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The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

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Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#51

Post by endisneigh »

kibwen wrote: post #38
endisneigh wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what? That's how e-commerce works. Why should Amazon be obligated to fill their store with higher priced items compared to their competitors? No one is going to visit a store where every item could be purchased cheaper somewhere else. This is exactly why price match is a thing, because they don't want their costumers soliciting different stores to begin with. The move that Amazon's price be no higher than offered…

I don't even know where to begin with this comment. Do you know what anticompetitive behavior is? Do you know how markets are supposed to work? Amazon is leveraging their position in the market to unfairly disadvantage their competitors, thereby distorting the market, decreasing its efficiency, and increasing end prices for consumers everywhere. Market-distorting behavior like this is why antitrust regulation is nece…

Everything you're stating is false. Amazon is trying to do right by its customers, and they are not obligated to let sellers not give their customers the best price available. Sellers are not obligated to sell on Amazon.

Your conclusion that this increases end pries for consumers has nothing to do with Amazon, but the sellers themselves.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#53

Post by endisneigh »

Jensson wrote: post #50
endisneigh wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

How is Amazon forcing them to raise prices on other platforms pro consumer? The only one who benefits from this arrangement is Amazon, everyone else including the consumer just loses out.

Amazon is not forcing them to raise prices on other platforms? Amazon is telling their sellers that they must offer the best price on their platform. That does not necessarily mean they have to raise prices on other platforms.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#54

Post by someonehere »

What does breaking up Amazon look like? I’m genuinely curious because half the comments I see in here are “break up Amazon!” or “break up FAANG!”

What does that look like? What would Amazon look like if broken up?

In the end we all know lobbyists from Amazon will somehow influence their outcome.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#55

Post by tartuffe78 »

endisneigh wrote: post #40
kmeisthax wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, to be clear, you have no problem with Amazon writing their own laws and collecting their own taxes? Because that is what they are effectively doing.

If sellers were obligated to sell on Amazon that would be the case, but it's not, is it? Ironically, people complaining about this are exacerbating the issue. If sellers who actually cared left Amazon it would loosen Amazon's dominance in e-commerce.

They're obligated to by the grip Amazon already has on the e-commerce market. Letting Amazon make anti-competitive moves that increase their grip will only worsen the situation.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#56

Post by endisneigh »

tartuffe78 wrote: post #55
endisneigh wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If sellers were obligated to sell on Amazon that would be the case, but it's not, is it? Ironically, people complaining about this are exacerbating the issue. If sellers who actually cared left Amazon it would loosen Amazon's dominance in e-commerce.

They're obligated to by the grip Amazon already has on the e-commerce market. Letting Amazon make anti-competitive moves that increase their grip will only worsen the situation.

This grip you're describing only exists because they don't leave, and nothing is stopping them. Again, no one is forcing people to sell on Amazon. They could use Shopify or sell on eBay.

People act as if you have to sell on Amazon. You don't. That assumption and expectation is why Amazon is dominant to begin with. Sellers should leave if they don't like it, and that will naturally soften Amazon dominance.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#58

Post by endisneigh »

tartuffe78 wrote: post #49
endisneigh wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Amazon is abusing it's monopoly power to hurt competition, when Amazon is the only place to certain things, consumer cost will go up.

> when Amazon is the only place to certain things

No seller is obligated to sell on Amazon to begin with, so this entire premise is false.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#59

Post by dwallin »

endisneigh wrote: post #34
Jensson wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is none of Amazons business what prices they put when they list their wares on other services, the only reason they care is that they want to crush the competition. Dictating how retailers can interact with your competitors is anti-competitive. Dictating what prices they can offer when they put up listings is a part of that, it is anti-competitive.

[flagged]

It's not pro-consumer in any way. If the seller can profitably list it for a given price on a given platform, competition will almost certainly drive their price down to that level. The only time a policy like this becomes significant is if another platform, or the sellers own platform, can offer the product for cheaper than Amazon (eg. maybe they can ship straight from the factory), in which case this policy would force them to raise their prices, while simultaneously removing potential competitive pressure on Amazon.

Re: The FTC sues to break up Amazon over an economy-wide “hidden tax”

#60

Post by ARussell »

endisneigh wrote: post #47
woooooo wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some would say that the way commerce works is sellers can sell anywhere at any price that a buyer wants to pay.

That's not how commerce works. Commerce works by following the rules of places that you are trying to sell at. You can't sell anything anywhere.

And Amazon needs to follow the rules and laws of the place that IT'S trying to sell at.
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