5 ms·

The cynical take Aukey was taken out because they had good products and good reputation in a high margin category that Amazon wanted for their house brand to pl

by qaq 5y ago

The cynical take Aukey was taken out because they had good products and good reputation in a high margin category that Amazon wanted for their house brand to play a bigger role in.

jonathankoren 5y ago
I would have called this conspiracy territory, but then it broke that Amazon was doing exactly that in India. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-india-operation/ https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-i...
- blfr 5y ago
  I would have called this conspiracy territory It is a conspiracy theory. Some of them are just true.
  - jonathankoren 5y ago
    Touché
- KajMagnus 5y ago
  Does this indicate that by not fixing the fake reviews problem, Amazon can, whenever it wants, get rid of a troublesome competitor? (since the competitors are sort of forced to use fake reviews)
  - makeitdouble 5y ago
    I guess it's double bound: - they can really fix it (e.g. by kicking every fake review mandator) and drown competiting products far below in the search results, leaving "Amazon's choice" ones at the top. With way fewer reviews it will be harder to argue the ranking results legitimacy. - they don't fix it, and as you say, get an excuse to kick any random brand trying to stay afloat on their platform. Either way Amazon wins.
    - naim08 5y ago
      "Amazon's Choice" are also littered with fake reviews. WSJ did a story on this and looked at hundreds of "[AC]" listings and found majority of listings had fake reviews; many of the fake reviews being the top reviews.
  - HPsquared 5y ago
    It's selective enforcement, in a different context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_enforcement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_enforcement
    - KajMagnus 5y ago
      Thanks, interesting reading, and some from there linked topics as well
lepouet 5y ago
Today i was looking for a nice gan usb c charger, surprise, an AmazonBasics charger was one of the first result and the only recognizable brand. And the first, promoted, comment/ratings is from a guy who received the product for free in exchange for a review. https://www.amazon.fr/AmazonBasics-One-Port-Charger-Tablets-Delivery/dp/B087S2VMG9 https://www.amazon.fr/AmazonBasics-One-Port-Charger-Tablets-...

by qaq 5y ago

The cynical take Aukey was taken out because they had good products and good reputation in a high margin category that Amazon wanted for their house brand to play a bigger role in.

jonathankoren 5y ago

I would have called this conspiracy territory, but then it broke that Amazon was doing exactly that in India. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-india-operation/ https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-i...

blfr 5y ago
I would have called this conspiracy territory It is a conspiracy theory. Some of them are just true.
- jonathankoren 5y ago
  Touché
KajMagnus 5y ago
Does this indicate that by not fixing the fake reviews problem, Amazon can, whenever it wants, get rid of a troublesome competitor? (since the competitors are sort of forced to use fake reviews)
- makeitdouble 5y ago
  I guess it's double bound: - they can really fix it (e.g. by kicking every fake review mandator) and drown competiting products far below in the search results, leaving "Amazon's choice" ones at the top. With way fewer reviews it will be harder to argue the ranking results legitimacy. - they don't fix it, and as you say, get an excuse to kick any random brand trying to stay afloat on their platform. Either way Amazon wins.
  - naim08 5y ago
    "Amazon's Choice" are also littered with fake reviews. WSJ did a story on this and looked at hundreds of "[AC]" listings and found majority of listings had fake reviews; many of the fake reviews being the top reviews.
- HPsquared 5y ago
  It's selective enforcement, in a different context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_enforcement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_enforcement
  - KajMagnus 5y ago
    Thanks, interesting reading, and some from there linked topics as well

lepouet 5y ago

Today i was looking for a nice gan usb c charger, surprise, an AmazonBasics charger was one of the first result and the only recognizable brand. And the first, promoted, comment/ratings is from a guy who received the product for free in exchange for a review. https://www.amazon.fr/AmazonBasics-One-Port-Charger-Tablets-Delivery/dp/B087S2VMG9 https://www.amazon.fr/AmazonBasics-One-Port-Charger-Tablets-...