Hub Traffic ~ We are candles in the wind...

1. 87

   GinnyLeeposted 10 years ago

   Looks like things are rebounding a bit now.

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2. 74

   Barbara Kayposted 10 years ago

   Clear your browsing history and then search for one of your hubs. Mine had 8 sets of ads on it. It is looking really spammy. This can't be helping.

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   1. 61

      Lisa HWposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Barbara, your "potential theory"  kind of struck a chord with me, because I removed over thirty Hubs around Wednesday (a few days ago), and my 24-hour, weekend, traffic hasn't looked dramatically different this weekend than it has been looking any other weekend.   (That thirty-plus  was around a third of the remaining Hubs after removing about a hundred and fifty of them months ago.  All but a couple of those that I removed last week were featured, so it wasn't as if they weren't in the "featured mix" last weekend (or any of the weekends over the last several months).  I don't use HP ads.

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      1. 74

         Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I just noticed a couple of the hubs that haven't had good traffic, are now showing better in the search than before and have a red arrow. Maybe I shouldn't guess about the traffic. None of us knows.
         
         All I know is that my Google traffic is way down. I want it back!

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         1. 92

            Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I still have lots of blue arrows and not one red. I'm having epic issues with my own blog, the ads aren't showing up, and the host is uncooperative about helping to find out what the issue is. I've had advice from many people, but it is all against the rules of where my blog is.
            
            All of my hubs stayed featured somehow, people always were good to me with attention to them, and I delete or move ones that aren't getting traffic. I was at a point last week where I decided since I was in a stalled state until the blog issue gets fixed, I would concentrate on writing more hubs. People have always been very receptive to my topics here.
            
            But now I'm not sure. I spread my writing around, but HP and my blog are my main sites, although I have written the obligatory amount of pieces on both Infobarrel and Wizzley. I don't seem to get much readership from Wizzley, and people seem to want to argue with me about my topics on Infobarrel, although they have Featured 2 out my 10 pieces. I try so hard to write interesting things, then a few weeks ago I saw a person (not here) get attention for writing about Nutella, the hazelnut, chocolate spread. I mean, I love chocolate and can scoff Nutella with the best of them. But as an interesting piece of writing? It's so frustrating!

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            1. 88

               WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Yes, Weebly isn't the best to deal with. This is why it's better to get your own hosted site.

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               1. 92

                  Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I'm trying to get it worked out, but the site is ignoring me, I'll give it a few more days. I hate to have to move all the content, I wrote like mad to get it recognized by Google. to the point of suffering tendonitis. I have days where I am considering giving up on online writing. I love the creativity and love to write. But I was hoping to make some money too, and writing for little now to be making more in the future. It appears the timing was off.

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                  1. 88

                     WryLiltposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Good luck. Have you read my latest hub for some ideas on maximising your content?

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                     1. 92

                        Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        No, is it here? Something has to be off, I wrote so much and never made a penny. They upgraded me to Pro when I asked the helpline what was wrong, but seem to think that they did their job. I have to put all new ads on each post with Weebly Pro, and they show up in Edit mode, but not Live mode. The tutorial is very easy to read, I think the issue is from their side. I don't have a lot of latitude with titles I write on, it's what it is. I have a successful following, that's the real kick in the butt. I guess it's just being considered more of an advice column, and people don't buy. It would help if the ad thing could be worked out. I've had loads of suggestions, but as you know, people are all writing from different sites or ones they built themselves. I've improved on my computer skills, but not enough to build a site from scratch. I was on Blogger before it changed, and found it confusing. I'm giving the support people a few more days, but I guess it's not worth it to write on the blog anymore, though it's sad, people are reading it.

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3. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

   But I don't wanna be sacrificed...
   
   Side note. Yep, my traffic drop is just shy of 50%.

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   1. 92

      Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Today I don't have ONE red arrow. People busy with Mother's Day?

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4. 94

   Marketing Meritposted 10 years ago

   Putting aside our concerns at the drop in traffic for a second, what I find intriguing is that when I search for something on Google, I find the top results becoming increasingly less relevant to my search query.
   Furthermore, the sites being returned, ignoring Wikipedia, Amazon and eBay, often contain content that is of little substance.
   As a Google user, I am becoming increasingly frustrated by their search results. Do they really think they are getting this right?
   My Hubpages stats are also down circa 50%. Fortunately, I don't rely on this income, but I have never seen the stats so low.

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   1. 90

      Gcrhoads64posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I was searching last night and many of the search results led to forum posts. It was awful!

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      1. 94

         Marketing Meritposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Same here Gcrhoads64.
         A short while back, it seemed to be all scholarly articles that were ranking in the top spots. It was so bad that I started inserting -edu into my search results!
         Now, as you point out, it seems to be forum posts that are ranking highly. What on earth is Google doing?!!

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5. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

   Interesting. Yesterday my main website was a corpse along with my hubs. Today my website is back to pre-fiasco level as if the Google shenanigans never happened. So, I've put away my map to the nearest cliff and will wait to see the Tuesday/Wednesday hub results. Besides, I should tune up the car first anyway. I wouldn't want the thing stalling halfway down.

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6. 94

   PaulGoodman67posted 10 years ago

   It's a Google change folks.  Things like Mothers' Day, or HP altering its advert scheme wouldn't cause large scale search traffic turbulence across the web.  But you can believe those theories if you want, I guess (just don't expect me to agree with you). 
   
   My own traffic has certainly been hit, but not too drastically this time - I live to fight another day! 
   
   (It's Squidoo that I'm more concerned about, to be frank!)

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   1. 59

      paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      
      I just checked last weekend's hourly with this weekend's hourly. The pic says it all. I'd comment on my earnings, but profanity is against TOS.

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7. 54

   janderson99posted 10 years ago

   Massive Deindexing Looms!
   It appears that HP's attempt to vaccinate HP from Panda has not worked.
   The vaccine has two components QAP and low traffic (no Google love).
   To assume that the 10-20% drop in site traffic (Panda slap) will all be OK when the entire site has been QAPed, is implausible because what has been done to improve traffic with this strategy has not worked so far (it worked last time, but not now).
   The latest Panda hit will mean more amd more deindexing (unfeaturing; Idling) because:
   => Lower traffic means more hubs will fail the traffic threshold
   => HP is likely to raise the QAP threshold still further as it did recently (Panda slap = Poor Quality)
   So, lots more pages will be Idled/Unfeatured.
   Bring it On!
   IMO - The real cause of the Panda slap is the spammy 'Related Search' ads.
   If they go, Panda will love us!
   Worth a very careful examination in the circumstances - IMO

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   1. 87

      SimeyCposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I think we get the point - you don't like the related searches. However you are completely blinkering yourself to what is happening - this is a planned google update that we were told about months ago. Rather than keep on blaming the related Ads why not put all your passion into looking at the rest of the people on the web who have experienced exactly the same as us and see if there is  common theme.
      
      Objectively speaking I do not believe the 'related searches' have anything to do with this - over the last three or four years I have experienced huge drops instantly - I experienced one in early december that turned around on December 21 - this is simply another roller coast ride caused by Google....

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      1. 54

         janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         This is Panda, not the forecast giant Penguin update
         
         May10 --- However, Cutts has ruled out that it was the significant Penguin Update he warned in March would be coming. He tweeted:
             @mrjamiedodd nope, no new Penguin update this week.
             — Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 10, 2013
         He went on to say that the next Penguin Update is a few weeks out:
             @mrjamiedodd we do expect to roll out Penguin 2.0 (next generation of Penguin) sometime in the next few weeks though.
             — Matt Cutts (@mattcutts) May 10, 2013
         
         http://searchengineland.com/google-matt … ate-158980

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8. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

   Well, I'm done writing and editing hubs for the foreseeable future. Busily adding posts to my main website.

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9. 87

   SimeyCposted 10 years ago

   Interesting observation - while my traffic is down (although today it has recovered some) I note that the hubs I consider my 'stellar' hubs are actually increasing traffic - it's my average hubs that don't really have any quality information that are failing- so perhaps this is a good update from Google....

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10. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    My drop seems to have stopped. And I didn't hit a year 2013 new low. Paradigmsearch perks up a little bit...

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    1. 95

       wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       My drop has stopped too, and it's going up a little.
       
       Not nearly enough for a Sunday, though - that's usually a very good day of the week for me and beat only by Monday.

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       1. 89

          mistyhorizon2003posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Ditto, upturn not nearly as high as normal for a Sunday

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11. 61

    prettydarkhorseposted 10 years ago

    This is shared by SEO Chemist (thisisoli) in Facebook - Matt Cutts: Gadgets, Google, and SEO
    
    http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/what-to-e … ng-months/

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    1. 54

       janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I love the image on the tee-shirt --- Chrome to go too?

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       1. 61

          prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          He usually wears pastel colored shirt. I still like Chrome, who knows what he is going to do next

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    2. 59

       paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       My hearing is not that great, did I hear that video correctly? Google officially hates floating ads? First third of the video. If I heard it right, then as far as I'm concerned, this explains our current traffic fiasco.

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       1. 54

          janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Yep 'Related Search' are Spammy Deceptive ads that Panda hates

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          1. 59

             paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I feel a rant meme coming on...

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             1. 59

                paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                

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                1. 54

                   janderson99posted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   Wrong Bear !

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                   1. 59

                      paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                      
                      
                      If a 40% traffic drop doesn't get their attention, nothing will.

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          2. 0

             summerberrieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             ~and they float!

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             1. 89

                LCDWriterposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                We all float down here.
                
                

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       2. 61

          prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          All he said is about niche authority and authority of the publisher.

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12. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    

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13. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    

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14. 80

    Dale Hydeposted 10 years ago

    Still no improvements here at my end.

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    1. 59

       paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       As more Monday data rolls in I am now only down 30% from last Monday.

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15. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    Perturbed...
    
    I just stumbled across the news item about yesterday's major solar flare.
    
    Every time there is a solar event, my solar hub gets a spike in traffic.
    
    But not this time.
    
    Screw it; I'm not even going to bother to update it like I normally would.

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    1. 79

       HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       People can be slow, I'd give it 48 hours before making a judgement call as to whether your solar hub will become a short lived, but hot topic!

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       1. 59

          paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          You may have a point. I haven't become a permanent, intractable cynic yet. I'm reserving that possible status until after I see completed Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday total account traffic results.

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          1. 79

             HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I'm a permanent, intractable cynic, but I still say give it a few more days.

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             1. 74

                Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Mine has gone up a bit, so you might be right.

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                1. 79

                   HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   I don't have many pieces here anymore, so not affected by the current Google shenanigans.  And I've come to the conclusion that each site is useful in one way or another. At the end of the day, HP is PR6, if you haven't been slapped there's a possibility that you'll pick up a decent amount of traffic if Google likes the page- if not, and it's idled, it can be moved to Wizzley, where as long as it meets the quality guidelines will not be penalised for not receiving many organic hits. It still has the opportunity to earn something. Wizzley is also better for Amazon sales.
                   
                   Squidoo is too volatile at the moment, not sure it's worth the investment until it settles down. Then there's the clique to contend with. I'd want my article to be featured because it's worthy, not because of my comfortable associations with the "popular crowd".
                   
                   I can see a role for Zujava in the future, too. I think the old adage about eggs and baskets has never been more relevant than it is today. Suppose we just have to learn which content fits where, and go with it.

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             2. 59

                paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Because of you, I went and added an update paragraph to the hub.
                
                Thanks.

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                1. 79

                   HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   Well, it certainly can't hurt it.

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16. 87

    Will Apseposted 10 years ago

    Well at least a few of the chickens are trying to screw their heads back on.
    
    Is it worth pointing out that we have had two ups and two downs in the last six or seven months? That suggests we are on a cusp where an algo change can push us either way. Compared to Squidoo (purges and panic), Wizzley (shot down during takeoff) and Infobarrel (about as purposeful as a zombie) things are not that bad.
    
    More QAP, more attention to the trade and craft of writing for money, and more duct tape on more necks should do the trick.
    
    p.s. my traffic is good enough today.
    
    p.p.s the RS ads make a great object for displacement activity but are not the issue

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    1. 93

       Susana Sposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Lol! Totally agree with all of that. Particularly like the image of chickens screwing their heads on!

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    2. 79

       HollieTposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       How has Wizzley been shot down before take off? I agree that your articles wont receive as much traffic as a non-slapped HP account, but sales articles do particularly well compared to here. And there's a lot more opportunities to monetize your content.

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    3. 94

       PaulGoodman67posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I agree with Will's assessment. 
       
       I think the people who think there will be an instant recovery are maybe being over-optimistic.  Better to think in weeks and months, rather than days.
       
       I worry that Squidoo might kill the patient, rather than the disease, with its medicine, I hope the panic over there subsides.
       
       Wizzley and Infobarrel are in a different league, so it's difficult to compare them directly with HP and Squidoo, methinks.

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       1. 59

          paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          HP Quantcast data arrove...
          
          Comparing Monday-5/6 data versus Monday-5/13 data, HP is down 19.3%

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          1. 87

             Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Probably still some life in the patient, then.
             
             All the chickens who still have heads should now squawk.
             
             Squawk!!

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             1. 59

                paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Looking at the charts, my former day-trader instincts tells me that the Tuesday percentage drop will be even less than the Monday percentage drop. It will be fun to see if I get that right or not.

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                1. 87

                   Will Apseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   Let's hope so. I had very good day today, income-wize, so that has cheered me up.

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                   1. 80

                      sabrebIadeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                      I have noticed that too Will.
                      I have had about a 200 hit a day drop...but my income has stayed the same or in some cases actually risen.
                      More targeted traffic????

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17. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    Well, folks. Monday Quantcast data for HP hasn't arrove yet.
    
    As for yours truly and for those who want to compare...
    
    Unless belated Analytics data rolls in, my stat is as follows...
    
    Comparing Monday-5/6 data versus Monday-5/13 data, I officially have a 28.7% traffic drop. I write about every topic under the sun, just like HP. It will be interesting to see how my stats compare to HP overall. Will paradigmsearch do better or worse than HP? Betting pools are being setup as we speak.

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18. 87

    Will Apseposted 10 years ago

    For affiliates this is good news from a recent BBC report:
    
    'The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5% in the first three months of the year, helped by the strongest consumer spending figures in two years.'
    
    'Consumer spending rose at an annualised rate of 3.2%, according to the Commerce Department data.'
    
    It all helps.
    
    One problem for Amazon affiliates might be that Amazon have finally agreed to pay state sales taxes, so prices will rise. Having said that, consumer online spending habits are now so ingrained it might not have an impact,

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    1. 95

       wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       "Amazon have finally agreed to pay state sales taxes" - I hadn't heard that, although am aware that congress is working on forcing it.  Is there more than congressional action?
       
       I don't see Amazon prices going up much.  I'm sure they'll increase a small amount to cover the cost of collecting state taxes, but that's all.  The cost of a product will go up, of course, as there are now taxes to pay, but people paying those are already used to it and unless it is a large purchase I doubt they'll pay much attention.

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       1. 87

          SimeyCposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          You may not see that much change in price - the reason that Amazon are now 'for' this provision is that they can build factories etc. in every state and create 'same day delivery' options - so the increase in efficiencies and the potential of increased revenue from delivery (and probably more sales) will offset any additional change in price - of course the actual amount the user pays at the end will depend on their State's sales tax....me thinks I need to move to Florida!

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          1. 95

             wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Hmm.  Maybe.  However, if that were the case that increased revenue would be the result, those distribution centers would have already been built, seems to me.  Unless Amazon thinks that people having to pay sales tax will not buy as much, and if that's true prices will go up to cover loss of sales.  At least short term - they could also find that to be a losing business strategy over time.
             
             I think they like more because it's going to happen and it immediately puts all the online sales outfits on the same playing field.  As it will hurt smaller outfits disproportionally that will reduce competition immediately.  Amazon already has the ability to collect sales tax but many companies do not and it will hurt them.

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             1. 87

                SimeyCposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                "those distribution centers would have already been built" - they didn't build them because they would have been forced to add sales tax in those states - now that it's a country wide law (or about to be) - they can blame the government....
                
                ..it's all about perception - last year it would have been perceived that Amazon was the one that effectively forced the sales tax in certain states - this year it'll be perceived that this is federal government forcing the change.

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                1. 95

                   wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   They can blame the government but assigning blame doesn't fix the bottom line.  I still think that if it were financially workable those centers would have already been built.
                   
                   They CAN be built now (maybe) because a fixed cost (collecting sales tax) has been added instead of being part of the additional cost associated with building them, but that will still mean an increase in costs.  Just not an increase Amazon can control and that can make those centers more profitable rather than less.

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19. 87

    Will Apseposted 10 years ago

    Also, the fact that Amazon have agreed 'in principle' does not mean they won't be using all their corporate muscle to slow the implementation process down.
    
    A cynical take on the whole business:
    http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/865995ce … z2THP6hQTV

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    1. 95

       wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Last I heard (last year) was that Amazon was supporting a nation wide forced collection.  That was part of the deal in California in getting their tax code changed back to not collecting for an additional year.
       
       I think Amazon knows this will happen, that their best bet is to fight for provisions that will benefit them as much as possible and forget about not collecting state tax at all.

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20. 61

    prettydarkhorseposted 10 years ago

    They are also building their own one day delivery system, bad for other businesses like UPS and FedEx. Mostly eBay uses USPS which is already struggling.
    
    Personally, as a frequent Amazon and eBay buyer, I still like to buy online rather than go to stores even if there is added tax.

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    1. 95

       wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I'm buying more and more online as well, but when the purchase is large (a $1500 TV, maybe) the sales tax does play a part in the decision.  I'd like to buy local, but the extra $100 tax says go online.  So Amazon could lose out on big purchases from me.

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       1. 61

          prettydarkhorseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Right, but the ability to compare is always there online For big purchases it is good to compare online including Walmart online etc.

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21. 93

    peeplesposted 10 years ago

    Today has been my worst traffic in months. I'm looking at a 50% loss. WTH!?!

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22. 83

    hazelbrownposted 10 years ago

    Same here, although I'd say my I'm getting about 1/3 of my usual views   and I was finally starting to earn some money!! bummer!

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23. 59

    paradigmsearchposted 10 years ago

    Paul's post from another thread.
    

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