7. Bookstores vs. Amazon

When Amazon was founded in 1994, the book market was antiquated. Books take up a lot of space, and even the biggest brick and mortar stores can only hold so many titles. And stores typically relied on walk-in customers to buy those titles.

By cutting out the distributors, Amazon connected readers with publishers. And because a book isn't ordered until it's actually purchased by the consumer, so it can hold millions of titles.

And then in 2007 Amazon released the Kindle and took a 90% stake in the eBook market. Amazon dropped the prices to $9.99 per book. And now not only does Amazon dominate eBooks, but a brick and mortar store selling printed books at $25 is having a hard time standing up against it.

The advantage is availability, discounting, and fast shipping. One can get an eBook within seconds while sitting on the beach or waiting at the airport.