Starting out as a fast delivery service in Jeffrey Bezos’ garage, Amazon has become one of the biggest sellers of books, shoes, movies, video games, and more, and its offerings continue to expand. According to The New York Times Upfront magazine, Amazon is estimated to be worth over two trillion dollars. While Amazon provides a convenient service with just the click of a button, is it too much? To what extent will Amazon continue to grow?
The New York Times Upfront said the U.S. government sued the company for being a monopoly and dominating the market in 2023. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), 17 state attorneys sued Amazon for being a monopoly and making it unfair for its competitors. Imagine trying to start a business and having trouble because everything you could possibly sell is already sold on Amazon. Amazon is cheap, quick, and easy, making it hard to compete with.
Freshman Makenzie McLain said, “I think that Amazon is great, but it is very powerful, which can pose a threat for other companies.” Along with new businesses, existing businesses also struggle to compete with Amazon. Toys “R” Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Sears are examples of companies that have closed in-store locations due to being unable to compete with Amazon. Sophomore Sophie Giddings said, “While Amazon is a helpful tool, it is being abused. Amazon makes it hard for small businesses to survive in this economy.”
According to the American Economic Liberties Project, as of 2022, Amazon took 51.8% of profit from merchant sales involving third-party sellers. In 2016, Amazon took around 35.2%. The FTC found out that Amazon also tricked buyers into automatically renewing Prime subscriptions while purposefully making it difficult to cancel. The Amazon Prime subscription has also gone up in recent years, increasing from $99 annually to $139 annually, making it more challenging for families to afford. Freshman Gianna Destefano said, “The annual subscription prices are making it harder for working class families to afford. Amazon Prime and the ability to have goods cheap and fast should be available to everyone. Prime raising its prices is a big disadvantage.” With prices continuing to go up and competition decreasing, what is next?
