Endless.com, the online shoe store launched by Amazon before they acquired Zappos, is rolling out free international shipping on orders over $100 for more than 50 countries. {TechCrunch} International orders under $100 ship for a flat rate of $10. Australia, Canada most of the European Union (France, Germany, etc.), Mexico, China, Japan and the UAE are just a few of the countries included.

Even though Zappos is officially part of the Amazon empire now, it’s good to see that both sites are continuing to innovate. For Zappos, that’s meant expanding their product offering to include apparel and homeware, while pulling out of Canada to focus exclusively on the US market.

Endless clearly has different ideas about non-US shoe shoppers, and seemingly thinks international sales are an area that can be profitable. On the help page detailing the shipping options, we learn that purchases will go through the Amazon Global program that estimates and collects an import fees deposit at checkout.

For US readers who’ve never had the pleasure of dealing with customs fees and duties this may not sound like a big deal, but here’s why it is: though it seems antiquated in the age of the internet and online shopping which is supposed to break down borders, the taxes, duties and import fees on an item can sometimes cost as much or more than the item itself. We’re not talking some remote country you’ve never heard of either; from personal experience the UK and France can levy some heavy duty duties on everything from Forever 21 tank tops (cheap products) to higher priced luxury items sent from stores outside the EU.

It may just be dumb luck, but in our experience it doesn’t seem to work the other way, and that must-have dress you spot on a UK site never arrives with any costs beyond the exchange rate and shipping.

So while shipping costs are only part of the problem, by making that free Endless can slightly reduce some of the burden on international shoppers looking to take advantage of lower US$ pricing and wider selection than what’s available on domestic sites. By working those fees into the checkout process from the beginning, international shoppers won’t have to worry about spending $100 on a pair of shoes to find out that they have to pay $80 in import fees.

Interestingly, Endless has a sister brand called Javari that operates sites in the UK, France, Germany and Japan. The selection on those sites is much smaller than the US site, so the new shipping offer could find its way on to the localized sites as a cross promotion.

“People didn’t believe in Amazon for many years, but it ended up changing the way Americans shop,” he says. “People didn’t believe in Apple — they thought it was a fringe computer company, but it ended up changing the way people listen to music, and changing what daily life feels like worldwide.”

Given that Charney has made it abundantly clear that he won’t be leaving his leadership role at American Apparel, we can infer that he sees himself as the Jeff Bezos or Steve Jobs of the clothing industry.

Well, all of the companies start with the letter A, but that’s as far as we got with the comparison. While we’re pretty sure it will be some time before you see illustrated nudes pitching Apple, the latest investors to save American Apparel from bankruptcy are confident in Charney as head of the company, and the company’s less controversial practices.

A representative from Essentia Equity, one of the Canadian companies who injected capital into the company, cited a weak US dollar, rising Chinese labor costs and increasing transportation costs as reasons why they invested in the company, one of the few American mass market retailers who still manufactures the bulk of their products in the US.

American Apparel’s Los Angeles factory has reportedly recovered most of the productivity it lost after forced layoffs after an mmigration violation. If nothing else, this seems to be consistent with what Charney told us last year, when he insisted that the company would continue to hire in spite of financial challenges.

With the sexual harassment allegations that repeatedly arise against Charney, the provocative ads that define the company, and the repeated brushes with bankruptcy it’s easy to write American Apparel off. As we’ve noted, to do so would mean the loss of some good business practices as well though. We’re not sure if American Apparel is the next Amazon or Apple, we’re definitely not sure about Charney as the next Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos; but the economic conditions noted by Essentia are real, and Charney’s determination remains solid. Whether that will be enough for American Apparel to capitalize on remains to be seen.

The 24-hour deal, which runs today, offers LivingSocial members a $20 Amazon giftcard for $10.

TechCrunch notes that it’s unlikely most people will spend exactly $20, which would make it a winner for Amazon. Add to that, a $10 discount isn’t steep enough to really cut into margins on most products and is probably about the amount most online retailers calculate when offering free shipping and it’s a no-brainer for Amazon. For the math portion of this post: of the $10, Amazon probably only sees $5 since the split on most group buying deals is 50%, but with Amazon being a major investor the margins could be more favorable. Even if they aren’t, we repeat the major investor portion of the statement for why this is a no lose situation for Amazon.

As for LivingSocial, the Amazon investment obviously helps in bending some of Amazon’s rules. Most affiliate promoters of Amazon products are restricted when it comes to offering any incentives or cash back promotions, putting up a barrier that would be harder for copycats to overcome. Also, it’s worth remembering that Groupon’s Gap promotion where people got $50 credits for $25 was the company’s most successful and brought in $11 million in a single day.

While the majority of the daily deals on any site are targeted to specific local markets, the power of a national promotion with a major brand is still the kind of thing that gets attention after one too many spa or yoga class discount offerings. With the sheer amount of stuff on Amazon, the low purchase amount and the fact that you really aren’t likely to see the deal anywhere else, we wouldn’t be surprised to see LivingSocial having a multi-million dollar day of their own today.

With 14 hours to go, nearly 850,000 gift cards have already been sold putting the total revenue close to $8.5 million. Figuring that they can continue to average 85,000 cards per hour (!), you’re looking at about 2 million cards sold or $20 million.

For just $258.95, you can be the proud owner of your very own gastric bypass kit including everything from body markers to blades and bandages. Easy to follow instructional app sold separately.

Seriously, we know health care and obesity are two very hot topics, but is this really the way to keep costs down? We’ve all heard about crazy hospital markups that make a single aspirin $50, and other kinds of ridiculous markups BUT isn’t this taking frugal to a new level?

We’re sure there’s nothing wrong with the quality of the kit – actually, we’re not sure, which is the problem here. We can appreciate wanting to cut down on unnecessary costs when it comes to medical bills, but is patients buying their own surgery kits a good idea? Most people probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a good kit and a bad one.

In theory, it’s amazing in the weirdest possible way that you can buy an ebook reader for the waiting room and a surgery kit for the operating room in the same place, but it doesn’t mean you should. {Bits and Pieces via Buzfeed}

If you’re still in favor of bring-your-own medical supplies, here’s our favorite product review.

I’ve tried everything to lose weight, and for whatever reason, I fail miserably every time!

Amazon has officially “kicked it up a notch” by providing this top notch “all in one” product! My Aunt Sissy up in New York paid $15K for an over the top surgical procedure, and a three day stint in the recovery room. Me? I bought this kit, had my brother beat the crap out of me until I couldn’t feel feelings anymore, and woke up a changed man!

Now when I go for “fourth meal”, I can only eat half a crunchy taco, in lieu of the fifteen I used to consume!

In the end Medline saved me thousands of dollars in medical bills, but unfortunately helped spur a reoccurring pain killer addiction! I may be thin now, have a vagina for a chin, but every day when I look in the mirror I see a winner… and occasionally a purple T-Rex trying to pick up a pencil from the floor. Meh.. it’s funny because he doesn’t realize how short his hands are.

P.S.- I have two kits left if anyone wants my brother to come by and “hook them up”.

Amazon is infamous for never releasing hard numbers for how many Kindles are sold, though the company isn’t afraid to talk in relative figures.  It seems that the newest Amazon Kindle has sold more in the first four weeks of availability than any other Kindle launch.  That makes the new Amazon Kindle the fastest selling version yet, which is impressive but none to surprising given the $139 WiFi-only version that is available for the first time. {TechCrunch}

Amazon has also said that the new Kindle models have sold more on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk than any other product.  The Kindle is also the most gifted and wished-for products on the two sites, which certainly says a lot about how far eReaders have come.

Going on personal experience, it’s difficult in New York City to take a subway without seeing at least one Kindle in use.  Amazon’s relative numbers only back up what we can already infer: there are a lot of people out there who like the idea of reading books without having to carry around the actual books.  Yes, physical books are nice, but eBooks are arguably easier to read, easier to carry with you, and don’t use up so many trees.

Is the Blackberry Torch already going up in flames?

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the BlackBerry Torch only managed to sell 150,000 units at launch {Electronista}.  That may seem like a large number, but in terms of handset sales, it’s relatively nothing.  Most Android phones in recent memory have been selling out on day one, and the iPhone 4 sold a million on the first day.  All of those phones had issues with inventory, with phones being sold out for quite some time (sometimes sold out just from pre-orders).  The Torch, on the other hand, has no supply issues, unless stores have more stock of the phone than they planned to have, in which case it could be a bigger problem for RIM.

Along with the unconfirmed sales numbers, there’s another sign that the Torch isn’t doing as well as expected.  Amazon.com has lowered the price of the phone already.  Just five days after the phone went on sale for $199.99, Amazon is selling it for $99.99 with a two-year contract {Engadget}.  It brings the Torch more in line with the mid-range Android phones that have similar (or sometime even better) hardware specs, and a larger app ecosystem.  So if you wanted a Torch, now is a great time to pick one up.

If you can imagine it, the new Kindle is even thinner than the Kindle 2, and also a bit smaller without sacrificing any screen size.  The screen is similar to the new Kindle DX screen in that it has 50 percent better contrast and 20 percent faster page turns according to Amazon.  On the inside, the new Kindle now has WiFi.  The device is available in a 3G and WiFi version for the same $189 as the previous model, of a WiFi only version for $139.  Both are available in either graphite or white. {Amazon}

Amazon looks to be taking some shots at Apple’s iPad and other tablets with the new Kindle.  The site’s page for the new Kindle points out that it won’t get hot while reading like computers and tablets.  It also mentions the fact that the screen has no glare about 5 times on the page.  In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said that “For the vast majority of books, adding video and animation is not going to be helpful. It is distracting rather than enhancing. You are not going to improve Hemingway by adding video snippets.”  He then added that there are a lot of companies making LCD tablets, and that he didn’t want Amazon to be one among many {Engadget}.  With the lowered price, it’s certainly easier to get into than the at least $500 iPad.  It might also help if we ever get to see those Kindle apps that were promised months ago.

Like all mobile eBook apps, nook for Android will sync bookmarks and last read pages with other instances of the app or your nook eBook reader.  Unlike the iOS version of Barnes & Noble, nook for Android is an actual nice-looking app.  It has eight choices for fonts, which is even more than is on the nook reader.  The standard to turn the page is a one finger flick, though that can be changed to a single press on either side of the screen.  Like the nook device, nook for Android comes complete with LendMe, so users can share eBooks with friends, giving their friends a copy of the book for up to 14 days (the eBook is then removed from the original owner’s library for that time). {Barnes & Noble}

With Barnes & Noble, that now means all the biggest eBook sellers are on Android.  Given the fact that many publishers are switching to an agency model, making eBooks cost the same across all platforms, it really comes down to which app you prefer.  Granted, those who own eBook reader devices would want to use the same app as the device they have, others are free to choose whichever app they like.  Aside from Amazon, Kobo/Borders and now Barnes & Noble’s nook there’s also Adiko which can access any free eBooks, or read ePub files bought from other virtual stores.

Without releasing exact sales numbers, Amazon has announced that since the price drop, Kindle eReader sales have tripled.  It looks like all that was holding potential buyers back from  buying a Kindle was a price drop of just $70.  It dips below the mental barrier of $200, and is almost in impulse buy territory in terms of gadgets.  That means there’s a lot of people out there now who are willing to buy eBooks, perhaps above buying physical books. {Engadget}

That brings up Amazon’s next point: for the past three months Kindle eBook sales have outpaced hardcover book sales.  That’s all Kindle books as compared to all hardcover books, even those without Kindle versions.  For those months for every 100 hardcover books sold, 143 Kindle books were sold.  For just the past month it’s 9 Kindle books for every 2 hardcover books.  Amazon calls this a “tipping point,” and it certainly seems true.

Important, however, is that Kindle books aren’t necessarily sold only for those with the Kindle eReader.  With the sales of the iPad, the iPhone 4, and the new Android Kindle app, Amazon is proving that eBooks are quite popular.  With 160,000 Android phones being sold each day {TechCrunch}, and the popular ones selling out on the first day {eWeek}, the great size of the iPad for reading, and the beautiful text on the iPhone 4s Retina Display, Amazon stands to sell a lot more Kindle books for quite some time.  Now if only someone could convince all publishers to put out eBooks.

Competition for eReading consumers†affection sizzled on Monday as Barnes and Noble dropped the price of its well received Nook e-book reader 23 percent to $199 and introduced the Nook WiFi at an even bigger bargain $149, though the latter device can only be used in a WiFi environment. Amazon, whose $259 price tag for their Kindle eReader (which comes with 3G technology by default) previously matched the Nookâ€s cost exactly, responded by dropping the price of the Kindle to $189, and they aren’t stopping their competitive advances there. Amazon.com plans to introduce a thinner Kindle with an upgraded screen this August. Sonyâ€s cheapest eReader is still $169. {Fortune}

Get yourself a price gun: the war for th eReader market is on

At this rate, eReaders will be cheaper than the actual books in their stores in no time.

In addition, Apple updated the iPhone and iPod Touch today to include available iBook software. The iPadâ€s price tag for the entry-level model remains near $500, though the additional tablet computer functionality give it an advantage over single purpose eReaders. It would be difficult to justify a $500 eReader purchase, but when that device doubles as a place to play games, browse the web and check on email, it’s a lot easier to rationalize.
“Their sales have obviously been impacted by the iPad,” Charlie Wolf, a senior analyst at Needham & Co. in New York, said. “These price cuts are almost an act of desperation.” {Bloomberg Businessweek}

Meanwhile, Kobo, the e-book retailer that offers eReading software for an array of devices, released free software on Monday that is available through the Android marketplace and allows eReaders to be used on Smartphones with the Android operating system. The e-book retailer already produces software for other Smartphones, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Palm WebOS and the newly released Kobo reading device.

Users who buy Kobo e-books with one device can read their purchase on any of the devices for which Kobo offers software.

“We’ve adapted the features our customers love and expect from Kobo to ensure that we provide the best reading experience for Android-enabled smartphones,” Kobo CEO Michael Serbinis said. {Publishers Weekly}

Borders is also holding steady with eReaders that began selling for $119.99-$149.99 in May. {Bloomberg Businessweek}

Need to catch your breath? We sure do! We canâ€t wait to see which devices prove most popular among consumers and how low the prices will need to go to woo customers who are interested in an e-reading device but not its expense.