TNR: Amazon's Monopoly Must Be Broken Up; "It's Cannibalizing The Economy"

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Amazon is amazing.

Competition is important but I'm not going to complain about the quality of Amazon.

99% of my online purchases are through them. They work great, Prime is awesome, prices are very nice and they have pretty much everything.
 
Add another to one to the I think this terrible issue is a nonstarter and I think this article is pretty poorly written(not in form but the synopsis just seems like fear mongering).
 
TNR said:
But descending into the weeds of predatory pricing statutes also obscures the very real threat. In its pursuit of bigness, Amazon has left a trail of destruction—competitors undercut, suppliers squeezed—some of it necessary, and some of it highly worrisome.
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Oh the horror, the horror.

What a shitty, vague and confused article. That's the first thing that they wrote as an example of "Amazon has left a trail of destruction"? Wow, what a joke.
 
I don't like what Amazon is doing with publishers and authors. I don't know if it is directly correlated to Amazon but author salaries have actually dropped in recent years. Yes the top guys still make bank but there are a number of published and well sold authors who still hold day jobs.
 
I'm not a fan of Amazons practice of serving as a store front for mom and pop shops then undercutting their prices by making back end deals with the distributors of the products they sell.
 
DeVeAn said:
Well I loved using amazon for many years. Problem is now EVERY thing I order is damaged. Especially books. Not to mention these types of companies need to pay the workers better. Scum pay attracts scum workers.
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Have you complained to Amazon? I never had any issues with stuff getting damaged.


Boss★Moogle;133857410 said:
I used to be a big Amazon shopper but I haven't bought anything from them in 2014. I guess the main reason is that they started charging tax in my state. The main reason I shopped there was basically that it cost less due to no tax, particularly on big ticket items like TVs and such. They also raised the minimum purchase price for free shipping to $35 for non-Prime member and also raised Prime to a100 bucks.
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I still buy from Amazon even with the tax. Their prices are good and you can't beat the convenience of buying online and having it shipped to your house. My time is too valuable to be driving to some store, etc.
 
Kabouter said:
Good article, can't help but agree, despite the fact that I like Amazon in general.
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Same, though I have only read the full OP and not the full article. It also seems like some may be reacting to the title without giving the full OP a read. Definitely read it people. It already addresses some of the questions that people are raising.
 
In case anyone else was wondering, Amazon currently has 25 different versions of Monopoly for sale at incredibly low prices and free shipping with Amazon Prime.
 
If you're giving Amazon a pass simply because they make your life easier, you're part of the problem. If consumers got everything they wanted, everything would be free, but I'm glad that it's not because otherwise nobody would be creating it.

As a writer, I'm constantly faced with the devaluing of my own industry based on pennies-per-word payment schemes and the lowering of quality as a result. People just want content, and whether or not it's good is meaningless. A world with cheap books is great, but a world without publishers is a world without standards.
 
The only company Walmart fears is Amazon.

Amazon is dangerously close to a monopoly and monopolies are never good.

Google is also close to a monopoly.

Apple is close to a monopoly in the music sector.
 
EatinOlives said:
I hear ya. I went to a Barnes and Noble the other day to buy a book that cost $30 in store. I saw it online for $15 on their own website. The lady wouldn't price match because she said and I quote: "It's the convenience of being able to buy it and have it instantly instead of having to wait for shipping". The book was in bad shape too, worn from many people reading it then putting it back on the shelf.

I too put the book on the shelf, then went to Amazon and bought it for $15 with free two day shipping. Sorry lady, but I don't think a $15 "convenience fee" is going to convince very many people.
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Maybe your Barnes and Noble is shit, but any bookstore here in UK like Waterstones are very well price-matched with Amazon.
 
I don't really see where 'well there are worse monopolies!' is all that relevant. It's not like it's an either/or proposition.

And as far as innovation goes, well....who's to say that one of those other companies they drained and bought out wouldn't have been as customer friendly and 'innovative'? It would have been even better for consumers.

Nobody's arguing Amazon doesn't have some great services and prices. But that's kind of the point; because of that we're all more than happy to just look the other way.

It's not like if Comcast had great customer services and better prices it would suddenly be ok if they became a monopoly.
 
lazorexplosion said:
Oh the horror, the horror.

What a shitty, vague and confused article. That's the first thing that they wrote as an example of "Amazon has left a trail of destruction"? Wow, what a joke.
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You do realize the effect that Walmart had on small businesses, right? Amazon is even more of a threat to them because they don't have to stick to the same rules.

But maybe you don't care about small businesses as much as ridiculously low prices. Suit yourself, but pay attention to the consequence .
 
ElectricKaibutsu said:
Oh God, I hate PayPal. I have had nothing but trouble with them, and there's no alternative most of the time. What an example of a terrible monopoly.
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He sold Paypal a long time ago. And people should read his book, it's very good and does make a compelling argument as to why monopolies are needed for inovation
 
I don't think the good of publishers is a universal value. They can go bancrupt if they can't keep up. What matters is the good of authors and readers and Amazon privides that, while publishers actually hurt both groups. So they get no sympathy for me.

Publishers can remain relevant and benefit the whole market, but to do so they need to evolve. But instead they want to reverse the clock to 60s. If they aren't willing to evolve they deserve to go extinct. Of course, in reality all those publishers are making a killing, they're just crying because they want to make even more and hate competition from indie authors.
 
AdrianWerner said:
I don't think the good of publishers is a universal value. They can go bancrupt if they can't keep up. What matters is the good of authors and readers and Amazon privides that, while publishers actually hurt both groups. So they get no sympathy for me.
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What evidence are you using that Amazon provides that and publishers don't? Amazon is overcrowding the market and undervaluing authors.
 
as a customer is just freaking hard not to love amazon though i feel sympathy for the smaller guys getting squeezed out.

i have great fondness for amazon, my dollars are good enough for them and they always accept my business with open arms . as a non-us citizen that shit is dope, when i can, i always buy in amazon.
 
I've never bought a single thing on Amazon. I like to shop around and actually go outside when I need something. I agree though, the massive accumulation of capital and resulting monopoly is bad for everybody. From what I've read and seen they treat their employees very shitty. Eh I'm not a capitalist and try to avoid these huge companies anyway to the degree its possible.
 
Stet said:
What evidence are you using that Amazon provides that and publishers don't? Amazon is overcrowding the market and undervaluing authors.
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This sounds eerily similar to arguments made against the App store and STEAM. Publishers don't have a right to exist.
 
Stet said:
What evidence are you using that Amazon provides that and publishers don't? .
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Amazon created a sustainable market for indie authors and helped to lower the prices of ebooks immensely. This helps readers and most of authors. The only people who can complain are the very few those who benefited from rigid controled system of yesterday (and even the are just a small fraction of all published authors) that have problems with more competition. But "let's just keep prices high and selection small" is pretty bad pro-publishers argument
 
AdrianWerner said:
Amazon created a sustainable market for indie authors and helped to lower the prices of ebooks immensely. This helps readers and most of authors. The only people who can complain are the very few those who benefited from rigid controled system of yesterday (and even the are just a small fraction of all published authors) that have problems with more competition. But "let's just keep prices high and selection small" is pretty bad pro-publishers argument
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Name one indie author that got either rich or famous through Amazon.

(The point of this question is that in the world of Amazon, it is next to impossible to survive entirely on your craft as a professional author. This is what the article is talking about--writing is set to become a hobbyist profession.)
 
Stet said:
Name one indie author that got either rich or famous through Amazon.
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Hugh Howey.

Stet said:
(The point of this question is that in the world of Amazon, it is next to impossible to survive entirely on your craft as a professional author. This is what the article is talking about--writing is set to become a hobbyist profession.)
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The days when most people published in print were able to make a living solely from writing were over good two decades ago. Indie publishing is actually increasing the number of authors who can survive from writing alone.

If you want to survive by being a writer alone the indie revolution is highly increasing your chances of that.
 
mattiewheels said:
You do realize the effect that Walmart had on small businesses, right? Amazon is even more of a threat to them because they don't have to stick to the same rules.

But maybe you don't care about small businesses as much as ridiculously low prices. Suit yourself, but pay attention to the consequence .
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Oh the horror of the consequences of Amazon. How dare they out-compete other businesses by offering lower prices, excellent customer service, unparalleled selection and absolute convenience. Somebody stop them.
 
Good article, until the end part

So, no matter how large they grow, publishers will continue to strip away costs to satisfy Amazon. And more attention will fall on a strange inefficiency at the heart of the business: the advances that publishing houses pay their writers. ]This upfront money is the economic pillar on which quality books rest, the great bulwark against dilettantism. Advances make it financially viable for a writer to commit years of work to a project.

But no bank or investor in its right mind would extend that kind of credit to an author, save perhaps Stephen King. Which means that it won’t take much for this anomalous ecosystem to collapse. Amazon might decide that it can only generate enough revenue by further transforming the e-book market—and it might try to drive sales by deflating Salman Rushdie and Jennifer Egan novels to the price of a Diet Coke. Or it can continue to prod the publishing houses to change their models, until they submit. Either way, the culture will suffer the inevitable consequences of monopoly—less variety of products and lower quality of the remaining ones. This is depressing enough to ponder when it comes to the fate of lawn mower blades.
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This is pure speculation. And a bad one, at that. You want speculation? Ok:
In the age of Internet, new ways of funding and new ways to discover good writers will appear replacing the old models.
 
AdrianWerner said:
Hugh Howey.


The days when most people published in print were able to make a living solely from writing were over good two decades ago. Indie publishing is actually increasing the number of authors who can survive from writing alone.

If you want to survive by being a writer alone the indie revolution is highly increasing your chances of that.
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You know Hugh Howey still made a deal with a traditional publisher right?
 
Turin Turambar said:
Good article, until the end part



This is pure speculation. And a bad one, at that. You want speculation? Ok:
In the age of Internet, new ways of funding and new ways to discover good writers will appear replacing the old models.
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The sad thing is that most writers get petite advances from publishers. Not anywhere near enough to allow them to "dedicate years to the book". Unless they move to some 3rd world country where 10-20K will last them years.
 
Stet said:
You know Hugh Howey still made a deal with a traditional publisher right?
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Yes. And? He got rich and famous by self publishing though. Plus his indie success is what allows him to reap benefits from everythin. Without it he would get crappy publishing deal with a lot smaller percentages of cover price and most likely he would have to give up ebook, international and movie rights too.

Also there are plenty of successful published authors, like Barry Eisler, who dropped from traditional publishing and moved to indie sector.

I don't think many indie authors actually mind publishers much if they can negotieate from possition of strenght. And while ebooks are great I doubt they can match the feeling you get when you see your book in a bookshop's shelves. But there's no denying that before you had a lot less chances to become a professional writer than you do now. Indie allows everyone to publish and if they are successful they can always get a deal for physical books only with publisher. Even if you prefer traditional way you might always try it first and then use indie as secondary option if the first one fails.

And if you look at publisher's financials you will see most of them have been making more and more money in recent years, so don't let them convince you the competition is somehow killing them. If they can't provide their authors good enough payouts then it's only their on fault.
 
lazorexplosion said:
Oh the horror of the consequences of Amazon. How dare they out-compete other businesses by offering lower prices, excellent customer service, unparalleled selection and absolute convenience. Somebody stop them.
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I understand your attitude, but I'm sure you can see how it might lead to overlooking some huge problems.
 
i go out of my way to avoid using amazon as much as possible these days. i don't like their muscle, it scares me.
 
It doesn't have to be an either or thing, people. We can be aware of Amazon's growing and disproportional power and still lodge grievances with telecommunications properties.

It just sounds like people are deflecting because they personally like Amazon. I do as well. But we can still be wary of their vicegrip on certain industries.
 
What's with the argument that there are other monopolies that regulators should handle first? It is possible to handle multiple industries and businesses. The FTC or FCC isn't compromised of one single team that can only handle one case at a time.

Telecommunications are a big problem in this country, but that shouldn't limit the regulation of other industries.

Trey said:
It doesn't have to be an either or thing, people. We can be aware of Amazon's growing and disproportional power and still lodge grievances with telecommunications properties.

It just sounds like people are deflecting because they personally like Amazon. I do as well. But we can still be wary of their vicegrip on certain industries.
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Basically. And the author addresses this, but it seems like a lot of people are just reading the headline instead of the article.
 
It's kind of funny that people are so big on amazon. I've reverted heavily from using it for 99% of my stuff before. Their packaging is absolute shit and most things come predamaged. I have prone and even with warehouses in state and neighboring states it still take the full 2 days to receive an item. Is rather just go and buy what I want rather than wait 2 days and pray it's not broken for once while paying the exact same price or pennies less at best than I would in a store. I can't remember the last time I bought something from amazon outside of books for my kindle.
 
Although Amazon are good, I try not to use them for everything. For games I use another as I like to support British companies.
 
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