Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads • Hacker News Board

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#11

Post by neogodless » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:18 PM UTC

jtbayly wrote: post #7

CSMastermind wrote: post #3

It sounds like Apple was upset about the counterfeit products being sold on Amazon and, after issuing hundreds of thousands of takedown notices threatened to sue Amazon themselves and reached an agreement where Amazon took measures to eliminate the counterfeits. The knock seems to be that they only did this for Apple products, not counterfeits of say Samsung phones because they were not pressured in similar ways by S…

I didn't read the whole article, but it seemed focused on (missing) advertisements, not on counterfeits.

It's both.

> In a statement today, Apple explained:

> > Apple also told Insider that the 2018 agreement with Amazon “sought to address significant counterfeit and safety issues” on Amazon’s marketplace.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#12

Post by 0cf8612b2e1e » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:19 PM UTC

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #5

What exactly is the consumer harm here supposed to be?

Were I Samsung, I would be pissed that competitor’s (cheaper) products get shown on my page.

As a consumer, it shows that Amazon is aware of counterfeits, and has the ability to limit them, but does nothing unless the seller can raise an appropriate fit. Have I previously purchased counterfeit Samsung X? Sounds like Amazon might have a good intuition, but does nothing to stop it.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#13

Post by echelon » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:19 PM UTC

> In contrast, product pages for Apple competitors like Samsung are riddled with ads from competitors, recommendations, and other sponsored banners. Insider says that other companies, including Samsung, have complained about the preferential treatment given to Apple.

You shouldn't be allowed to place ads against another company's product listings or trademarked brands.

You shouldn't be able to pay Google to advertise and gain search placement ahead of another company's trademarked brands, either.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#14

Post by lucb1e » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:26 PM UTC

qgin wrote: post #9

How is this any different than Apple having its own wood-and-steel display area in Best Buy?

I guess in a real store, you can see that it's there, and so any competitor knows this is something the store does and a deal they can get as well?

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#15

Post by iris2004 » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

tracerbulletx wrote: post #6

Retailer and vendor make a contractual deal to merchandise product. Is your grocery store colluding with CocaCola to display their products right at the front of the store while putting healthy items like milk far away!!?? Are they harming the health of your children?? Is this just a conspiracy to make greedy dentists richer?? More news at 11

Amazon is both a retailer and marketplace. If it prevents fake Coke being sold because of a secret deal, but is happy to sell fake Pepsi, then that is absolutely a problem for both consumers and sellers which should be scrutinised, especially considering its position in the market.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#16

Post by pimlottc » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

While I get the principle at play here, it’s pretty hard to get mad at Apple for getting Amazon to show fewer ads.

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#17

Post by microtherion » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:28 PM UTC

qgin wrote: post #9

How is this any different than Apple having its own wood-and-steel display area in Best Buy?

Yes, the very reason for Apple to create the "store-in-store" concept was that they thought that the buying experience for their products was inadequate (both in presentation of the products and qualification of the staff): https://web.archive.org/web/19990210163227/http://product.in...

The Amazon storefront simply seems to be an extension of that concept from brick and mortar to online stores. I'm not sure what's supposed to be unlawful or unethical about this.

[Disclaimer: I work for Apple, but not in a retail oriented role, nor as a spokesperson]

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#18

Post by wnevets » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

Amazon knows all about of the garbage being sold on its site but only does something about it if you're a massive tech company who threatens to sue, very cool.

I wonder how many of these thumb drives are legit. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=2+tb+thumb+drive&crid=YZ410MSN6L1...

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#19

Post by jrockway » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:30 PM UTC

I had no idea Apple got preferential treatment. I have never seen what I thought to be a genuine Apple product on Amazon. I assumed Apple was taking steps to prevent anyone from selling anything Apple-branded there. The fact that they're doing the opposite is just crazy to me.

I looked more closely and they don't seem to sell iPhones, which is I guess where I get the impression from. Their other items have weird prices that are different from the Apple Store, which also screamed "scam" to me. But I guess not?

Re: Apple asked Amazon to block rival ads

#20

Post by gwern » Fri, Nov 10, 2023, 9:35 PM UTC

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #12

NovemberWhiskey wrote: post #5

What exactly is the consumer harm here supposed to be?

Were I Samsung, I would be pissed that competitor’s (cheaper) products get shown on my page. As a consumer, it shows that Amazon is aware of counterfeits, and has the ability to limit them, but does nothing unless the seller can raise an appropriate fit. Have I previously purchased counterfeit Samsung X? Sounds like Amazon might have a good intuition, but does nothing to stop it.

Were you Samsung, one would hope you would be more pissed about your crummy software and ecosystem where $900 smartphones are jammed full of ads and fourth-rate buggy plagiarisms of better Google/Apple services, and understand why better companies than you can negotiate better treatment than you.