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Ad revenue that Amazon receives as a publisher, which comes from a diverse set of ad products served both on Amazon-owned sites and externally via their DSP.

tpmx 6y ago
So basically they have figured out a way to keep a larger part of the pie from e.g. those randomly named PRC sellers? I may be slow here, but couldn't they just instead have raised the percentage they charge for sales? (Are those "external sales" really that large?)
- Spooky23 6y ago
  My guess is that it’s a tax scheme. They probably run everything through different subsidiaries in different jurisdictions and make the capital intensive retail business as bad as possible, and shift losses or depreciation around to write down any earnings in the US or Europe. If the commerce division owes a big commission to Amazon Isle of Man, LLC, they “lose money”.
- colinmhayes 6y ago
  They lure in 3rd parties to the marketplace with relatively low fees before the third parties realize no one sees their product unless they buy ads. By that point amazon has a bundle of their merchandise and a relationship so instead of pulling out they just buy the ads.
  - AussieWog93 6y ago
    That's not really 100% true. I sell a single product on Amazon (USB oscilloscope I designed a couple of years back), and have no discovery issues at all. It's the top product when you search for "USB Oscilloscope", and on the front page if you just search "Oscilloscope". I don't pay a cent in ads. That said, I did notice a huge rankings boost when signing up for FBA (as opposed to shipping the goods from overseas).
    - tomcam 6y ago
      EspoTek? Because Siglent comes up first in AMZ organic searches for me. Not trying to bust your chops, just interested in this field.
      - AussieWog93 6y ago
        Yeah, EspoTek. Interesting to hear that from you - Siglent appears third for me, and that's using an incognito window too (so it would be safe to assume any personalisation is off?).
        jefftk 6y ago
        > so it would be safe to assume any personalisation is off? Depends on whether Amazon is using fingerprinting to target ads
        vidarh 6y ago
        You come first of the organic results for me on amazon.com (with an "Amazon's choice" label), but is nowhere to be seen on amazon.co.uk
        adventured 6y ago
        Just for a data point, in a private tab, when I search Amazon for "USB Oscilloscope" my first three results in order are: EspoTek, Hantek, and then Siglent. It lists EspoTek as "Amazon's Choice". Same results as when I'm signed in. I'm in the US.

tpmx 6y ago

So basically they have figured out a way to keep a larger part of the pie from e.g. those randomly named PRC sellers? I may be slow here, but couldn't they just instead have raised the percentage they charge for sales? (Are those "external sales" really that large?)

Spooky23 6y ago
My guess is that it’s a tax scheme. They probably run everything through different subsidiaries in different jurisdictions and make the capital intensive retail business as bad as possible, and shift losses or depreciation around to write down any earnings in the US or Europe. If the commerce division owes a big commission to Amazon Isle of Man, LLC, they “lose money”.
colinmhayes 6y ago
They lure in 3rd parties to the marketplace with relatively low fees before the third parties realize no one sees their product unless they buy ads. By that point amazon has a bundle of their merchandise and a relationship so instead of pulling out they just buy the ads.
- AussieWog93 6y ago
  That's not really 100% true. I sell a single product on Amazon (USB oscilloscope I designed a couple of years back), and have no discovery issues at all. It's the top product when you search for "USB Oscilloscope", and on the front page if you just search "Oscilloscope". I don't pay a cent in ads. That said, I did notice a huge rankings boost when signing up for FBA (as opposed to shipping the goods from overseas).
  - tomcam 6y ago
    EspoTek? Because Siglent comes up first in AMZ organic searches for me. Not trying to bust your chops, just interested in this field.
    - AussieWog93 6y ago
      Yeah, EspoTek. Interesting to hear that from you - Siglent appears third for me, and that's using an incognito window too (so it would be safe to assume any personalisation is off?).
      - jefftk 6y ago
        > so it would be safe to assume any personalisation is off? Depends on whether Amazon is using fingerprinting to target ads
      - vidarh 6y ago
        You come first of the organic results for me on amazon.com (with an "Amazon's choice" label), but is nowhere to be seen on amazon.co.uk
      - adventured 6y ago
        Just for a data point, in a private tab, when I search Amazon for "USB Oscilloscope" my first three results in order are: EspoTek, Hantek, and then Siglent. It lists EspoTek as "Amazon's Choice". Same results as when I'm signed in. I'm in the US.