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DC Attorney General sues Amazon on antitrust grounds

33 points by joering2 5y ago

belval 5y ago
> The lawsuit alleges Amazon illegally maintained monopoly power through pricing contracts with third-party sellers. I have two issues with using this as ground for "structural relief" aka breaking them up. 1. This is something we know about because Amazon is transparent enough to have these contracts in the open. The idea that Walmart (to name only them) isn't enforcing the same general policies is disingenuous. No retailer will hold inventory for a product if it doesn't get the best price on the market. 2. Calling Amazon a monopoly in e-commerce is a gross exageration. Sellers that don't like that policy can sell on Walmart, BestBuy, EBay, Aliexpress, Shopify and the other hundred of retailer. Disclaimer I work for AWS, opinions are my own, I don't know anything about this case nor do I ever expect to.
- tedmcory77 5y ago
  Qualification is > 50% of sales for a market. 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... They are estimated to be at 50% https://www.statista.com/statistics/788109/amazon-retail-market-share-usa/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/788109/amazon-retail-mar... IIRC - actions have been taken for as low as 40% (although this would be from classes in 2006-2008).
  - belval 5y ago
    I stand corrected, I thought they were below even 40%.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      What is the significance of separating online retail from all retail? Amazon might have 50% of online retail, but online retail is only 15% of all retail. https://www.statista.com/statistics/379112/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-in-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/379112/e-commerce-share-...
      - belval 5y ago
        That's an interesting question as well. The bar of entry for brick-and-mortar stores is a lot higher and they won't stock your product if you don't get them a competitive price so I don't think it is much better.
        lotsofpulp 5y ago
        I don’t even think the stats are accurate. What does order online and pick up in store count as? Online or brick and mortar? Either way, I only see Amazon’s initial lead waning. They’re already not serious about curating their selection, and nothing really differentiated them from Walmart or Target or Home Depot. If anything, all the other retail companies have an advantage in that you can pick up in store and order online.
- elliekelly 5y ago
  Isn’t the fact that Amazon is so open and notorious in their price fixing agreements evidence of their oversized market power? Everyone knew what Standard Oil and Ma Bell were doing, too. But what were consumers and competitors supposed to do about it? When you have monopoly power you don’t need to put effort into hiding it from consumers or the market so much as you need to put effort into appeasing the politicians who oversee the DOJ.
rasz 5y ago
Will they also investigate DC lawmaker who presided over killing right to repair bill and later landed a job at Amazon? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8fkAEJ4pM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8fkAEJ4pM
OldGoodNewBad 5y ago
Nobody wants to comment and get added to the Silicon Valley blacklist.

33 points by joering2 5y ago

> The lawsuit alleges Amazon illegally maintained monopoly power through pricing contracts with third-party sellers. I have two issues with using this as ground for "structural relief" aka breaking them up. 1. This is something we know about because Amazon is transparent enough to have these contracts in the open. The idea that Walmart (to name only them) isn't enforcing the same general policies is disingenuous. No retailer will hold inventory for a product if it doesn't get the best price on the market. 2. Calling Amazon a monopoly in e-commerce is a gross exageration. Sellers that don't like that policy can sell on Walmart, BestBuy, EBay, Aliexpress, Shopify and the other hundred of retailer. Disclaimer I work for AWS, opinions are my own, I don't know anything about this case nor do I ever expect to.

tedmcory77 5y ago
Qualification is > 50% of sales for a market. 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... They are estimated to be at 50% https://www.statista.com/statistics/788109/amazon-retail-market-share-usa/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/788109/amazon-retail-mar... IIRC - actions have been taken for as low as 40% (although this would be from classes in 2006-2008).
- belval 5y ago
  I stand corrected, I thought they were below even 40%.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    What is the significance of separating online retail from all retail? Amazon might have 50% of online retail, but online retail is only 15% of all retail. https://www.statista.com/statistics/379112/e-commerce-share-of-retail-sales-in-us/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/379112/e-commerce-share-...
    - belval 5y ago
      That's an interesting question as well. The bar of entry for brick-and-mortar stores is a lot higher and they won't stock your product if you don't get them a competitive price so I don't think it is much better.
      - lotsofpulp 5y ago
        I don’t even think the stats are accurate. What does order online and pick up in store count as? Online or brick and mortar? Either way, I only see Amazon’s initial lead waning. They’re already not serious about curating their selection, and nothing really differentiated them from Walmart or Target or Home Depot. If anything, all the other retail companies have an advantage in that you can pick up in store and order online.
elliekelly 5y ago
Isn’t the fact that Amazon is so open and notorious in their price fixing agreements evidence of their oversized market power? Everyone knew what Standard Oil and Ma Bell were doing, too. But what were consumers and competitors supposed to do about it? When you have monopoly power you don’t need to put effort into hiding it from consumers or the market so much as you need to put effort into appeasing the politicians who oversee the DOJ.

rasz 5y ago

Will they also investigate DC lawmaker who presided over killing right to repair bill and later landed a job at Amazon? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8fkAEJ4pM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK8fkAEJ4pM

OldGoodNewBad 5y ago

Nobody wants to comment and get added to the Silicon Valley blacklist.