6 ms·

As a consumer, this doesn't really hurt me. I get good products for cheap delivered in two days or less. I don't see how the FTC is helping me here.

max_ 3y ago
Exactly, the purpose of capitalism is to serve the consumer not the competitors.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  The purpose is to serve the public, full stop (including consumers, employees, shareholders, other citizens). The mechanism is the free market, not capitalism, and the free market requires free competition. Capitalism is one tool in the free market toolbox, and it works very well in many ways. One way this tool doesn't work well is that it leads to monopolies, which stifle competition, which hurts the people listed above.
mikem170 3y ago
How do you know that you're not missing out on an even better deal? If amazon had real competition maybe they would not have raised seller fees so much, and would not have prevented sellers from allowing lower prices in other places. So a cases can be made that they are using their market share to drive up prices, not lower them. Costing the consumer more. There's other issues besides cost, for example counterfeits. If they had real competition then maybe they'd have to do something about all the counterfeit products they sell, which hurts both buyers and sellers. Just a couple examples. There are other ways that monopolies can impact markets. I've had similar thoughts about facebook. We could have had much better social/messaging systems, but facebook bought the competition. We likely missed out on more variety and perhaps much better options. Consumers were harmed by these lost opportunities.
tw04 3y ago
>I get good products for cheap delivered in two days or less. You would be getting the same products for cheaper, that's the point. Their "two days or less" hasn't been true for several years. "Prime" to me basically has become "sometime in the next week" and there's a massive warehouse within 30 miles of my house.
- olyjohn 3y ago
  I cancelled Prime, and I always still get free shipping. Yes it's longer than 2 days, but a lot of the time it arrives early anyways. I really feel like it is better without Prime. I get more "early arrivals" now and I used to just get 2 day shipments in 3-5 days anyways.

max_ 3y ago

Exactly, the purpose of capitalism is to serve the consumer not the competitors.

wolverine876 3y ago
The purpose is to serve the public, full stop (including consumers, employees, shareholders, other citizens). The mechanism is the free market, not capitalism, and the free market requires free competition. Capitalism is one tool in the free market toolbox, and it works very well in many ways. One way this tool doesn't work well is that it leads to monopolies, which stifle competition, which hurts the people listed above.

mikem170 3y ago

How do you know that you're not missing out on an even better deal? If amazon had real competition maybe they would not have raised seller fees so much, and would not have prevented sellers from allowing lower prices in other places. So a cases can be made that they are using their market share to drive up prices, not lower them. Costing the consumer more. There's other issues besides cost, for example counterfeits. If they had real competition then maybe they'd have to do something about all the counterfeit products they sell, which hurts both buyers and sellers. Just a couple examples. There are other ways that monopolies can impact markets. I've had similar thoughts about facebook. We could have had much better social/messaging systems, but facebook bought the competition. We likely missed out on more variety and perhaps much better options. Consumers were harmed by these lost opportunities.

tw04 3y ago

>I get good products for cheap delivered in two days or less. You would be getting the same products for cheaper, that's the point. Their "two days or less" hasn't been true for several years. "Prime" to me basically has become "sometime in the next week" and there's a massive warehouse within 30 miles of my house.

olyjohn 3y ago
I cancelled Prime, and I always still get free shipping. Yes it's longer than 2 days, but a lot of the time it arrives early anyways. I really feel like it is better without Prime. I get more "early arrivals" now and I used to just get 2 day shipments in 3-5 days anyways.