Amazon Coins Coming This May to the US - Page 2

Penforhire · 02-07-2013, 11:34 AM

As a consumer it is annoying because we have to lock in some universal-to-us currency (US dollars) for various specific currency (MS Points, Amazon Coins, etcetera).

I assume the larger organizations make some significant money on a large number of small 'points' that never get redeemed, in addition to having the actual cash for investment or arbitrage.

Hmm, reminds me I have some MS Points I should spend. And some PSN currency too. And soon some Amazon Coins...

tubemonkey · 02-07-2013, 12:01 PM

I want some of the free coins so I can get some paid apps. After they're used up, I'll go back to the free stuff. I make a point of never spending my own money on apps.

jersysman · 02-07-2013, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I want some of the free coins so I can get some paid apps. After they're used up, I'll go back to the free stuff. I make a point of never spending my own money on apps.

I think the only app I have paid for is Scrabble. I was "forced" to buy that one!

khalleron · 02-07-2013, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I want some of the free coins so I can get some paid apps. After they're used up, I'll go back to the free stuff. I make a point of never spending my own money on apps.

I generally prefer 'free', too (who doesn't?), but I will buy an app if I want to support the developer (these are usually for things that have limited audience that I want to keep going, such as the American Civil War Gazette or the OTR Player or if a game is particularly deep and worth the extra money.

jbcohen · 02-08-2013, 07:19 AM

Makes things overly complicated if you ask me, why get amazon involved seems like a transaction between you and the publisher of the app. Does't require amazon in the middle.

fjtorres · 02-08-2013, 11:57 AM

Over at CNET somebody doesn't like the idea:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-575...se-my-hackles/
Mostly because, since details are limited, he is free to expect the worse.

One thing that came up, though, was Green Stamps. And that got me thinking that Amazon Coins could be another loyalty program in disguise, like Prime.
Amazon said they would be giving lots of Coins away but they haven't said how. So it could be that they could be closer to a Credit Card rewards program than a Second Life styled virtual currency. They might give a fixed amount of free coins with every purchase up to a certain value and above that throw in an added percentage. That way they encourage purchasers of physical goods to try digital goods they otherwise might not consider.
I don't doubt they'll give you the option to buy Coin-age, but it may be that the real goal is to get you to buy DVDs, TVs, clothing, and even groceries--things you're going to buy anyway--and then, since the coins you earn only work for digital...

Might work, no?

twobits · 02-08-2013, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by david_e

How many coins to the Linden? LOL

Looks to be a pegged currency fixed to the USD more like PED then a floating currency like Bitcoin.

twobits · 02-08-2013, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Is this a way around the "no discounts" rules on things? How is this different from "Gift Certificate"?

Doubt it has anything to do with no discounts.

It is more like tokens at the arcade or chips at the casino. Part of the idea is to put things in a different form that is not thought of as much as money as much as national currencies are. I am a bit surprised for this reason they did a mapping to the cent instead of say the dime. It also puts things in a form with lower friction costs and reporting regulations then national currencies.
In this case the goal seems to lower the costs of micro transactions. In an app you may want to sell a level or chips for a card game etc, however to sell them using paypal or a credit card, they will take something like .30 + a percentage. This makes selling anything less then .35 or so an instant lose, not even counting any costs you may have to process it. So, the idea is that Amazon, with its higher clout to have negotiated better processing rates, along with the aggregation of the purchases across more then one app, can lower the costs and allow much smaller transactions to be feasible. It also of course puts them into a position to get traffic to be able to cross sell to and take a percentage of the action if they want.

VaultBoy · 02-08-2013, 06:41 PM

Yay. Let's buy stuff to buy stuff.

fjtorres · 02-08-2013, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VaultBoy

Yay. Let's buy stuff to buy stuff.

Sneaky, no?

And let's face it, digital coins are quieter than caps.

02-08-2013, 07:19 AM	#20
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 2,360 Karma: 3046348 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Palanthas Device: Kindle 5 Paperwhite and a Nook Simple Touch	Makes things overly complicated if you ask me, why get amazon involved seems like a transaction between you and the publisher of the app. Does't require amazon in the middle. __________________

02-08-2013, 11:57 AM	#21
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,332 Karma: 34035087 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: PRS-T1, KT, PB701/IQ, K2, PB360, BeBook One, Axim51v, TC1000	Over at CNET somebody doesn't like the idea: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-575...se-my-hackles/ Mostly because, since details are limited, he is free to expect the worse. One thing that came up, though, was Green Stamps. And that got me thinking that Amazon Coins could be another loyalty program in disguise, like Prime. Amazon said they would be giving lots of Coins away but they haven't said how. So it could be that they could be closer to a Credit Card rewards program than a Second Life styled virtual currency. They might give a fixed amount of free coins with every purchase up to a certain value and above that throw in an added percentage. That way they encourage purchasers of physical goods to try digital goods they otherwise might not consider. I don't doubt they'll give you the option to buy Coin-age, but it may be that the real goal is to get you to buy DVDs, TVs, clothing, and even groceries--things you're going to buy anyway--and then, since the coins you earn only work for digital... Might work, no? Last edited by fjtorres; 02-08-2013 at 12:01 PM.

02-08-2013, 06:41 PM	#24
VaultBoy Addict Posts: 206 Karma: 1683142 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: Kindle of many shapes, PIPBoy 3000	Yay. Let's buy stuff to buy stuff. __________________ Revolutionizing safety for an uncertain future.

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02-07-2013, 11:34 AM	#16
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 1,845 Karma: 5514220 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle PW, PRS-650, iPhone 4, iPad 4	As a consumer it is annoying because we have to lock in some universal-to-us currency (US dollars) for various specific currency (MS Points, Amazon Coins, etcetera). I assume the larger organizations make some significant money on a large number of small 'points' that never get redeemed, in addition to having the actual cash for investment or arbitrage. Hmm, reminds me I have some MS Points I should spend. And some PSN currency too. And soon some Amazon Coins...

02-07-2013, 12:01 PM	#17
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 11,744 Karma: 59965103 Join Date: May 2010 Device: K4S, Clip Zip, SGP4, iPt4, Nexus7, FireHD8.9	I want some of the free coins so I can get some paid apps. After they're used up, I'll go back to the free stuff. I make a point of never spending my own money on apps.


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