That's not clear. The idea that (non royal-patent) monopolies always pursue dominance to corner price seems problematic. Like Standard Oil, Amazon is ... obses

That's not clear. The idea that (non royal-patent) monopolies always pursue dominance to corner price seems problematic. Like Standard Oil, Amazon is ... obsessively keeping margins down for the sake of keeping margins down. Who would have to fall by the wayside for them to "win"? WalMart? Don't look now, but WalMart has quite the online retail presence. I'm not sure how to evaluate the advantage/disadvantage of "in store pickup" but I've used it for big bulky things, when I'd needed better control over when I took possession of the item. Meanwhile, Amazon's effect may well be part of our increasingly deflationary economic cycles.