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Re:FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power by rattlesnakedave on Tuesday September 26, 2023 @02:41PM (#37663919)
As a consumer, this doesn't really hurt me. I get good products for cheap delivered in two days or less. I don't see how the FTC is helping me here.
Re:FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power by mikem170 on Tuesday September 26, 2023 @03:04PM (#37664266)
How do you know that you're not missing out on an even better deal?

If amazon had real competition maybe they would not have raised seller fees so much, and would not have prevented sellers from allowing lower prices in other places. So a cases can be made that they are using their market share to drive up prices, not lower them. Costing the consumer more.

There's other issues besides cost, for example counterfeits. If they had real competition then maybe they'd have to do something about all the counterfeit products they sell, which hurts both buyers and sellers.

Just a couple examples. There are other ways that monopolies can impact markets.

I've had similar thoughts about facebook. We could have had much better social/messaging systems, but facebook bought the competition. We likely missed out on more variety and perhaps much better options. Consumers were harmed by these lost opportunities.

Re:FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power by tw04 on Tuesday September 26, 2023 @03:04PM (#37664274)
>I get good products for cheap delivered in two days or less.

You would be getting the same products for cheaper, that's the point. Their "two days or less" hasn't been true for several years. "Prime" to me basically has become "sometime in the next week" and there's a massive warehouse within 30 miles of my house.

Re:FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power by olyjohn on Tuesday September 26, 2023 @04:02PM (#37665080)
I cancelled Prime, and I always still get free shipping. Yes it's longer than 2 days, but a lot of the time it arrives early anyways. I really feel like it is better without Prime. I get more "early arrivals" now and I used to just get 2 day shipments in 3-5 days anyways.
Re:FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power by max_ on Tuesday September 26, 2023 @02:51PM (#37664038)
Exactly, the purpose of capitalism is to serve the consumer not the competitors.
Re:FTC Sues Amazon for Illegally Maintaining Monopoly Power by wolverine876 on Tuesday September 26, 2023 @04:14PM (#37665226)
The purpose is to serve the public, full stop (including consumers, employees, shareholders, other citizens). The mechanism is the free market, not capitalism, and the free market requires free competition.

Capitalism is one tool in the free market toolbox, and it works very well in many ways. One way this tool doesn't work well is that it leads to monopolies, which stifle competition, which hurts the people listed above.