It looks like Amazon is now experimenting with micropayments. Well this isn’t quite micropayment. But it’s a start:
As we discussed in The Dynamics of Micropayments, many have tried unsuccessfully to kick-start the use of micropayments. Amazon has particular advantages: customers already know and trust it, it knows you and your credit card, and it has a one-click checkout scheme. To complete any transaction requires only the click of your consent. Impulse-buy your heart away.
Does this guarantee success for Amazon’s attempt at micropayments? No. But even a failure of this experiment does not condemn the concept of micropayments. It would say more about the demand for that content, over the billions of other free pages on the web. If a piece of content is perceived to be valuable enough, customers will pay for it, even if it only costs a few cents.
[Readers: Got any info about how well this program is working for Amazon?]
