How to Resist Amazon and Why by Danny Caine

Author:Danny Caine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Microcosm Publishing LLC
Published: 2022-07-01T09:28:06+00:00

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Even if Amazon’s identity is shifting from “we’ll sell anything” to “we’ll try not to sell dangerous things,” Amazon still definitely sees itself as both the platform and a competitor on that platform. As discussed elsewhere in this book, this platform/competitor duality creates unfair competition. It also makes it impossible for Amazon to control the items on its virtual shelves. In the past, Amazon has shown no interest in controlling what appears on those shelves, resorting to its classic third-party argument. They might even say something like “they’re not our shelves, the shelves belong to third-party vendors.” But the banner at the top of the page still says Amazon. The box it arrives in probably says “Amazon.” The van and the driver’s shirt probably say “Amazon.” And the thing inside the box could be deadly.

A disturbing 2019 Wall Street Journal report sheds devastating light on Amazon’s counterfeit problems. Reporters Alexandra Berzon, Shane Shifflett, and Justin Scheck found that “4,152 items for sale on Amazon.com Inc.’s site that have been declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled or are banned by federal regulators.”190 But this is not a question of simple bootlegs: more than 2,000 of those items pose health risks for children.191 Amazon’s refusal to police what’s for sale in its marketplace can be deadly. Amazon’s dedication to being the Everything Store means you could buy something on Amazon that could harm or kill you or your loved ones, and Amazon is slow and secretive in doing anything about it.

When I talk about Amazon resistance with the Raven’s customers, the availability of counterfeit products is rarely the thing that gets people fired up. People deplore the fact that Amazon is putting indie bookstores out of business. People roll their eyes in dismay at how little Amazon pays in federal taxes. But nobody seems to get Real Mad about the bootlegs. I assure you, this is a highly dangerous aspect of how Amazon does business, and it terrifies me. It’s not just a matter of a company trying to protect its copyrights; indeed, the availability of counterfeit merchandise on Amazon could be a matter of life and death.

The Wall Street Journal investigation is shocking. The WSJ found toys for children with lead levels that exceed federal limits. They found products for infants that failed safety tests. They found toy sets of high-powered magnets that have been banned for years because, if swallowed, they could tear through the walls of internal organs.

A man named Albert Stokes died in a motorcycle accident wearing a helmet purchased on Amazon.192 Stokes’s mother blames her son’s death on Amazon, saying the helmet was listed on Amazon as DOT compliant even though it had been recalled for noncompliance. Amazon settled the eventual case for $5,000 without admitting fault. Amazon’s justification? According to Amazon, Amazon didn’t sell the helmet, it just provided a platform for the seller to list it. It’s another instance of the regular pattern: Amazon uses its third-party marketplace to avoid liability for the consequences of its business decisions.

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