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Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

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Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#151

Post by apricot »

chx wrote: post #51
gdulli wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A while back I noticed my last Amazon purchase was in late December 2014. I set a goal of not making a single Amazon purchase in calendar 2015. I'm on track and it hasn't been difficult at all.

The problem is AmazonGlobal. There's extremely little competition in this space. If I order from abroad (I am in Canada) then the courier will charge me a ridiculous amounts of money to process customs ( http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shipping/cost/zones/customs... twenty percent, easily!). If I order from amazon.com / .de / whatever then at checkout I will pay all the necessary import fees and taxes (very low usua…

I found that by asking the seller to use the USPS instead of a courier company, I could avoid brokerage fees and sometimes even duty/import fees as well. Not all sellers will agree to use USPS, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#152

Post by [deleted] »

pm24601 wrote: post #129
chipgap98 wrote: post #6

Amazon can absolutely do this (but I think it is a slippery slope, possibly a sign of some bad changes ahead at amazon. They really should be neutral about the products listed on their site) but the reason they gave is kinda ridiculous [1]. I have a hard time believing the enough people don't know the difference between Prime & Netflix to make this a legitimate reason to stop selling Chromecast and Apple TV [1]: Over…

> Amazon can absolutely do this May, maybe not. It depends if the FTC views this as an anti-competitive move. See https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-a... "It is unlawful for a company to monopolize or attempt to monopolize trade, meaning a firm with market power cannot act to maintain or acquire a dominant position by excluding competitors or preventing new entry."

[deleted]

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#153

Post by stephengoodwin »

IgorPartola wrote: post #87
Artistry121 wrote: post #5

I don't think this move is in Amazon's best interests long term. Their competitive edge with Prime is that I go to them first because I assume they'll have what I want, at a fair price and the highest level of convenience. If they are no longer the "Everything Store" then they won't be where I go to for everything...

I have found them to be constantly more expensive on tools vs Home Depot and Lowes. I used to think that Amazon would pretty much aways give me the best price (+/- random sites that may or may not be shady), but when it comes to any type of tools that has not been the case. I have also found Costco to be often times cheaper for household supplies such as paper towel, etc. Amazon's main benefit is convenience, but the…

I've always wondered if that was a regional variance. Since I live in Texas, I assume the prices of our grocery store staples are cheaper than they would be in, say, downtown New York City.

But if I lived in a more urban, city environment, where easy parking isn't a given and picking up groceries in a car is more a hassle, then the time savings of having Amazon deliver for close to the same price that I would pay in store is much more worth it.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#155

Post by MichaelGG »

RockyMcNuts wrote: post #88

Amazon needs to do a better job of explaining why they think Apple TV and Chromecast's restrictions are unfair. Amazon's streaming is pretty good, I certainly wouldn't buy a device that doesn't support Prime Video. Roku is pretty good, supports everything except Apple streaming AFAIK. One could make a pretty good argument Apple is the one locking people out. But it might come across as Amazon throwing their weight ar…

What's stopping Amazon from making Prime work on Chromecast? Even freebie apps in the Play Store stream just fine to Chromecast.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#156

Post by slg »

newobj wrote: post #97
slg wrote: post #27

>"Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime," Amazon said in the e-mail. "It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion." Google and Apple now both have open SDK's for creating streaming apps for their devices. Isn't the the fact these devices don't "interact well with Prime Video" entirely Amazon's fault?

"Google and Apple now both have open SDK's for creating streaming apps for their devices." And with what provisos about selling through those apps? This is not a technical issue. Amazon just doesn't want to give up 30% of GMS (which would be an even higher % of its margins) on digital media.

Amazon already has Prime Video apps on Android and iOS that would be subject to the same policies yet those apps show no sign of disappearing anytime soon. After this announcement, I have to believe that is only because Amazon does not have a viable alternative smartphone like it does for streaming devices.

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#157

Post by Reedx »

newobj wrote: post #97
slg wrote: post #27

>"Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime," Amazon said in the e-mail. "It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion." Google and Apple now both have open SDK's for creating streaming apps for their devices. Isn't the the fact these devices don't "interact well with Prime Video" entirely Amazon's fault?

"Google and Apple now both have open SDK's for creating streaming apps for their devices." And with what provisos about selling through those apps? This is not a technical issue. Amazon just doesn't want to give up 30% of GMS (which would be an even higher % of its margins) on digital media.

I don't think that's the case because Prime Video is on Xbox and Playstation, where they instruct you to go to amazon.com to buy/rent videos. It could work exactly the same way on Apple TV. So why are they not on it?

It must be another reason... But what?

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#159

Post by azakai »

yohui wrote: post #130
azakai wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess the question is whether those SDKs provide everything Amazon needs. And, are there no legal restrictions that affect Amazon either. Overall the article just says Prime "doesn't work well" on those devices, but does work well on others. It doesn't say why. At this point it's hard to say who's to blame. It would have been nice if the article had investigated the issue.

Amazon Instant Video is available on Sony TVs running Android TVs, but Amazon disables the app from working on non-Sony TVs: http://www.androidpolice.com/2015/05/16/amazon-disables-the-... Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Crunchyroll, etc. all support Chromecast. It would be extremely easy for Amazon to support it, if they wanted to.

Are you saying that the article is wrong when it says that Amazon video worked, but poorly, on non-Sony TVs?

Re: Amazon Will Ban Sale of Apple, Google Video-Streaming Devices

#160

Post by LukeB_UK »

guelo wrote: post #125

After considering a Chromecast and an Apple TV I went with Roku because the main services I want are Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. If Apple and Google are playing hardball against Amazon video this move only makes sense in a tit for tat battle.

Apple and Google aren't doing anything, Amazon aren't making their services available on those platforms.
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