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Comment by nobleach | Hacker News Reader

> Didn't Amazon ban products from Apple and Google

Yes, and you can't buy Rigid or Ryobi tools at Lowes either. (even on their website). You also can't find a Pepsi machine at the Coke headquarters. (You can even be fired for being seen drinking Pepsi). There is nothing wrong with not carrying products that compete with your own. There is something wrong with blocking access to purchasing those products from other places though. Right now, people are free to go to Overstock.com (please), Walmart.com, Target.com, Apple.com... the list seems endless.

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What about buying DeWalt, Bosch, Kobalt, Hitachi, Bostitch, Paslode, and Irwin tools at Lowes? Is Pepsi headquarters even open to the public?

Amazon didn't just ban it from their store, they also banned any of their sellers from selling it.

I use to be a part time fitness instructor and when I taught at the Coke headquarters I was told by my coordinator not to bring in a water bottle that wasn’t a Coke brand.

If you go the World of Coke in Atlanta, you won’t see Pepsi products.

Yep, I have a couple of family members who've done really well working for Coke throughout the years. The phrase, "they put the 'cult' in 'culture'" applies. I think it has done really well for them though. When you buy into culture, you become an automatic salesperson.

The latter part about not allowing their sellers to sell Chromecast is reprehensible, and I had no idea that was happening!

Regarding DeWalt, Bosch, etc, I'd highly expect Kobalt to have better product placement (at Lowes). Is that fair?

Would you expect that if you walk into Lowe's and ask for a DeWalt by name, they'd give you a Kobalt? That's what Amazon does with Chromecast

There is a problem if you are the de facto intermediary and using that to squash competition in other markets.

But are they using any tactics other than being cheaper and faster to ship? Their decision not to carry a Chromecast is sad, but, I was also unable to purchase one at radioshack.com. No one would accuse Radio Shack (do they even really exist anymore?) of attempting to use their weight against Google. My point being, it's just a simple business practice not to sell something competes with you in your own store. Apple doesn't sell Dell products either.

>tactics other than being cheaper and faster to ship?

Amazon regularly undercuts people to drive them out of the market - this is known as predatory pricing and it isn't new. It is an abuse of dominant position.

But most Western anti-competition efforts have measured abuse of dominant position in terms of consumer facing price gouging.

Operating under those assumptions, predatory pricing looks GOOD because it lowers consumer pricing, despite the fact that it liquidates market players, removes competition, and creates the accurate perception that you will use your bankroll as a barrier to entry of other market participants.

Once that occurs and you have control of the market's pricing and a dominant position on the logistics, your market already has price discovery problems, even before any further abuse of dominant positions occur. Best of all, this creates a 'new normal' which you can then use as evidence that things are fine in discussions with the competition bureaus you're dealing with.

Sounds like predatory behavior is the problem, since that’s been Walmart’s jam for decades

But let’s kick Amazon

The reality is they all need a kick in the stomach (figuratively speaking) to remind them the general public underlies their wealth

But it benefits the rich competition to use their media platforms for hang Amazon and Google.

Every time I see these stories it smacks of a Madoff type story: they knew he was a crook, but then he swindled rich people

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