April 5, 2000

1:54 AM

Bing! Bing! Amazon moves to two rows of tabs!
Interesting . . .    I've been part of dozens of conversations about what they were going to do when it *just got too wide*. The Amazonization Effect principle dictates that it will take 30-60 days before other big etailers follow suit because now it's OK to do it.

Just in case I'm a test case here, I've posted the gif here.
posted by sylloge (20 comments total)

Wow, that's damned ugly!

Of course this over abundance of tabs is counter productive. They should be there for quick access but if you're having to wade through a forest of tabs to find the one you want then it's a waste of time. It might not be so bad if you could customize which tabs you want to see and which ones you don't.
posted by dodgygeezer at 2:35 AM on April 5, 2000

They've got a lawn & patio section! Ha ha ha ha!
I haven't been to Amazon for a while but I used to buy CDs at US prices and get them shipped ove as UK customs weren't aware that Amazon did CDs (as there's no tax on books I could get CDs for about half UK price). I wonder if I could get away with a tax-free barbeque set?
posted by Markb at 5:34 AM on April 5, 2000

I don't see the big deal. Ok, there is an extra row of tabs. But they're on an already cluttered page with columns going up both sides.

In fact, I don't see the point. Do they really need a tab for "tools and hardware?" Why is the main page so cluttered now that the new and improved tabs have surfaced?

Of course, I never go to amazon, so I'm pretty much talking out of my arse here. Perhaps it was even more cluttered before the change to the miraculous(insert sound: whoosh) double tab rows. I dunno. Does anyone have a screenshot of the old design?
posted by Ms Snit at 9:12 AM on April 5, 2000

I have to admit, I usually enjoy buying from Amazon. Yes, that's right. Enjoy.
However, if you guys have better places to get books and cds (cdnow and b&n are RIGHT OUT), I'd like to hear about them.
posted by lbergstr at 9:31 AM on April 5, 2000

They look like headstones.
posted by treebjen at 9:53 AM on April 5, 2000

Good God that's nasty. They *do* look like headstones. Or a pile of bundt cakes. I'm not feelin' it.
posted by billpena at 10:09 AM on April 5, 2000

I tried to jump on that bandwagon with my "upside-down tabs" (patent pending), until I "fell off the end of the Internet" (trademark). Now, I'm just trying to redesign oneswellfoop.com with a K.I.S.S. interface (And I mean "Keep It Simple Stupid"; don't expect y weblog to look like an aging rock band in kabuki-ripoff makeup).
posted by wendell at 10:11 AM on April 5, 2000

Aaaaaaaaaaack! Talk about information overload... There's too many choices in too small of a space now.
posted by mathowie at 10:13 AM on April 5, 2000

yes that is horribly ugly and somewhat seems unneeded.
posted by sikk at 10:43 AM on April 5, 2000

Bundt cake...yes, they do look like that. Like those things you had to knock back into the hole in the arcade with the hammer.
posted by Cavatica at 10:59 AM on April 5, 2000

lbergstr - great alternative to amazon is half.com. I use them all the time, and shipping is fast, customer service is excellent, and their wish list features are perfect.

Of course, they are used books, movies, and music. And, unlike amazon, they do not sell patio furniture!

As for the double row of tabs - perhaps Amazon should send its designers to a few seminars on layout.
posted by sperare at 11:53 AM on April 5, 2000

Powells Powells Powells Powells Powells has new and used books, many out-of-print.
posted by EngineBeak at 12:02 PM on April 5, 2000

and they have so many ridiculous categories. i would imagine that "Guns and Ammo" is next...
posted by bluishorange at 12:18 PM on April 5, 2000

Guns and Ammo! ha!
posted by palegirl at 12:36 PM on April 5, 2000

At first I thought they were silly for making it so small, but then I realized why... their stock has been in the doldrums these last few months. All the analysts have been saying is "How could they fit any more tabs up there? They just have no more growth potential left! I can't believe they wasted their final tab on Home Improvement of all things!"

So now, Amazon is trying to prove to all the nay-sayers just how much more they can expand. With two rows of tabs and half-sized text, they reveal their strategy for expansion: More tabs, less space! Sure it's harder to navigate, but look how well Wal-Mart has done, and it's darn near impossible for two carts to pass each other in those aisles!
posted by daveadams at 12:38 PM on April 5, 2000

Don't they look a little too much like tombstones now?
posted by smackfu at 2:01 PM on April 5, 2000

oh, come on. all those tabs up there just shout "POSSIBILITY!" and "EXCITEMENT!" seeing all those tabs is kind of like walking into a costco or sam's club or wal-mart, and seeing the great expanse of space and thinking "wow, look at all this stuff i could BUY...."
posted by msippey at 2:11 PM on April 5, 2000

I'm waiting for the 3D tab interface... But instead of worrying about the new tabs lets figure out what the next colour combo will be for the next amazon.com store.
posted by tomalak at 2:27 PM on April 5, 2000

Personally, I think the tabs are LEADING to something - amazon is slowly but surely revealing itself to be a massive pyramid scheme. Wait till you see what's in the top tab...
posted by icathing at 3:30 PM on April 5, 2000

hmmm.... I noticed something at Amazon I hadn't see before: a list of various items with sudden popularity.

That's kind of cool, I didn't know Clerks was on DVD with all the laserdisc extras.
posted by mathowie at 4:02 PM on April 5, 2000