @07:46AM (#13578929)

There is, it's Amazon. They're closing in on $20 billion in European sales, growing at double digits, with something like 50,000 employees. If you look at what they're doing in Europe, Amazon is getting more aggressive by the year in terms of expanding and investing there.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by klausjensen on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:10AM (#13579086)

I use Amazon in Europa a LOT, but funny enough it is not ONE amazon in EU, it is many - and I have to search for products on all of them, because what is available in amazon.de might not be available in amazon.co.uk. And there are obviously language barriers - and having to do math to convert currencies etc. It is anything but smooth right now - unless you are in one of the countries, that have their own amazon.tld, of course.

I want amazon.eu, where I can filter by products, that can actually be shipped to my EU country - one stop shopping. I would probably stop buying online from local shops in my country entirely.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by kbart on Monday February 06, 2017 @09:18AM (#13579568)

"I want amazon.eu, where I can filter by products, that can actually be shipped to my EU country"

100 hundred times this! I avoid using Amazon just for their shipping information stupidity - I have to use checkout to be able to see if selected item can be shipped to my country. I find it funny and bizarre that it's easier to order online from China (which is half the World away) than from neighboring countries that belong to the same free trade zone. Ebay has an "EU only" search option, but it's useless as Ebay itself has become smaller Aliexpress cousin with same items and higher prices.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by pawadu on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:30AM (#13579209)

I think most people buy their stuff from amazon.co.uk or if they happen to be in Germany then maybe also amazon.de

The store segmentation is created by amazon themselves and doesn't really make sense.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by herbst on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @09:13AM (#13589434)

Exactly. Amazon.de does bot ship the majority of stuff to switzerland. Amazon.it however does but i cant speak italian

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by Lanthanide on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @10:21AM (#13589881)

You can switch Amazon.de to English from the account settings; is that not the case with Amazon.it?

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by herbst on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @10:25AM (#13589913)

I think its possible, but product titles and descriptions dont care.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by ddoran on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:21AM (#13579150)

And a small European country like Ireland doesn't get its own Amazon store so they have to rely on Amazon.co.uk, where everything is priced in Sterling (not Euro). Irish customers can't avail of Amazon Prime, shipping times take longer etc. A federated Amazon.eu with a continent-wide distribution network may help. Goods priced in Euro certainly would.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by secfirstmd on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @01:44PM (#13591519)

Yeh it's a joke seeing as they are based here. And so many of us have to use Parcel Motel service to send things to Northern Ireland and have it driven down. Surely Amazon can make a little extra margin by doing that itself.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by mydigitalself on Wednesday February 08, 2017 @04:16AM (#13596946)

1. Get a pair of really giant hands 2. Repeat the bit "seeing as they are based here" and make really giant air quotes when you say "based" 3. Profit (without tax)

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by dmoo on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:42AM (#13579293)

which is ironic, given the size of Amazon investment in Ireland.

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/amazon-dublin-dat...

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by ricardonunez on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:31AM (#13579216)

Did you try Amazon.de and switch language to English? I'm just wondering.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by dx034 on Tuesday February 07, 2017 @06:48AM (#13588753)

I guess that different articles and longer delivery times than amazon.co.uk are a reason to prefer the UK version.

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Re:Ask HN: What is the biggest untapped opportunity for star... by TulliusCicero on Monday February 06, 2017 @08:07AM (#13579058)

I think what the poster was saying is that the major sites are still country-specific, like I moved to Germany and here I use amazon.de, amazon.uk is a different site, so is amazon.fr, etc.

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