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This is fascinating. It's a (possibly too late) push back against a growing monopoly/monopsony but the approach is a heavy-handed rejection of First Sale doctri

This is fascinating. It's a (possibly too late) push back against a growing monopoly/monopsony but the approach is a heavy-handed rejection of First Sale doctrine and the positive aspects of open markets. Trademark should suffice, if enforced well, for customers getting the right products. On the other hand, a world in which absolutely everything is available at Amazon and most shoppers use it exclusively will be a terrifying one where Amazon will have true tyrannical power over the market.

distances 9y ago
This is not a rejection of the first sale doctrine. This is about Birkenstock being free to choose their distributors. End users are of course free to sell their own shoes, and Birkenstock is free to choose for which retailers it will provide its stock.
- quadrangle 9y ago
  All Amazon needs to do is get someone to go to a Birkenstock store and buy sandals and then sell them through Amazon. That's not the store selling to Amazon, it's selling to some customer who happens to then resell them on Amazon. The first-sale doctrine applies when Birkenstock is asking stores to figure out how to control what customers do with the sandals after they are sold.
  - eridius 9y ago
    Birkenstock isn't asking stores to figure out how to control what customers are doing. The problem is Amazon is approaching the stores themselves and attempting to buy out their inventory. This has nothing to do with customers deciding to sell their purchased shoes to Amazon.
- Veratyr 9y ago
  > This is not a rejection of the first sale doctrine. This is about Birkenstock being free to choose their distributors. Not so, the article says "He emphasized that the German shoemaker prohibits shop owners from selling, distributing or shipping its products to resellers". It doesn't distinguish resellers from distributors. What if I buy a pair, never open or wear them, then a year later want to get rid of them by selling them as "New"? Under this policy the store I purchased them from would be closed.
  - distances 9y ago
    > What if I buy a pair, never open or wear them, then a year later want to get rid of them by selling them as "New"? It's pretty clear that you selling your own shoes as a private person is a different case from a professional reseller.

distances 9y ago

This is not a rejection of the first sale doctrine. This is about Birkenstock being free to choose their distributors. End users are of course free to sell their own shoes, and Birkenstock is free to choose for which retailers it will provide its stock.

quadrangle 9y ago
All Amazon needs to do is get someone to go to a Birkenstock store and buy sandals and then sell them through Amazon. That's not the store selling to Amazon, it's selling to some customer who happens to then resell them on Amazon. The first-sale doctrine applies when Birkenstock is asking stores to figure out how to control what customers do with the sandals after they are sold.
- eridius 9y ago
  Birkenstock isn't asking stores to figure out how to control what customers are doing. The problem is Amazon is approaching the stores themselves and attempting to buy out their inventory. This has nothing to do with customers deciding to sell their purchased shoes to Amazon.
Veratyr 9y ago
> This is not a rejection of the first sale doctrine. This is about Birkenstock being free to choose their distributors. Not so, the article says "He emphasized that the German shoemaker prohibits shop owners from selling, distributing or shipping its products to resellers". It doesn't distinguish resellers from distributors. What if I buy a pair, never open or wear them, then a year later want to get rid of them by selling them as "New"? Under this policy the store I purchased them from would be closed.
- distances 9y ago
  > What if I buy a pair, never open or wear them, then a year later want to get rid of them by selling them as "New"? It's pretty clear that you selling your own shoes as a private person is a different case from a professional reseller.