Discussion

• Vox Sara Morrison on x

  Amazon's strategy to squeeze marketplace sellers and maximize its own profits is evolving

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  A striking measure of Amazon's monopoly power is the vast stream of cash that it extracts from the businesses that have to rely on its site. In a new report, we find that Amazon is pocketing a 34% cut of sellers' revenue — up from 19% in 2014. 1/ https://ilsr.org/... https://twit…

• @mkink Michael Kink on x

  Amazon is totally screwing over small businesses in New York — there's no reason Kathy Hochul or anyone else should be giving them tax breaks or subsidies https://www.vox.com/... via @voxdotcom @ilsr

• @keithellison Keith Ellison on x

  New Report: “report finds that Amazon is exploiting its position as a gatekeeper to impose steep and growing fees” small businesses. Give it a read. https://ilsr.org/...

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  Terrific story in @voxdotcom about the findings of our new report & how Amazon is using its market power to squeeze sellers, and the high costs for all of us. With comments from antitrust-leading lawmakers @RepCicilline @SenKlobucharLmu & @RepKenBuck https://www.vox.com/...

• @davidcicilline David Cicilline on x

  Amazon's market dominance and monopoly power is bad for #SmallBusiness, jobs, and America's competitiveness on the world stage. This @ilsr report shows how Amazon's abusive practices are crushing businesses, making it nearly impossible for Main Street to get ahead. https://twitte…

• @marshacollier Marsha Collier on x

  Amazon Funds Its Empire by Squeezing Its Marketplace Sellers 📦 “Amazon is the only winner here” 📦 “It's exploiting its monopoly power over these small businesses to pocket a huge and growing cut of their revenue.” #ecommerce via @voxdotcom https://www.vox.com/... https://twitter.…

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  Operating a giant unregulated monopoly tollbooth that sits between businesses and consumers is wildly lucrative. Amazon's revenue from the tolls it imposes on sellers has soared, growing much faster than every other major revenue stream, including AWS. 3/ https://twitter.com/...

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  For one, Amazon uses seller fees to absorb massive, multi-billion dollar losses on Prime. These losses are deliberate & predatory. They're a key way that Amazon locks-in consumers and maintains its hold over the market. 8/

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  After 25yrs, the staggering scope of Bezos's scheme is beginning to reveal itself. In 2014, the tolls Amazon collected from businesses on Marketplace & AWS generated $17 billion, 19% of its revenue. This year, these tolls will bring in $192 billion, 41% of its topline. /12 https:…

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  Second, Amazon uses profits from seller fees to subsidize its own retail division, enabling it to sell household staples, such as diapers and laundry detergent, at prices that are competitive with Walmart — another key to the durability of its online dominance. 9/

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  This all works together to power a monopoly feedback loop. It's what Jeff Bezos refers to as Amazon's flywheel - a metaphor for his monopolization strategy. /10 https://twitter.com/...

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  Even as these fees bankrupt small businesses, they generate massive profits for Amazon — a fact that the tech giant's financial reports conceal. We estimate that Amazon's profit from Marketplace is far higher than that of AWS, which is widely seen as its main profit center. 6/ ht…

• @stacyfmitchell Stacy Mitchell on x

  This year, Amazon's take from seller fees will soar to a staggering $121 billion. That's double the $60 billion in fees it took in just two years ago. If Amazon's third-party marketplace were a stand-alone company, it would bigger than Facebook and Citigroup. 2/