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Comment by cortesoft | Hacker News Reader

On the other hand, as a shopper, I like knowing that the price I see on Amazon is the lowest price I can find the item. I don’t want to have to check the price of every item on the manufacturers site to see if I can get it cheaper there.

Just imagine I want to by a widget, and there are many manufacturers. I can search on Amazon, and get all of the prices for all the manufacturers right in one place, and I know that each price I see is the cheapest. I don’t have to search for 10 different manufacturer websites and check each price. I can just sort by it, and then one click buy.

I understand the anticompetitive concerns, but there is also a big advantage for consumers to be able to have a single market that has the lowest prices available and easy ordering.

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You prefer Amazon to dictate the floor price of something for the purpose of convenience? If you prefer to use Amazon, fine, but your choice shouldn't get to dictate to everyone else that there's no better deal else where. Amazon isn't getting you a better deal here, it's making sure there's no better deal else where.

> I like knowing that the price I see on Amazon is the lowest price I can find the item.

Yeah, but it isn't. I suggest you at least check the price on eBay before you buy from Amazon, if not Froogle and Walmart.

Amazon's anti-competitive behavior here ONLY applies to a single seller, NOT to a manufacturer or a specific product. So while "Steve's Discount Stereo" can't sell that stereo for a lower price outside of Amazon, "Dave's Discount Stereo" certainly can.

does this apply when both dave's discount stereo and steve's discount stereo are subsidiaries of the "Dave Steve Stereo Corporation"?

Maybe they both outsource inventory and order processing to the parent company only having distinct sales and marketing.

I agree that it would be great as a consumer, but Amazon isn’t offering anyone an honest list of those widget prices.

If I am a widget manufacturer, selling on Amazon means I am no longer competing for your purchase with just my market peers. On some level, I am now competing against all listings in that category, including grey market resellers because Amazon doesn’t police for shit.

Sites like Pricerunner compare prices from many online shops.

Yes there are many times big advantages to the individuals which aren’t allowed by law nor should it be.

> I don’t want to have to check the price of every item on the manufacturers site to see if I can get it cheaper there.

No one is forcing you to comparison shop. You're trying to take freedom from others so you can financially justify being lazy.

> I understand the anticompetitive concerns, but there is also a big advantage for consumers to be able to have a single market that has the lowest prices available and easy ordering.

Not when that "lowest price available" is now inflated from what it would have been. Consumers lose because now they pay higher prices than they otherwise would have.

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