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"What makes Amazon different in this regard? Is Amazon doing it differently?" Nothing, and they aren't. Except they're maybe the biggest. The intellectual fou

"What makes Amazon different in this regard? Is Amazon doing it differently?" Nothing, and they aren't. Except they're maybe the biggest. The intellectual foundation of this new movement isn't specifically anti big tech. It's anti all kinds of anticompetitive business practices, many of which have had huge negative effects outside of tech. Grocery stores are one of them, but one can point to any area of the economy and find businesses engaging in what is currently standard practice that the new movement is seeking to outlaw, or in many cases just restore the teeth to laws that have been ignored for years, or just so narrowly interpreted that they're meaningless.

dantheman 5y ago
These aren't anti-competitive, they increase competition. The help the consumer get better prices.
- timmytokyo 5y ago
  Until they push the competition out, and then there is no more downward pressure on prices.
- raverbashing 5y ago
  Until they become the monopoly and are free to hike prices
  - dantheman 5y ago
    Unless the monopoly is granted/enforced by the government this has literally never happened.
    - Supermancho 5y ago
      >> Until they become the monopoly and are free to hike prices > Unless the monopoly is granted/enforced by the government this has literally never happened. It happens often enough. So often, you can find stories about it all over...if you looked. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/business/amazon-dc-lawsuit.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/business/amazon-dc-lawsui... https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/11/21431962/public-citizen-amazon-price-gouging-coronavirus-covid-19-hand-sanitizer-masks-soap-toilet-paper https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/11/21431962/public-citizen-a... https://www.wsj.com/articles/googles-secret-project-bernanke-revealed-in-texas-antitrust-case-11618097760 https://www.wsj.com/articles/googles-secret-project-bernanke... etc. It's a matter of them getting caught and when, because nothing lasts forever, even for the tech robber barons.
- virtue3 5y ago
  I see it the other way; What's the point of designing something that is affordable and usable by everyone if Amazon is just going to rip off the design and market theirs over me? Whats the point in making a budget ketchup brand if Safeway has their own? I can't compete with their margins there especially with that level of competition. I give a bit of a pass here to kirkland stuff cuz it never feels like a race to the bottom nor do I feel like costco just advertises the hell out of it over other goods.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Patents and trademarks exist to give designers the ability to reap profits from their creations. If you are not able to patent your design, then either the patent system is not working or whatever was designed or trademarked is not very valuable.
    - virtue3 5y ago
      The patent system is probably fine, it's the COST of going after Amazon. They'll bury you. If you're a small studio that makes maybe 200-300k of revenue a year, how are you supposed to go after Amazon?
- billjings 5y ago
  Then you disagree with the folks advancing these policies! :) Their perspective is that Amazon, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and a whole host of other businesses (including things as seemingly boring as cheerleading supply companies) are engaging in anticompetitive practices that cause a variety of harms. Depending on which case you look at, they allege different harms. In some cases they allege harm to suppliers or to employees, but in others they make the case for anti-consumer harm. Hopefully folks won't continue to downvote me. Whether you agree with these folks or not (and I'm not trying to make their case for them here), that is what their position is. It is wise to understand them, even if we don't agree with them.

dantheman 5y ago

These aren't anti-competitive, they increase competition. The help the consumer get better prices.

timmytokyo 5y ago
Until they push the competition out, and then there is no more downward pressure on prices.
raverbashing 5y ago
Until they become the monopoly and are free to hike prices
- dantheman 5y ago
  Unless the monopoly is granted/enforced by the government this has literally never happened.
  - Supermancho 5y ago
    >> Until they become the monopoly and are free to hike prices > Unless the monopoly is granted/enforced by the government this has literally never happened. It happens often enough. So often, you can find stories about it all over...if you looked. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/business/amazon-dc-lawsuit.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/business/amazon-dc-lawsui... https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/11/21431962/public-citizen-amazon-price-gouging-coronavirus-covid-19-hand-sanitizer-masks-soap-toilet-paper https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/11/21431962/public-citizen-a... https://www.wsj.com/articles/googles-secret-project-bernanke-revealed-in-texas-antitrust-case-11618097760 https://www.wsj.com/articles/googles-secret-project-bernanke... etc. It's a matter of them getting caught and when, because nothing lasts forever, even for the tech robber barons.
virtue3 5y ago
I see it the other way; What's the point of designing something that is affordable and usable by everyone if Amazon is just going to rip off the design and market theirs over me? Whats the point in making a budget ketchup brand if Safeway has their own? I can't compete with their margins there especially with that level of competition. I give a bit of a pass here to kirkland stuff cuz it never feels like a race to the bottom nor do I feel like costco just advertises the hell out of it over other goods.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Patents and trademarks exist to give designers the ability to reap profits from their creations. If you are not able to patent your design, then either the patent system is not working or whatever was designed or trademarked is not very valuable.
  - virtue3 5y ago
    The patent system is probably fine, it's the COST of going after Amazon. They'll bury you. If you're a small studio that makes maybe 200-300k of revenue a year, how are you supposed to go after Amazon?
billjings 5y ago
Then you disagree with the folks advancing these policies! :) Their perspective is that Amazon, Kroger, Wal-Mart, and a whole host of other businesses (including things as seemingly boring as cheerleading supply companies) are engaging in anticompetitive practices that cause a variety of harms. Depending on which case you look at, they allege different harms. In some cases they allege harm to suppliers or to employees, but in others they make the case for anti-consumer harm. Hopefully folks won't continue to downvote me. Whether you agree with these folks or not (and I'm not trying to make their case for them here), that is what their position is. It is wise to understand them, even if we don't agree with them.