MatthewC
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As regards the adjectives, again I was quoting Tim Waterstone (see the link in previous post). Tell me where you disagree with him (even though he has a vested interest).Penners said:That's some outburst, Matthew! What evidence do you have for your choice of pejorative adjectives?MatthewC said:Amazon's clear aim is to make as much money as possible (and pay as little tax as possible) and never mind the consequences - ruthless, contemptuous, arrogant and subversive are just some of the adjectives.
I carry no brief whatsoever for Amazon, and I can only report my own experience with them. I have bought a very wide range of goods from them and in general I find their prices highly competitive, their service excellent and (on the rare occasions that I have had to use it) their after-sale response immediate and fair.
Isn't that a target every retailer should aim at? Just because Amazon have grown big by hitting the bullseye, that doesn't automatically make them the Devil incarnate. As for making as much money and paying as little tax as possible, how many of us don't pursue those aims?
As FF says, there is no prospect whatsoever of Amazon becoming a monopoly supplier. Other companies, existing or new, will always be striving to be better and more successful than them.
Of course their prices are competitive - they pay the publishers LESS than any book shop chain pays for the same book. I cannot understand why the publishers agreed this, but they seem well tied to it contractually, and that is what makes this a skewed market. Amazon have already gained a huge market share, and I don't see any signs of anyone else getting the same deal with publishers, thus the barriers to entry are very high if not impossible, hence it's anti-competitive.
As for paying as little tax as possible, this is a wider issue with the advent of on-line markets, whic h needs to resolved internationally. It really is not acceptable (IMHO) that companies can sell £3bn of goods in the UK in a year (with lots of UK employees) and yet pay no UK corporation tax on their profit. Instead they are registered in Luxembourg or somewhere and pay next to nothing in tax to any government. Thus their shareholders benefit which just puts more cash in the hands of the rich.