Amazon's Monopoly of the tech industry is ruining the US economy

I put some of the blame on retailers as well. Retail stores just don't want to carry inventory anymore, especially tech-focused ones with many of those just turning into glorified showrooms. I don't know how many times I've heard some version of: "Sorry, we don't have that in stock but we can bring it in for you."

We needed a short length of garden hose here for the house so I went to two hardware stores and one garden centre looking for one. Nothing. Not even in their dedicated gardening sections. I had to order it off Amazon. A goddamn garden hose.

Amazon has done a lot of damage for sure but retail is suffering from several self-inflicted wounds too. Home Depot, for example, is a multi-billion dollar corporation and even they have a weaker retail presence now. That's not Amazon's fault.

Here in Germany there are still plenty of independent online retailers and they're competitive with Amazon. I always try to avoid buying from Amazon and for tech products that's usually no problem.

Amazon's pricing I not deterministic. You were likely tracked and information collected to know this was a key item for you. Amazon will market loss leaders to you in an attempt to get you to default to buying on Amazon.

As a former Buyer for a chain of retail stores, the loss leader is effective marketing. I sell you a popular item at or below my typical cost because statistically, a large percentage of customers are making a special trip to my store to buy that product and will make additional purchases at margin. On the wholesale Buying side, these are tools to get past bulk buying tier discounts for seasonal ordering with smaller scale retail.

Amazon is using a convoluted front end system of overlapping product categories and a supposed multi seller listings (despite collectivized logistics and warehousing) on the website you see. This is how they perform price fixing where you do not see honest or straight forward determinism. When you repurchase that same item later without making comparisons, the seller will shuffle so that a higher price is presented.

If you have a well isolated network where device history for social media and internet browsing is totally partitioned from e-commerce you'll likely see even more of the scam. If you see anyone online show the search results and pricing on Amazon, then try to replicate those search results and product price on a device that is totally partitioned from your viewing of the item/price elsewhere, you're likely to find it is not possible. If you then go back to the original device and do the same, you'll magically find the same product and lower price. It is a scam market. This is why they are collecting and paying for all that data about you. We are in an age when automated individual targeting and manipulation is possible and happening. This is why data mining stalkerware is insidious. Scam markets are only the tip of the iceberg and what can be uncovered if you go looking for it. Anyone that has done database or logistics management should have major red flags flying when looking at how Amazon's website is setup. The front end is absolutely untenable garbage for effective logistics. The only reason it is convoluted and search results are terrible is because it is a price fixing scam. The logistical efficiency proves that there is no connection between the front and back end of the site.

It would help if you went to the right stores first. Try Office Max, Staples, Office Depot, etc.

Amazon has very good deals OR very bad ones. I find Microcenter often equal to or even better than Amazon in most tech stuff.

Your experience is exactly why you shouldn't make sweeping judgement on one data point.

1. Photo paper isn't really tech. It's a supply.

2. It's a low volume niche item.

3. People that are buying it are less likely to care about cost (older) or want it right now. So Microcenter feels they can charge more. (IMO)

Amazon has a healthcare company now too...

...and they own twitch.

You were looking for office supplies: did you check an office supply store?

Not just tech, all over the product spectrum. They started by selling books.

A large problem is payment system and accounts. I hate going to a new shop and create a new account, a new password, bla bla bla. I hate it. And wiring with online banking is still a pain the ass, you have to enter some password into your shitty phone keyboard and then wait for an SMS... paypal and amazon payment make shopping convenient.

So part of the problem is banks who have been sleeping on the job for decades. At least here in Europe. You finally can wire money so it arrives immediately from your bank account at a shop! (without having to waste some tax on a payment provider either). But 2 factor authentication is still a pita. Where is my online bank with easy to use FIDO2?

There are now alternative popping up because amazon has become so enshittified (high prices for many smaller items and reviews etc). And of course I'm a fan of aliexpress but shipping from China is stupid too.

We definitely need to avoid a monopoly by a corporation like amazon.

Remember that time like 10 years ago, when some local news station was doing a story about Amazon having all the best tech deals, and then the one co-host butts in and says "You know why they have a monopoly, right? RIGHT??? SHE KNOWS WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT!!!"

And everybody was giving blank looks, like "Uh....no? What ARE you talking about?"

And he's like "Because they sell all the sex toys, and deliver it right to your house! Ladies? Right???? IT'S CONVIENENT!!!"

And everybody just had their mouth open in shock like "WTF ARE YOU DOING???"

and then he goes on and on about dildos, as his cohost continually tries to move on, but he keeps talking about dildos. And she's looking like she wants to strangle him.

I am fortunate to live in a country where amazon is not strong and we have aggregated search engines that over all the small shops, compete against Amazon on selection and cost, often beating it. I hope it stays this way.

OP, I dislike Amazon and there are definitely plenty of things to accuse them of, but you're literally describing the opposite of a monopoly. Generally the problem with monopolies is that they don't need to compete on price so they'll over charge. You're saying Amazon is a monopoly because they're the cheapest option though. That doesn't follow.

Again, to be clear, I dislike them and believe they're worthy of criticism. I'm not trying to "defend Amazon" here.

I’m surprised there’s so few mentions of AWS in this thread. It’s a huge profit centre for the company and a large portion of the internet is now running off of it. AWS is basically the internet’s landlord now, and the profits generated from being the most popular cloud service provider globally are probably why they can afford to invest so heavily into their logistics infrastructure and retail that people are more familiar with.

Microcenter price matches amazon, you could've bought it for the same price at microcenter. Also, you can try ebay, I've been buying more stuff from ebay and the experience is pretty good.

It's not just the tech industry, it's most industries. They have tons of inventory of everything.

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I was thinking about this recently after a frustrating trip to a brick and mortar store that was missing the specific item I wanted to purchase which should have been easily available.

Has it always been this bad and we just accepted it until Amazon came around and carried most everything, or have stores significantly reduced the inventory they carry to the point where they have become practically useless except as a showroom? It extends to things I only want to purchase in store. Why do clothing and shoe stores never have my size in stock of the item I want? Clothing has become so poor in quality (even expensive stuff) and I'm hard enough to fit that unless it is an item I already have and need to replace I only want to buy stuff I can try on first.

As much as I'd like to avoid Amazon, the lack of inventory at other retailers really pushes me towards them. Why would I pay more for slow shipping from the East coast because the local store doesn't carry anything when Amazon delivers in 1-2 days for free?

I've also been really struggling recently when trying to buy items that are less than $15. Amazon often charges double what it should cost for the items, but at the same time, local stores don't carry what I'm looking for. I can find it for the right price online, but then the shipping cost makes it more expensive than Amazon.

Do you mean you went to walmart and target physically, and then directly to amazons website, and no other online shop? There are a ton of competing online stores with similar or better prices than Amazon, often stores specializing in the product you're buying. Instead of looking up amazon specifically, look up the item youre looking for

I canceled prime a year ago as I can no longer support the monopoly and destruction to everyone else

So politely, how does Amazon offering a better price on a niche paper product conflate into them having a monopoly on the "tech industry"?

I'd posit the real thing here is that Amazon's warehouses allow them to keep less-purchased products around in stock that a brick-and-mortar retail store simply wouldn't bother with at all, but that's been the case for decades at this point.

And, yes, printing out images has become an uncommon activity and I can't say I'd blame any of the larger stores for only having a single expensive option available, but that's their decision, not Amazon's.

Have you checked Staples?

You really think that in 2024 - a time when not even school children are expected to print out reports because everything is submitted digitally - the fact that photo printer paper not being ubiquitous reflects literally anything other than we've mostly moved past paper as a society?

I'm not saying reddit is better - it clearly is not - but ask yourselves why Lemmy is so absolutely shit at applying Occam's Razor to their own biases?

You’re listing all of the reasons it’s not a monopoly - you can go almost anywhere else and buy the same good.

Therefore, I think Amazon has a literal monopoly in the tech industry right now, you're literally forced to buy from them

You literally weren’t and literally aren’t, so they’re literally not.

They have so aggressively and dominantly taken over the supply chain market that no other tech company can currently compete with them in any aspect at all.

If nobody was in competition with them, they’d be raising their prices.

I enjoy this narrative of "being forced" to go against ones own morals and principals by big bad companies because one just absolutely has to have a product for as cheap as possible.

You went to two stores and then straight to Amazon. That doesn't mean they have a monopoly, that means you really didn't try that hard to find an alternative.

If you think you have no other choice you are right because you stopped looking for one.

Check Amazon’s Antitrust Paradox by Lina Khan (FTC). A very detailed review of how Amazon is a monopoly and how they dodge antitrust legislation.

Wait, your Canon printer needs a specific type of photo paper, not just generic photo paper that's been around for inkjet printers for a very long time now? Have printers really become that enshittified?

Here in Canada, I find the prices pretty neck and neck. Small items tend to be a bit cheaper at the stores, since there is very little overhead for them to carry small items compared to Amazon's picking and delivery logistics. Big items tend to be a bit cheaper on Amazon. For tech specifically, Best Buy price matches items, so it's not that bad... Memory express and CC sometimes have lower prices than Amazon too (see PCPartPicker).

The main reason to use Amazon is you can easily find some really obscure stuff. Then again, you can buy direct from manufacturer, like Vevor, for often cheaper.

Have you tried buying from aliexpress? It's the same products as on Amazon, but directly from the supplier. Imagine Amazon, but everything's 50% off.

Source: I'm cheap as heck and buy random trash from them

Amazon is a place where you have to deal with fake items and getting fraudulent returns shipped to you as new. Your reward for this is maybe a 5% discount.

Bought a RX 6400 for a little windoze game box, and shelled out around 30€ /35€ more at a conventional well known shop here, materiel dot net. Bought most of my stuff there over the years, nice people, etc.

But I couldn't just go get it, it "had to" be delivered, so I paid for that too (I guess you do the same on Amazon), high class delivery or so I thought. Ordered thursday, scheduled delivery "wednesday 8h-19h" so okay I WFH but man better be there every minute right?

Got a confirmation SMS/Text around 12, we're delivering your package today! (No more info).

Surprise, they didnt.

Suddenly it's scheduled "Thursday 8h-19h".

Grrr

I bet I would have gotten my card on saturday if I had used amazon (+30€ too...).

I mean are brick & mortar stores dead now for real maybe?

Walmart online is eating Amazon they don't have a monopoly

the money and time you spent traveling to three different stores outweighs the couple bucks more you would have spent at walmart. protip: next time try staples or office depot. also, taking a moral position means sacrifice, and often times that's financial.

There are other online shops besides Amazon. I find an alternative for almost everything that I order and it's not more expensive. And finding the right product inside Amazon is so exhausting nowadays that it's not more work to compare different web shops.

I recently wanted to get a pre-workout, I looked it up on Amazon and then I went to the company site to just order directly from there. It was like $10 cheaper on Amazon because of free shipping and subscribe & save.

If it's sold and shipped by amazon, you should be able to price match it at bestbuy or target. I don't know why walmart stopped price matching anybody.

It's hard to compete when you're basically a warehouse and your market is the literal population of the internet.

Yeah, microcenter, even if it's the only computer/electronics store for 100 miles, can still only hold so much, and they only reach people in/around their city at most. It's not like people are crossing state lines to get to a computer store.... Unless you live on the border of your state, I suppose.

Amazon has, at the very least, dozens of warehouses across the country that can deliver whatever it is you want with remarkable efficiency because postal/parcel services have been systematically improving over the past 50+ years.

I'm not saying I'm a fan of Amazon, but bluntly, is it really surprising, in the slightest, that Amazon can out price everyone else?

Amazon most times has name brand stuff that isn't electronics that you can have delivered very quickly. But seriously, any device, anything with an expiration, shoes, anything that might break in transit, off brand plastic crap, and any other of the useless items amazon carries, just buy a name brand directly from the manufacturers website. You will most likely get a tested product, and when something goes wrong you can talk directly to the manufacturer support. Not amazon. Also, purely anecdotal right now, but check your bank account for amazon purchase totals that don't match you order history... I got 3 charges for $24~ in 3 days when I hadn't ordered for a week, and now I have to fight thru automation to get it fixed.

It sounds like you went to several physical stores and when their stock on hand was not sufficient you concluded your only option was Amazon. What about the rest of the internet?

I’ve been deeply hooked on Amazon for a long time and trying to wean myself off of it for a variety of reasons. The most helpful thing in this, I’ve found, is Apple Pay.

I happen to use an iPhone and Apple Pay is easy. It is increasingly accepted everywhere, making any online store a one-click purchase. Maybe for you it would be PayPal or Google Pay but whatever your preference is, these payment services have come a long way.

For years I was stuck on Amazon because of the convenience. I am not ashamed - convenience is a real benefit when life is busy. And I had everything set up on Amazon, and they had most things available in their search.

But Google Shopping also has almost everything in the world available and most or all the retailers there accept Apple Pay. So now I just do that. It works just as easily.

You can even search on Amazon and then take note of the name of the seller and search the internet for them and then buy direct. Most have websites because Amazon fees eat into their profits. They would rather sell direct. And easy payment services plus ecommerce platforms like Shopify and Square make it easier than ever.

Amazon is becoming a cesspool of Chinese scams these days. I am tempted to say that I still prefer Amazon because the returns are easy but the fact is that I have HAD to return a lot of things to Amazon because they were not what I thought I was buying or they were just absolute shit quality or arrived broken.

So the point remains: you have alternatives. Use them. If you want physical stores, that’s another matter entirely and I agree those are getting fewer and worse. But Amazon doesn’t always beat them on price. You should check every time and you might be surprised. I was in my local CVS and I saw they had the exact LED bulbs I needed to buy but I thought they’d be too expensive there so I checked Amazon on the spot. CVS beat them by a couple of dollars. So check every time!

Brick and mortar will always be more expensive and there are always cheaper options than Target. I used to love Fry's but they are no more.

Ain't recent data showing amazon longer cheapest?

Sounds like one off here tbh

You tried three in person places and then went straight to Amazon? Why not trying to buy directly from the manufacturer? You clearly didn’t try at all. Ignoring the fact that there are still plenty of other retail stores, you didn’t even try the online shops of any of your retail stores.

My last post being unclear. Amazon has about as much a strangle hold on the tech sector as Walmart has on retail. They don't. You get the product you paid for. AWS is no different.

You should offer printer paper on xmrbazaar.com

So the way it’s ruining those markets is by making more goods available at lower prices?