Amazon Investigated By German Watchdog For Abusing Dominance During Pandemic (cnbc.com) 16
An anonymous reader quotes a report from CNBC: Amazon is being investigated by German authorities for allegedly abusing its market position during the coronavirus pandemic. The investigation, being led by the German Federal Cartel Office, is looking at Amazon's relationship with third-party sellers on its platform. It began around April and comes after the Cartel Office received a number of complaints. A spokesperson for the regulator told CNBC that it is "not up to a private platform to be a price regulator or the price police." Amazon is using "unknown mechanisms" to regulate sellers on its platform, they added.
German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was the first to report the investigation. "We are currently investigating whether and how Amazon influences retailers' pricing on the marketplace," Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview. The regulator told CNBC that Amazon had provided it with a statement after it asked the e-commerce giant a number of questions. The responses in the statement are now being considered. The Cartel Office, which has the power to fine companies hundreds of millions of euros, declined to comment on how long the probe will take.
German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was the first to report the investigation. "We are currently investigating whether and how Amazon influences retailers' pricing on the marketplace," Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview. The regulator told CNBC that Amazon had provided it with a statement after it asked the e-commerce giant a number of questions. The responses in the statement are now being considered. The Cartel Office, which has the power to fine companies hundreds of millions of euros, declined to comment on how long the probe will take.
Ah yes, how to make everyone happy (Score:2)
If they intervene, they are accused of abusing their "monopoly".
Not to mention that Amazon does not have a monopoly. There is eBay, Etsy, Otto, Zalando, Mediamarkt, Notebooksbilliger and many others.
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If they don't do anything, they will be accused of allowing price gouging during a pandemic. If they intervene, they are accused of abusing their "monopoly". Not to mention that Amazon does not have a monopoly. There is eBay, Etsy, Otto, Zalando, Mediamarkt, Notebooksbilliger and many others.
Sorry to intrude on your ragegasm but the word 'monopoly' isn't mentioned anywhere in TFA that is an embellishment you added. Furthermore it is perfectly possible that they will find Amazon didn't do anything wrong or that whatever happened was the result of garden variety incompetence at Amazon. Finally, Amazon commands something like 40-50% percent of the e-commerce market so they are quite big enough to be really abusive if they want to since eBay, Etsy, Otto, Zalando, Mediamarkt, Notebooksbilliger and m
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Did a quick search of that article, didn't find the word "monopoly" anywhere. You're getting straw all over the place, could you please step outside?
Dude, you're clearly an idiot. "Market dominance", "monopoly", what is difference?
My point still stands; no matter what Amazon does, there will always be someone somewhere, crying foul. Amazon (and eBay for that matter) were pioneers in online selling, and now everyone wants a piece of the pie so they start to cry foul.
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Dude, you're clearly an idiot. "Market dominance", "monopoly", what is difference?
This has to be one of the funniest things I've read in a super long time, I need to check my comment replies more often.
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I believe that part of the terms of service of being a vendor on Amazon is that you don't price gouge during emergencies. I somehow doubt that the German government would really want to see the price of emergency supplies skyrocket the next time they have flooding or forest fires. I rather suspect this is just more political grandstanding.
Rumsfeldian (Score:1)
Is it just me, or is that a vague accusation?
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Is it just me, or is that a vague accusation?
Yes it is, and that vagueness needs clearing up. Hence the investigation. In a world where there is one platform controlling half of all e-commerce sales and regulating the market visibility of thousands upon thousands of vendors with opaque algorithms 'it's a trade secret' is not an adequate answer when disputes about possible abuses arise. That being said I'm not crying any rivers about Amazon cracking down on people gouging customers on protective gear and sanitary products in the middle of a pandemic bu
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It doesn't deserve a headline if it's merely, "This looks a little funny, but I don't know why yet. Let's investigate."
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It doesn't deserve a headline if it's merely, "This looks a little funny, but I don't know why yet. Let's investigate."
I think you just described how investigations start: "That Al Capone guy lives like a king but he hasn't filed an income tax return for years and when he did is declared income could not possibly explain his luxurious lifestyle, that looks a little funny, let's investigate."
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Not every "hmmm, that looks odd" is part of a crime. In other words, your example is cherry-picked.
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True enough, though he didn't state that. He gave one example. Happened to be one that many people would recognize. Perhaps it doesn't deserve its own headline, but a lot of people and journalists enjoying hating on Amazon, so there's that.
About time (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:About time (Score:5, Insightful)
"And when you find a great product to sell there Amazon will swoop in and start selling it to, and they will buy it from your supplier"
The problem here is that you are selling a commodity. It is a product or class of products readily available on the market from resellers who compete solely on price. Don't blame Amazon that you market an ordinary product from a source that you don't control.
Consider selling unique items that are not available anywhere else. Ideally, patented or trademarked items that can't legally be sold by others. Or unusual hand crafted items or works of art. You can name your price then. If you can't offer the market something special, then do something else. The last person to succeed in commodity sales was Sam Walton and he died long ago. Amazon follows the same formula but they crush commodity suppliers and offer much beyond that.
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The Chinese will copy your copyrighted or trademarked stuff, and Amazon will only go after them if you are big like Luxotica
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