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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   4046 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 26, 2023

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Who is it working for though? I actively avoid searching for products on Amazon nowadays. It is awful compared to other internet marketplaces or retailers. But then Amazon entered my market only a couple years ago and there were already established players by then. Did they simply become a powerful monopoly in some areas and are just exploiting this?

Its sellers and manufacturers fighting it out like dogs under a carpet. Amazon makes money no matter what. Also most people shop on their phones now, so getting on the first scroll-page is HUGE money. Many millions are spent on both official help (Amazon's pay to win search results) and covert manipulation tactics against your competitors.

I think it's "Amazon Marketplace sellers" at this point mainly -- although Amazon search was horrible even when most things came directly from Amazon, so I think there's some less scrutable goals at work in terms of showing you things that Amazon wants you to buy, as distinct from things that you would like to buy.

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