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What I wonder is why would you sue Google before Amazon? Yes Google is a monopoly, but IMO Amazon is much worse. I'm not thinking about the cloud business whic

What I wonder is why would you sue Google before Amazon? Yes Google is a monopoly, but IMO Amazon is much worse. I'm not thinking about the cloud business which has plenty competition, but the retail stuff. They undercut the competition until it dies then they're the sole business around. Case in point: a couple weeks ago I bought a 16 TB hard drive for my personal server. It was something like 420€ on Amazon and about 600€ on my local Newegg equivalent. While I would have bought it locally for a couple dozen euros more, there was no way I would spend almost 200€ more for the same thing. I know that long term it's bad for me and I hate myself for it but I still went with Amazon.

codersarepeople 6y ago
But Amazon doesn't have anywhere close to a monopoly on retail? There are many more options for retail, in particular buying a HDD, than there are for search. And while it's clear that Amazon does engage in some anti-competitive behavior, the pricing you complain about doesn't really have to do with Amazon; the seller set that price, not Amazon.
- grumple 6y ago
  Not all monopolies are unlawful, and not all laws regarding anti trust require a monopoly.
  - ShamelessC 6y ago
    Still trying to grasp what is legally considered a monopoly in this country. I've come to consider it as "market leader of a sufficiently large market with a history of anti-competitive practices." Is that essentially accurate?
    - grumple 6y ago
      No. Again, you can have a monopoly and not be breaking any laws. Being a monopoly is not illegal. Being an uncompetitive monopoly is. [1] But it is also illegal to engage in anti competitive behavior even if you don’t have a literal monopoly. [2] “Courts do not require a literal monopoly before applying rules for single firm conduct; that term is used as shorthand for a firm with significant and durable market power — that is, the long term ability to raise price or exclude competitors. That is how that term is used here: a "monopolist" is a firm with significant and durable market power.” [1] 1. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/single-firm-conduct/monopolization-defined https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-a... 2. https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices
julienb_sea 6y ago
Because Amazon isn't a monopoly, you just don't have any retailers competing with them on price for this rather niche product. That is not necessarily all that surprising. If anything, I would think you would enjoy that Amazon is forcing other online retailers that service your area to bring their prices down. In the US, there are a variety of retailers who are competitive with Amazon on pricing. On convenience, perhaps not, especially for Prime members, but certainly Amazon is not in a completely different price bracket most of the time.

codersarepeople 6y ago

But Amazon doesn't have anywhere close to a monopoly on retail? There are many more options for retail, in particular buying a HDD, than there are for search. And while it's clear that Amazon does engage in some anti-competitive behavior, the pricing you complain about doesn't really have to do with Amazon; the seller set that price, not Amazon.

grumple 6y ago
Not all monopolies are unlawful, and not all laws regarding anti trust require a monopoly.
- ShamelessC 6y ago
  Still trying to grasp what is legally considered a monopoly in this country. I've come to consider it as "market leader of a sufficiently large market with a history of anti-competitive practices." Is that essentially accurate?
  - grumple 6y ago
    No. Again, you can have a monopoly and not be breaking any laws. Being a monopoly is not illegal. Being an uncompetitive monopoly is. [1] But it is also illegal to engage in anti competitive behavior even if you don’t have a literal monopoly. [2] “Courts do not require a literal monopoly before applying rules for single firm conduct; that term is used as shorthand for a firm with significant and durable market power — that is, the long term ability to raise price or exclude competitors. That is how that term is used here: a "monopolist" is a firm with significant and durable market power.” [1] 1. https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-antitrust-laws/single-firm-conduct/monopolization-defined https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/competition-guidance/guide-a... 2. https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/anticompetitive-practices

julienb_sea 6y ago

Because Amazon isn't a monopoly, you just don't have any retailers competing with them on price for this rather niche product. That is not necessarily all that surprising. If anything, I would think you would enjoy that Amazon is forcing other online retailers that service your area to bring their prices down. In the US, there are a variety of retailers who are competitive with Amazon on pricing. On convenience, perhaps not, especially for Prime members, but certainly Amazon is not in a completely different price bracket most of the time.