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In what way is Amazon a monopoly or near-monopoly?

johnwheeler 7y ago
They’re nearly 50% of US e-commerce and growing. Retail spending online is growing double-digits year over year. It’s not too hard to see the writing on the wall. Whether or not this is good or bad is a separate argument, but there’s no doubt there’s an issue with its competitive dynamics.
- tracer4201 7y ago
  How does that make them a monopoly? As a matter of fact, their platform is open to third party sellers now (which IMO has hurt their quality of service). Is 50% the magic number that deems an entity to be a monopoly? What is, and who decides? WalMart is still leaps ahead of Amazon in revenue. It’s disingenuous and you point out a percentage metric, which is very misleading, but don’t compare hard numbers such as revenue.
  - johnwheeler 7y ago
    Well, you just have to use common sense. It’s not like they’re 50% of the shoe button business; they’re 50% of online retail. You’re being disingenuous because you write as if that number is meaningless.
    - tracer4201 7y ago
      No, I’m not being disingenuous. As an investor, I care less about what percentage of online sales Amazon has. It could be 10% or 90%, but I care more about the total size of the retail space and Amazons specific dollar amount. If you heard their last earnings call, it’s clear their online growth is slowing down. Amazon understands this and they know a long term bet on it isn’t wise - hence, they’re shifting to a more physical presence, but WalMart trounces them. WalMart has the retail space strategically located across the country, and WalMart is offering competitive shipping, without requiring annual memberships. They’re holding their own in the online space. If anything, your 50% metric is an incomplete picture and a gross representation. I’m still betting on Amazon going forward (I invested ~$2MM when they were below $300 a share, which has grown miraculously), but if their retail business was where all of Amazons eggs were put, I would have offloaded my investment a while ago.
- mimixco 7y ago
  But e-commerce is still a minority of retail. I was surprised to learn that gas stations are the biggest retail player of all, followed by grocery stores.
- delfinom 7y ago
  Walmart is 4x the size of Amazon in retail revenue with plenty of growth.

They’re nearly 50% of US e-commerce and growing. Retail spending online is growing double-digits year over year. It’s not too hard to see the writing on the wall. Whether or not this is good or bad is a separate argument, but there’s no doubt there’s an issue with its competitive dynamics.

tracer4201 7y ago
How does that make them a monopoly? As a matter of fact, their platform is open to third party sellers now (which IMO has hurt their quality of service). Is 50% the magic number that deems an entity to be a monopoly? What is, and who decides? WalMart is still leaps ahead of Amazon in revenue. It’s disingenuous and you point out a percentage metric, which is very misleading, but don’t compare hard numbers such as revenue.
- johnwheeler 7y ago
  Well, you just have to use common sense. It’s not like they’re 50% of the shoe button business; they’re 50% of online retail. You’re being disingenuous because you write as if that number is meaningless.
  - tracer4201 7y ago
    No, I’m not being disingenuous. As an investor, I care less about what percentage of online sales Amazon has. It could be 10% or 90%, but I care more about the total size of the retail space and Amazons specific dollar amount. If you heard their last earnings call, it’s clear their online growth is slowing down. Amazon understands this and they know a long term bet on it isn’t wise - hence, they’re shifting to a more physical presence, but WalMart trounces them. WalMart has the retail space strategically located across the country, and WalMart is offering competitive shipping, without requiring annual memberships. They’re holding their own in the online space. If anything, your 50% metric is an incomplete picture and a gross representation. I’m still betting on Amazon going forward (I invested ~$2MM when they were below $300 a share, which has grown miraculously), but if their retail business was where all of Amazons eggs were put, I would have offloaded my investment a while ago.
mimixco 7y ago
But e-commerce is still a minority of retail. I was surprised to learn that gas stations are the biggest retail player of all, followed by grocery stores.
delfinom 7y ago
Walmart is 4x the size of Amazon in retail revenue with plenty of growth.