Amazon Quote by Brad Stone
““One early challenge was that the book distributors required retailers to order ten books at a time. Amazon didn’t yet have that kind of sales volume, and Bezos later enjoyed telling the story of how he got around it. “We found a loophole,” he said. “Their systems were programmed in such a way that you didn’t have to receive ten books, you only had to order ten books. So we found an obscure book about lichens that they had in their system but was out of stock. We began ordering the one book we wanted and nine copies of the lichen book. They would ship out the book we needed and a note that said, ‘Sorry, but we’re out of the lichen book.’ ”4””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Everything Store by Brad Stone, 2013
Bezos used a loophole to bypass distributor minimum orders, ordering one desired book plus nine unrelated copies to get the needed title.
In simple terms: He exploited a system flaw to get a single book.
Key Takeaway
Find creative work to work around constraints.
Themes
innovation
business strategy
logistics
creativity
Mood
strategic
insightful
Type
business
anecdotal
When to use this quote
- startup sourcing
- inventory challenges
- order fulfillment
- market entry
Key Concepts
system loopholes
inventory management
entrepreneurial tactics
Questions to Reflect On
- What are the risks of exploiting system loopholes?
- How can companies prevent such work?
A Different Perspective
Such tactics may raise ethical concerns about manipulation.
