4 ms·

Not only can I can buy ebooks from amazon, google play, barnes and noble, and itunes, but I can also upload books/pdfs/files from elsewhere onto each others app

by mrep 7y ago

Not only can I can buy ebooks from amazon, google play, barnes and noble, and itunes, but I can also upload books/pdfs/files from elsewhere onto each others apps (albeit, sometimes requiring changing the file type). I wouldn't call that a monopoly.

icebraining 7y ago
Under US law¹, a monopoly is a firm that holds monopoly power, and monopoly power is "the power to control prices or exclude competition"². I don't think it's a stretch to say that Amazon has the power to control prices in that market. ¹ Under EU antitrust law, the word "monopoly" is not used ² See United States v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.
- mrep 7y ago
  How is amazon able to control prices or exclude competition? If you don't like their terms, just list your book on one of the other 3 sites and tell your fans to buy it there and if they really want to read it on their kindle, send them a guide on how to upload it to kindle which is very easy to do.
  - danmaz74 7y ago
    Buying the book somewhere else and uploading to the Kindle is far from being easy for an average reader.
    - tracer4201 7y ago
      You can read on other devices too - such as android phones, tablets, and iPads. Im willing to go on a limb here and say these devices probably sell more than Kindle. Kindle is not the only device to read this content. The mental gymnastics you’re going through here to support the Amazon monopoly claim is funny.
  - icebraining 7y ago
    "Control prices" doesn't mean for every single product, but for the market as a whole. Most authors don't have a fanbase that sustains their sales alone. That said, remember that being a monopoly is not illegal. Only abusing it is.
- specialist 7y ago
  Bork et al (Federalist Society, Cato Institute) believe that consumer prices is the only criteria for determining anti-trust. They utterly exclude anti-competitive behaviors. How a fare price can be determined without healthy competition is left unanswered.
danmaz74 7y ago
"Including indie books (published without ISBN), Amazon accounts for 83% of US ebook purchases – and the rest is almost entirely shared between the Apple iBookStore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo US and the GooglePlay Books." https://publishdrive.com/amazon-ebook-market-share/ https://publishdrive.com/amazon-ebook-market-share/

by mrep 7y ago

icebraining 7y ago

Under US law¹, a monopoly is a firm that holds monopoly power, and monopoly power is "the power to control prices or exclude competition"². I don't think it's a stretch to say that Amazon has the power to control prices in that market. ¹ Under EU antitrust law, the word "monopoly" is not used ² See United States v. E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.

mrep 7y ago
How is amazon able to control prices or exclude competition? If you don't like their terms, just list your book on one of the other 3 sites and tell your fans to buy it there and if they really want to read it on their kindle, send them a guide on how to upload it to kindle which is very easy to do.
- danmaz74 7y ago
  Buying the book somewhere else and uploading to the Kindle is far from being easy for an average reader.
  - tracer4201 7y ago
    You can read on other devices too - such as android phones, tablets, and iPads. Im willing to go on a limb here and say these devices probably sell more than Kindle. Kindle is not the only device to read this content. The mental gymnastics you’re going through here to support the Amazon monopoly claim is funny.
- icebraining 7y ago
  "Control prices" doesn't mean for every single product, but for the market as a whole. Most authors don't have a fanbase that sustains their sales alone. That said, remember that being a monopoly is not illegal. Only abusing it is.
specialist 7y ago
Bork et al (Federalist Society, Cato Institute) believe that consumer prices is the only criteria for determining anti-trust. They utterly exclude anti-competitive behaviors. How a fare price can be determined without healthy competition is left unanswered.

danmaz74 7y ago

"Including indie books (published without ISBN), Amazon accounts for 83% of US ebook purchases – and the rest is almost entirely shared between the Apple iBookStore, Barnes & Noble, Kobo US and the GooglePlay Books." https://publishdrive.com/amazon-ebook-market-share/ https://publishdrive.com/amazon-ebook-market-share/