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Amazon’s scheme to inflate prices everywhere uncovered (www.youtube.com)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [M] to c/PurchaseWithPurpose@lemmy.world
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Particularly egregious in the United States, where they have such a strong monopoly.

And also why supporting independent shops directly is SO important.

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[–] 16 points 2 months ago (8 children)

Can we get a TLDW?

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  • [–] [S] 28 points 2 months ago* (7 children)

    Because Amazon has a monopoly, price matching doesn't mean "we will drop our prices to match competition", it actually means they bully suppliers to raise their prices to meet Amazon's price.

    This inflates prices of goods because Amazon is increasingly taking a higher share of each transaction, so before, when companies could offer a cheaper in-store option because they were saving on these fees, they are forced to raise their prices to keep making a sustainable profit.

    In summary, the more power you give Amazon, the higher fees they can charge suppliers and the worse the price gets for you as they are forced to pass on the fees. And you won't be wiser because they control the market's price at the supplier's store and on Amazon.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (6 children)

    Thanks! So they threaten not to sell the product if the supplier doesn’t raise the price?

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (5 children)

    Not quite. The bullying comes in a few forms:

    • Removing the "buy now" button from the product page, making users click through multiple steps to complete a purchase. Per the video, suppliers who had this happen to them saw 80% drop in sales.
    • Amazon automatically lowers its price, but then charges the supplier a fee on each item sold to make up for the difference in margin.
    • Amazon marks the product page with a big red badge saying "high price", discouraging users from buying the product.

    Since the suppliers often need Amazon more than Amazon needs them, the net result is that they comply.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (4 children)

    Got it. Thanks! Is there an Amazon alternative? Something that has a lot of variety of products, fast shipping, and isn’t overpriced? I try to go to individual retailers but you end up paying multiple shipping fees, and shipping takes a long time. Often brick and mortar stores don’t care specific items I need either.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 child)

    I haven't found one yet. I think anyone who could offer the same would inevitability end up using the same slimy tactics as Amazon.

    When I can, I wait and bundle purchases together in order to save on shipping costs. Almost nowhere can match the 1-2 day shipping on Amazon, but it's rare that I actually need anything so fast.

    Some of my go-to choices:

    • If it's some cheap product that Amazon sells 10,000 different versions of from brands with unpronounceable names, I usually can get it on AliExpress for cheaper. The tradeoff is waiting longer.
    • For consumer electronics, I'll look on B&H, BestBuy, Microcenter
    • For PC components, although I dislike newegg, I consider them less bad then Amazon
    • Books I order from my local store and pick them up in person
    • Electronic components, microcontrollers, etc I look at Mouser, Digikey, SeeedStudio, Adafruit, Sparkfun, and others
    • EBay is low on my list, because sometimes the seller is just drop-shipping you a product straight from Amazon and charging you more for it
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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago

    Thanks! I’ve stopped using Aliexpress after my credit card being stolen a couple of times. I can’t prove it but they were both recently after a purchase from them and hasn’t happened since I stopped. And it takes forever to ship.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (1 child)

    Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. The fewer purchases you make through Amazon, the less power they have. If you have to shop there occasionally, that's much better than shopping there always. I cancelled my Prime a year or two ago, and I've adjusted to life without super fast shipping. And, if you can afford it, paying a few extra bucks to a less shitty company is worth it to support them.

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