Is Amazon a monopoly yet?

a reply to: JAGStorm

My wife for one and I occasionally love to go into department stores and actually be able to view, feel and try on the merchandise.
Otherwise it's a huge hassle to return and blablablbla.

I agree that Amazon is a monopoly in the sense that maybe not, by the book, they aren't buying out businesses currently, but they are taking 'losses' based on their huge stock portfolio and the stupid millennial stay at home all the time generation, and operating As a monopoly.

What makes it hard even for people me who hate them, is I still use them from time to time because their damn credit card gives me 'free money' points when I use the card and the points are strongest on their own site of course.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

The JC Penny we went to was always full. It just closed because there wasn't the income coming in I guess.
It's because asshats like to go to real stores, even small businesses, to view the merchandise, touch it, try it on, etc and then buy it on Amazon anyway!

a reply to: chris_stibrany

PPPS
Macy's around here is still really busy.
They seem better than JC Penny and Sears.
I think they must have been evolving with their lines of product and business plan?

originally posted by: chris_stibrany
The JC Penny we went to was always full. It just closed because there wasn't the income coming in I guess.
It's because asshats like to go to real stores, even small businesses, to view the merchandise, touch it, try it on, etc and then buy it on Amazon anyway!

They didn't file for bankruptcy because people were buying clothes on Amazon, they filed because they had lost sales from the 2008 recession and changed ownership and management. The new CEO rebranded the company which didn't appeal to the lower and middle income buyers they had attracted for decades.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

You sound correct-ive.

What kind of re-branding occurred?

EDIT to say owner of drum shop around here and also my wife's ex job where her owners just retired, had to (retire) because of aforementioned touchy feely use the business but not buy from them. RE the drum shop still open but hes always ranting and I dont blame him.

a reply to: chris_stibrany

Look up when they made the guy from Apple their new CEO, that was the end of the company.

oh F me no wonder.

www.cnet.com...

too little too late...


*sigh*

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

But that said it doesn't address the BOMB against small business in this country in the last year, let alone the last 10 years.

We all have an online presence if we are a small business but then you get into networking and IT and paying programmers.
Gone are the days where you could have a personal homepage selling tacos or books or shirts.

Bye Geocities.


a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

a reply to: chris_stibrany

I don't use Amazon, I shop locally and never have an issue.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

As an American, i appreciate that. But a lot of my favourite local shops around here have shut down.
especially the dvd rental place. I loved to go there to find new films I wouldn't find on an algorithm or on IMDB.
The people that worked there, you would have real conversations about why they went to film school and they knew everything.
It was huge.
now I have to scrounge to stream something and it's nowhere near as cool.

Case 2: Used bookshops. We used to have at least 6 to 10 in my city and now there are pretty much just 3.
There is less choice and it's less quality. More stuff is traded on Amazon and they even censor some things.

Case 3: Same thing with record stores. We had 4 to 5 big ones now I think we are down to One! Just 1. My friend said he would retire soon and now this stuff hit.
We want to go, listen to see how it sounds, have a social experience and talk about records.

Thanks Amazon.

I think you you may be living slightly in denial of the bigger picture.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

But that said it doesn't address the BOMB against small business in this country in the last year, let alone the last 10 years.

You don't think that they are closing?

You don't use it, but you deny that a lot of idiots are doing it for even their cooking?

originally posted by: chris_stibrany
You don't think that they are closing?

The government shutdowns have been more damaging than Amazon.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

But who is profiting from the 'government shutdowns' that we have had on and off for decades?

originally posted by: chris_stibrany
But who is profiting from the 'government shutdowns' that we have had on and off for decades?

Mostly big corporate retailers which I pointed out months ago would happen.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Are they playing Monopoly in the Amazon yet ?

originally posted by: JAGStorm
www.yahoo.com...

Amazon reportedly wants to take over JCPenney and Sears stores to turn malls into giant fulfillment centers

Saw this coming years ago. I knew the low prices wouldn't last either.
At what point are people going to wake up?

I needed a facial tonic. The price on Amazon was 3x the store price and people are still willing to buy it. Crazy, Crrrrrrraaazy.
3x. It was a small amount, but 3x this, 3x that adds up to an enormous amount over the course of a year, five years etc.

Something about Amazon in old Sears or Jcpenney stores feels bad. Not saying Sears or Jcpenney didn't deserve failure but still

That was likely a third party seller, you have to watch who the seller actually is. Amazon is becoming like ebay in that regard, however all the big retailers are doing the third party seller thing including Walmart and Target.