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Assuming Nintendo pressured Amazon by threatening to remove its first party sales from Amazon it's likely that this would be tortious interference with a contra

by en4bz 7y ago

Assuming Nintendo pressured Amazon by threatening to remove its first party sales from Amazon it's likely that this would be tortious interference with a contract. However since most of the third party sellers are selling a high volume of bootlegs like the article says it's unlikely they would sue for fear of a counter-claim of copyright infringement. Also the cost to sue probably outweighs the value of theses "businesses".

ikeboy 7y ago
There's a handful of suits out there by Amazon sellers against brands for similar behavior. Here's a list I put together a few months ago: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6742774/abg-prime-group-v-innovative-salon-products/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6742774/abg-prime-group... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13477612/johnson-v-incopro-inc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13477612/johnson-v-inco... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6846972/starke-v-tp-link-usa-corporation/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6846972/starke-v-tp-lin... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15690011/thimes-solutions-inc-v-tp-link-usa-corporation/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15690011/thimes-solutio... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6208157/abg-prime-group-v-mixed-chicks-llc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6208157/abg-prime-group... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6207822/thursday-llc-v-klhip-inc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6207822/thursday-llc-v-... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4562806/forgg-llc-v-dead-end-survival-llc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4562806/forgg-llc-v-dea... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5369911/ajb-enterprises-llc-v-doe/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5369911/ajb-enterprises... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6350526/sarkis-a-kitsinian-v-penyamin-manoukian/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6350526/sarkis-a-kitsin... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7513066/depasquale-v-dunkin-brands-inc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7513066/depasquale-v-du... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4199697/depasquale-v-jacobowitz/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4199697/depasquale-v-ja...
- themagician 7y ago
  Unbelievable. Amazon Sellers are such a disease.
  - ikeboy 7y ago
    How are sellers the problem here? Brands committing crimes that lead to lawsuits are the issue.
    - themagician 7y ago
      Seems mostly civil to me. Most sellers are just arbitragers and scammers. Yes, most. They add zero value. They leech money away from manufacturers and brands and the people that actually make things. They lie to get discounts then redirect shipments to Amazon FBA. They sell used, damaged, and counterfeit goods as new. And when a customer complains they say, “Contact the manufacturer.” They create new listings on existing items and say shit like “special edition” and “limited edition” to confuse customers and win the buy box when no such variant exists. They lower the price and jack up the shipping cost to confuse people. They are a disease. Brands hate third party sellers and so do customers. Most people don’t even realize how Amazon works or who they are buying from.
      - ikeboy 7y ago
        There are some sellers that are scammers, and there are some brands that are scumbags and will lie and commit wire fraud (which is a crime, although unlikely to be prosecuted when it's a big company doing it to a small one) to get rid of legitimate sellers they don't like. The ones that are suing are not the ones doing shady things, presumably. If you were selling counterfeits, why would you sue and waste money when the truth will inevitably come out? I've personally seen many brands falsely swear that goods were counterfeit to get rid of sellers they didn't like, even though the sellers were fully compliant with the law.
        themagician 7y ago
        Not some, most. The vast majority of 3P sellers are garbage. Counterfeiting is just a small piece of the overall problem. Sellers will sue because that’s all they can do. If you’ve built a revenue stream off of selling someone else stuff under the radar you don’t actually have a defendable business or any skills. Might as well sue. Brands need to do a better job too. Reality is, if you have a business today the best thing you can do is terminate all distribution and wholesale relationships you don’t control and wait for the 3P pipeline to dry up. It’s the only way to strangle out the sellers. But I sympathize with the business that can’t do that and are trying to stop the damage to their business.

by en4bz 7y ago

ikeboy 7y ago

There's a handful of suits out there by Amazon sellers against brands for similar behavior. Here's a list I put together a few months ago: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6742774/abg-prime-group-v-innovative-salon-products/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6742774/abg-prime-group... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13477612/johnson-v-incopro-inc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13477612/johnson-v-inco... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6846972/starke-v-tp-link-usa-corporation/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6846972/starke-v-tp-lin... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15690011/thimes-solutions-inc-v-tp-link-usa-corporation/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15690011/thimes-solutio... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6208157/abg-prime-group-v-mixed-chicks-llc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6208157/abg-prime-group... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6207822/thursday-llc-v-klhip-inc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6207822/thursday-llc-v-... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4562806/forgg-llc-v-dead-end-survival-llc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4562806/forgg-llc-v-dea... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5369911/ajb-enterprises-llc-v-doe/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5369911/ajb-enterprises... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6350526/sarkis-a-kitsinian-v-penyamin-manoukian/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6350526/sarkis-a-kitsin... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7513066/depasquale-v-dunkin-brands-inc/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/7513066/depasquale-v-du... https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4199697/depasquale-v-jacobowitz/ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4199697/depasquale-v-ja...

themagician 7y ago
Unbelievable. Amazon Sellers are such a disease.
- ikeboy 7y ago
  How are sellers the problem here? Brands committing crimes that lead to lawsuits are the issue.
  - themagician 7y ago
    Seems mostly civil to me. Most sellers are just arbitragers and scammers. Yes, most. They add zero value. They leech money away from manufacturers and brands and the people that actually make things. They lie to get discounts then redirect shipments to Amazon FBA. They sell used, damaged, and counterfeit goods as new. And when a customer complains they say, “Contact the manufacturer.” They create new listings on existing items and say shit like “special edition” and “limited edition” to confuse customers and win the buy box when no such variant exists. They lower the price and jack up the shipping cost to confuse people. They are a disease. Brands hate third party sellers and so do customers. Most people don’t even realize how Amazon works or who they are buying from.
    - ikeboy 7y ago
      There are some sellers that are scammers, and there are some brands that are scumbags and will lie and commit wire fraud (which is a crime, although unlikely to be prosecuted when it's a big company doing it to a small one) to get rid of legitimate sellers they don't like. The ones that are suing are not the ones doing shady things, presumably. If you were selling counterfeits, why would you sue and waste money when the truth will inevitably come out? I've personally seen many brands falsely swear that goods were counterfeit to get rid of sellers they didn't like, even though the sellers were fully compliant with the law.
      - themagician 7y ago
        Not some, most. The vast majority of 3P sellers are garbage. Counterfeiting is just a small piece of the overall problem. Sellers will sue because that’s all they can do. If you’ve built a revenue stream off of selling someone else stuff under the radar you don’t actually have a defendable business or any skills. Might as well sue. Brands need to do a better job too. Reality is, if you have a business today the best thing you can do is terminate all distribution and wholesale relationships you don’t control and wait for the 3P pipeline to dry up. It’s the only way to strangle out the sellers. But I sympathize with the business that can’t do that and are trying to stop the damage to their business.