Advertising took off only after the creation of national radio networks. Radio and TV are mass media. The Internet offers custom content. The winning business model will reflect that. Amazon bets that if it gets big enough fast, it can charge enough to make money, transporting an old retail model to a new medium.
Businesses routinely share savings with vendors who have a better idea.
But it plans to charge for each transaction on its electronic marketplaces. The technology is new. The pattern is not. The 1922 radio hype was followed by a shakeout. Only then did a new business model emerge.