i don't recall reading where he claims it will sell more. you're defending status quo on this, but in reality, i'm sure zappos had to try a lot of different things to get where they were. so did a lot of companies. and yet you're criticizing this designer for the very thing you're doing: making a bunch of claims, which you can't really back up (or if you have, i haven't seen it).

really, testimonials are bad? i think if done right, they can actually provide some merit. maybe it's just placeholder text right now--but who knows, maybe the new york times found something compelling about zappos, beyond that they just "f*ing sell shoes!" (dhh reference)

i thought the design rocked, and this would definitely improve my perception of zappos.