basketball lost in long tail
17Jul07The subtitle of Chris Anderson’s book The Long Tail is “How endless choice is creating unlimited demand.” Well, I’m a bit hacked off with Amazon — the poster child for long-tail economics. We use Amazon all the time. The problem is that — and not for the first time — something that their online catalogue promises will arrive in one to two weeks, is not coming any time soon. In fact, the size 5 basketball that should now be playing a crucial role in developing the hand-eye coordination and core stability of the Knackered brood, won’t be arriving until November. This, of course, means that in reality it won’t be arriving at all.
It would be nice if Amazon were to admit defeat, or have a slightly better explanation as to why this item is so much more esoteric than Elegance: Exquisite Doily Patterns Charted for Cross-Stitch (Paperback), currently number 986,204 in Amazon’s sales rank.
So, today I am mostly not buying the long-tail argument, unless I can find an alternative supply. Suggestions of UK suppliers would be most welcome.
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Tags: -finance-and-markets, Amazon, business, business, finance and markets, Chris-Anderson, core-stability, life-the-universe-and-everything, long-tail, size-5-basketball, sports, training, what hacks off the hack?
Call me old-fashioned, but you could walk into a sports shop (e.g. John Moore’s on Argyle Street) and buy a basketball f2f, IRL
Tim,
Size 7, no problem, but size 5, which is the specific kids’ size, not anywhere.
Ah - I see. I must admit that I’m not au fait with basketball sizing. Maybe you could have mentioned that in the post, for the uninitiated like me
Anyway, back online, how about:
http://www.moltensports.co.uk/stock_item.asp?id=91
(google:query=basketball size 5 uk)
Could try:
http://www.decathlon.co.uk
Mmm, Molten is the supplier to the 2012 Olympics, and a UK firm. My faith is restored.
And I can now announce that Tim Beadle is the winner of the Knackered Hack spot the basketball competition*, the prize being a size 3 junior size Molten basketball, perfect for the developing coordination of Beadle jr.
*Conditions apply (ie no complaints to Ofcom)
Chris, thanks your late entry.
Any recommendations for basketball hoop/stand combinations? No prizes this time, unfortunately. The well has run dry.
awww - that’s very kind! I’m sure the size 3 will be well loved.