[JustThrowMeAway]

I think that one of the main reasons for Amazon to grow so fast is that the competition fails to integrate into the web.

Do any product related search on Google and then look at the sites that come up. They almost all link to Amazon when it comes to the question where to buy the product.

And its not like Amazon is paying particularly much for that. From 0% to 10%, depending on the type of item purchased. As an affiliate, I average around 3%.

That is low. I know what companies spend to acquire customers via other channels. Adsense and other types of advertising. Several times more.

Why is the competition not in that game? I guess because they don't have the expertise to correctly track the value of the visitors.

My message to them: You cannot just stand on the sideline of the web and hope for people to pave their way to your online shop via a miracle. You have to integrate. You have to build that expertise.