Amazon Buys Zappos

I saw this in the Daily News and tracked it down online. Zappos is my favorite online seller. I buy from Amazon but I'm less thrilled with them. I buy lots of dvds and some books from them, but I'm not happy with how they're handling ebooks for the Kindle, and other issues. The article says Zappos' management team will remain, but I'm wondering how this will affect the company and the service. Will Zappos be able to continue to send all orders overnight for free? It's not advertised, but they do it, as a surprise gift to buyers.The free shipping and excellent customer service have kept me buying from Zappos. I really hope this is just a behind-the-scenes thing and the service upfront will remain as is. But I'm concerned.

When FedEx bought Kinkos, the company became FedEx Kinkos. Now I see signs in the store announcing they'll be called FedEx Office, obliterating the Kinkos brand. I would hate for Zappos to be absorbed into Amazon someday.

Here's the press release from Amazon and the CEO letter to employees, posted on their blog, from Zappos. I had to search it out because they didn't exactly announce it on their home pages. They both make it sound like Zappos will remain independent, and I hope that continues to be the case for the future.

~~~o0o~~~