Pointed out that Amazon monopolizes the book sales industry, while Amazon requests a 2% fee for businesses that ship from their own warehouses



The American Writers Association , the American Book Dealers Association , and the Open Market Institute are asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Amazon's ``monopoly in the book sales market''. On the other hand, Amazon will impose a 2% commission per sale on sellers enrolled in the ' Seller Fulfilled Prime ' program, which allows product sellers to ship Prime products directly from their own warehouses. Announced.

Open Markets, the Authors Guild & American Booksellers Urge FTC and DOJ to Target Amazon's Books Monopoly — Open Markets Institute
https://www.openmarketsinstitute.org/publications/open-markets-the-authors-guild-american-booksellers-urge-ftc-and-doj-to-target-amazons-books-monopoly



OMI+LTR+re+Amazon++Books+(Final) - OMI+LTR+re+Amazon++Books+
(PDF file)

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e449c8c3ef68d752f3e70dc/t/64da882573e4237823c17139/1692043301374/



Authors call on FTC to investigate Amazon's alleged monopoly in the bookselling industry - The Verge

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/16/23834223/amazon-authors-booksellers-monopoly-publishing-industry

Independent sellers keep choosing Amazon for the value we provide
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/small-business/independent-sellers-keep-choosing-amazon-for-the-value-we-provide

Amazon, which started its service as an online bookstore in 1995, has since grown and developed into a global retail giant. According to a 2023 survey by the American research company WordsRated, not only about 40% of physical books sold in the United States were sold on Amazon, but e-book sales accounted for more than 80%. It is reported that book sales on Amazon still have a great influence even now that book sales have become a division of the company.

On the other hand, groups such as the American Writers Association argue that the impact of Amazon's book sales is serious, and that Amazon is the cause of the rapid decline in the number of bookstores in the United States. In addition, it has been pointed out that Amazon's website prominently features well-known authors and popular works that are likely to sell books, and that there are fewer opportunities to come into contact with the works of lesser-known authors. .

Therefore, the American Writers Association and others have asked the FTC and the Department of Justice to correct 'Amazon's monopoly on book sales.' In addition to Amazon's size as a bookstore, we are requesting that it investigates whether there are any problems with its influence on the book market and how books are advertised. 'The problem we have is that the strategy of a single dominant company, Amazon, is distorting the types of books we read,' said Barry Lynn, executive director of the Open Market Institute. It is the current situation where the government is under pressure,' he criticized, saying, 'In the age of democracy, such a concentration of power is unacceptable.'




On the other hand, some legal experts question whether the government will investigate Amazon's monopoly on book sales. Eric Gordon, an antitrust researcher at the University of Michigan, said, ``Amazon's dominance in the book market may indeed be an antitrust factor, but it's not as good as other aspects of Amazon's business already under investigation. , the impact on the publishing industry will be small.'

Gordon also said, ``There has never been an antitrust lawsuit about how Amazon sells books.However, with the advent of Amazon, many publishers and authors have made more money than they did without Amazon. I'm earning,' he points out.

The New York Times, which reported on this case, asked Amazon for comment, but Amazon did not respond.

On the other hand, Amazon has announced that it will impose new fees on third-party sellers who do not use its logistics services from October 2023.



A program called 'Seller Fulfilled Prime,' launched in 2015 with the aim of increasing product inventory without burdening Amazon's

fulfillment centers , does not go through Amazon's logistics services. It was a system in which distributors shipped products from their own warehouses to consumers as 'prime products.' However, new acceptance of the service was suspended in 2017 because the delivery by the seller did not meet Amazon's delivery standards. It has since reopened in June 2023.

Beginning in October 2023, Amazon has announced that it will charge sellers using the Seller Fulfilled Prime program a 2% per-sell commission, in addition to the 15% commission they normally pay. . Some sellers criticized that they were 'pressured to use Amazon's logistics service.' In addition, an office furniture supplier who uses the Seller Fulfilled Prime Program said, ``With this fee revision, it is estimated that the fee alone will cost about 1 million dollars (about 140 million yen) annually. will force us to raise commodity prices,” he said.



On the other hand, Amazon reports on the revision of the fee, ``The fee obtained will be used for the operation of another infrastructure and the cost of measuring its effectiveness.''

Jason Boyce of Avenue7Media , which supports companies' online sales using Amazon, said, ``Amazon has a number of problems with antitrust laws, but this fee revision Amazon does not see these problems at all. It is possible that there is no such thing,” he said.

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