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I feel like the current backlash against Amazon fails to consider the question: What would the alternative be if Amazon never adopted the 3rd party Marketplace

I feel like the current backlash against Amazon fails to consider the question: What would the alternative be if Amazon never adopted the 3rd party Marketplace or added the international sellers? Selection would be significantly smaller. Some percentage of items that are currently getting overwhelmed with fraud would be available safer, sure, but likely at a much higher price (competition lowers prices, after all). Everyone remembers the time they got a crappy knockoff, or had to filter through fake reviews. But most of the time, people just search for something, buy it, and are satisfied, never having to consider whether it was only fulfilled by Amazon. At least there is a consistent search/shopping experience, and the refunds are generally instantaneous and there are no questions asked. You can't say that about dealextreme, or alibaba, or dozens of other sites we'd be forced to use if Amazon didn't decide to take on the long tail fo sellers and become responsible for solving the fraud use cases.

ebbv 8y ago
> But most of the time, people just search for something, buy it, and are satisfied, never having to consider whether it was only fulfilled by Amazon. What’s your basis for this? Just the fact that Amazon is so successful? What if that success is in spite of the third party sellers and not because of them? I know my own personal experience with Amazon over the last few years has been feeling like I’m trying to outsmart the website which is constantly trying to direct me to buy from sources I don’t trust. As a result I am more and more hesitant to turn to Amazon than I was years ago. Is my case the common case or is your hypothetical one? I don’t know that we can say. But I think as more people get burned by bad actors they will become less likely to use the site. My basis for this is eBay, which is a shadow of its former self. Being over taken in many areas by niche sites that specialize in a certain market and are at least perceived as more trustworthy. (E.g. Reverb for musical instruments.)
- count 8y ago
  You can say: they continue to grow at a ridiculous pace, meaning that more people are using it than leaving it, and it's being used more.
jpao79 8y ago
Amazon should (and still can while there's still time before some major negative social media event) split their website, reviews, search and fulfillment inventory to make it clear what you are getting/who you are buying from. amazon.com -> the original trusted amazon, fulfilled by amazon with strict inventory management marketplace.amazon.com -> wild west'e-bay style', 'get what you get and don't get upset' amazon [Addition based on comment] Or maybe amazon-marketplace.com to further differentiate it. It'd be similar to how Netflix split into netflix.com and dvd.com (although I think they should have branded it netflix-dvd.com for branding purposes).
- woolvalley 8y ago
  Most internet users wont understand the difference if you just differ the urls. A very large chunk dont use/understand the url bar, and just use google search to access websites.
- em3rgent0rdr 8y ago
  Actually I like having a unified store...helps provide competition between the marketplace and amazon's own. Anyway, if you want to avoid marketplace, in the left column, under "Seller", check the box next to "Amazon". (Maybe they could provide this as a permanent setting via preferences.)
  - lozaning 8y ago
    Do you know for certain that Amazon doesnt commingle their own inventory with FBA inventory?
  - jpao79 8y ago
    My thought is that if you like to see them inline/unified, then you could head directly to amazon-marketplace.com where they are all commingled like they currently are.
  - Game_Ender 8y ago
    This does not work because amazon commingles inventory. So anyone who ships that item into your warehouse could end up providing the actual good your are sold even if the “Seller” is amazon.
lettergram 8y ago
> fraud would be available safer, sure, but likely at a much higher price (competition lowers prices, after all). Fraud does lower prices, but is not competition in the classic sense.. fraud is someone using someone else's brand or name in an attempt to mislead while selling you a different item. This is not competition, where various items are sold with their own brands / name, such that consumers can distinguish and choose the best item to buy.
arbuge 8y ago
> What would the alternative be if Amazon never adopted the 3rd party Marketplace or added the international sellers? Most likely that traffic would fall to Ebay, which would then be a not-so-distant #2.

ebbv 8y ago

> But most of the time, people just search for something, buy it, and are satisfied, never having to consider whether it was only fulfilled by Amazon. What’s your basis for this? Just the fact that Amazon is so successful? What if that success is in spite of the third party sellers and not because of them? I know my own personal experience with Amazon over the last few years has been feeling like I’m trying to outsmart the website which is constantly trying to direct me to buy from sources I don’t trust. As a result I am more and more hesitant to turn to Amazon than I was years ago. Is my case the common case or is your hypothetical one? I don’t know that we can say. But I think as more people get burned by bad actors they will become less likely to use the site. My basis for this is eBay, which is a shadow of its former self. Being over taken in many areas by niche sites that specialize in a certain market and are at least perceived as more trustworthy. (E.g. Reverb for musical instruments.)

count 8y ago
You can say: they continue to grow at a ridiculous pace, meaning that more people are using it than leaving it, and it's being used more.

jpao79 8y ago

Amazon should (and still can while there's still time before some major negative social media event) split their website, reviews, search and fulfillment inventory to make it clear what you are getting/who you are buying from. amazon.com -> the original trusted amazon, fulfilled by amazon with strict inventory management marketplace.amazon.com -> wild west'e-bay style', 'get what you get and don't get upset' amazon [Addition based on comment] Or maybe amazon-marketplace.com to further differentiate it. It'd be similar to how Netflix split into netflix.com and dvd.com (although I think they should have branded it netflix-dvd.com for branding purposes).

woolvalley 8y ago
Most internet users wont understand the difference if you just differ the urls. A very large chunk dont use/understand the url bar, and just use google search to access websites.
em3rgent0rdr 8y ago
Actually I like having a unified store...helps provide competition between the marketplace and amazon's own. Anyway, if you want to avoid marketplace, in the left column, under "Seller", check the box next to "Amazon". (Maybe they could provide this as a permanent setting via preferences.)
- lozaning 8y ago
  Do you know for certain that Amazon doesnt commingle their own inventory with FBA inventory?
- jpao79 8y ago
  My thought is that if you like to see them inline/unified, then you could head directly to amazon-marketplace.com where they are all commingled like they currently are.
- Game_Ender 8y ago
  This does not work because amazon commingles inventory. So anyone who ships that item into your warehouse could end up providing the actual good your are sold even if the “Seller” is amazon.

lettergram 8y ago

> fraud would be available safer, sure, but likely at a much higher price (competition lowers prices, after all). Fraud does lower prices, but is not competition in the classic sense.. fraud is someone using someone else's brand or name in an attempt to mislead while selling you a different item. This is not competition, where various items are sold with their own brands / name, such that consumers can distinguish and choose the best item to buy.

arbuge 8y ago

> What would the alternative be if Amazon never adopted the 3rd party Marketplace or added the international sellers? Most likely that traffic would fall to Ebay, which would then be a not-so-distant #2.