Opinion certainty 4/5 debate potential 2/5

Wertz: Amazon Marketplace lacks community on both buyer and seller sides

Boris Wurtz · a16z Podcast | Building Marketplaces with the Power of Community · Jan 2, 2019 · at 22:44

Boris Wertz, Andreessen Horowitz board partner, discusses how transactional platforms prioritize standardized service and sales volume over community building.

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“And I mean, you look at marketplace like Amazon marketplace, I mean, nobody, there's no community per se. I mean, people, seller go there to sell as many products as at high prices as possible and deliver a consistent service. Right. But there is no sense of community either on the buyer or the seller side.”

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