SmallBusinessNewz

There are a couple of items floating around the web about Amazon that may interest small business owners.

First off, today they announced the opening of their office supplies store.

"We are thrilled to offer our customers an easy and convenient way to find and discover everything they need to outfit their office or classroom," said Chris Rupp, Amazon's director of merchandising for computers and office supplies.

Not that this is earth shattering news, but it could be convenient for those who regularly shop at Amazon and don't feel like venturing over to Office Depot or some other place.

Amazon claims to offer over 200 brands in the following areas: staplers and punches, writing and correction supplies, paper and printable media, envelopes, mailers and shipping supplies, calendars, planners and ogranizers, tape, adhesives and fasteners, presentation supplies, education and crafts, filing products, ink and toner, and lab and scientific supplies.

In other words, everything you need to stay organized, which we all know leads to more productivity and ultimately saving (and hopefully making) more money.

The second Amazon item of note, and perhaps the more interesting of the two is a rumor that they could look at competing with PayPal in online money transfer.

Mashable ran a story on this, noting that Amazon Payments came out last year, and speculating that they may turn it from an exclusive Amazon tool into a player in the game. Paul Glazowski writes:

My sense is that exercising its heft is in Amazon's interest at this point in time. The company's place atop the heap in online retail is definitely advantageous for the pursuit of an extension to its business, and, as with its Associates program, the world of third-party Web sites are the group best able to help Amazon make the most of its core assets - all while offering consumers another way to pay, as it were.

Let's keep this filed under the rumor section, but it's certainly an interesting thought. You'd be hard pressed to find a more trusted name in eCommerce than Amazon.