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HotTake: the result of this should be to nationalize Amazon to be the defacto national provider of AWS services, delivery, logistics, and backstopped retail services.
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This is a classic programmer response. The problem is not Amazon's software, it's their marketing, distribution network, huge audience that searches for products exclusively via Amazon, "free" and very fast Prime deliveries, etc. That doesn't all happen via simply open sourcing some code.
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While they are at it they should also go after the credit card companies. They have managed to extract a 2-3% tax on most retail transactions. There is really no reason why the fees should be that high in the age of electronic transactions.
HotTake: the result of this should be to nationalize Amazon to be the defacto national provider of AWS services, delivery, logistics, and backstopped retail services.
Might as well just shut it down in that case. Amazon would be abandoned in mass if it was government run. People groan every time they see that the USPS is handling their delivery. I can't imagine how bad it would be if that same level of government competence was applied to all of Amazon's operations.
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This. Also add most major telcos, ISPs and airlines to the list as well. We love capitalism. It’s basis is competition. Let’s get us some of that.
and the big 4 banks, and walmart, and a bunch of other industries. we're in a monopoly age.
Unless they’re reined-in, progress will be elusive; their megaphone must be silenced!
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Sure. The rules at the place you're trying to sell. Dictating how you sell elsewhere is a clear step beyond that.
They are not dictating how they sell elsewhere. They are saying they need to offer the best price on their site. It is easy to detect whether or not they actually are, and sellers are simply being called out. There is no obligation to sell on Amazon, nor a requirement for them to raise prices on other platforms. They could simply offer the lowest price everywhere. The result? Lower prices for Amazon customers. If the…
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This. Also add most major telcos, ISPs and airlines to the list as well. We love capitalism. It’s basis is competition. Let’s get us some of that.
And media companies...
It seems the government's main issue is that they have problems with companies being large. If that's the issue they should lobby congress to simply enforce some maximum size/impact a company has. My opinion on this is that e-commerce is extremely competitive and consumers are already highly motivated to pay the least amount of money. If it were cheaper for consumers to go elsewhere they would, and sellers would foll…
I think you're right that the government does have 'limit the size of companies' as a motivation, but I don't think that's their main motivation. For one thing, how would you even right and enforce a law on maximum size/impact of a company? How would this even politically get through? There's already enough push-back against enforcing laws like "don't form cartels". The pushback on maximum size/impact of a company wo…
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It's trivial to create a website (frontend and backend) that offers similar functionality to Amazon. There's nothing special about their software platform. You can't open-source marketing and the insane delivery network Amazon has. Those, among other things, are the reason they are successful. They could release all of their software completely open source and literally nothing would change.
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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…
The move that Amazon's price be no higher than offered elsewhere is the most pro-consumer move possible. Yet here we are with sellers WANTING to sell their items at a lower price on places other than Amazon, but if they do, they'll go out of business. That doesn't sound pro-consumer. I'm a consumer. I'd like to be able to buy items for the lowest price the seller wants to offer me. That's not happening in some cases…