Facing antitrust bills, will Amazon shut down its seller platform?

Amazon has threatened to shut down its third-party seller platform if certain proposed antitrust bills in Congress are eventually passed, according to the Online Merchants Guild ( OMG) . OMG noted that Amazon has set up a website called " Support Small Sellers " to invite merchants to sign up to receive the latest news about antitrust bills .

Not long ago, Amazon contacted some Amazon sellers to discuss with them the antitrust bill in Congress. Amazon's website stated that the proposed bill would jeopardize its ability to operate a third-party seller platform , which could result in "hundreds of thousands of small and medium-sized American businesses being unable to access Amazon's customers and services . "

Matt Colvin, chief operating officer of OMG, said Amazon has the right to have sellers work with them to lobby Congress, " but people have to understand how Amazon does it . " He said it is worrying that sellers' livelihoods are first threatened and then asked to lobby Congress .

OMG also worries that when sellers sell on Amazon, their business is completely controlled by Amazon, and online sellers are largely afraid to speak out, even under anonymity. The organization also questioned Amazon's huge government subsidies and its avoidance of sales taxes for more than a decade .

The group said they do not want Amazon to go out of business . Matt Colvin said he does not want to see fundamental changes to Amazon . "We want fair competition between the platform and sellers . "

OMG believes that Amazon could "easily get away with it" by switching from a "marketplace" model to a "store" model if Congress passes certain antitrust legislation . If Amazon switches to a store model, it would effectively turn third-party sellers into Amazon's "suppliers," further reducing those sellers' bargaining power and ultimately affecting sellers' profits .

Therefore , OMG does not support the antitrust bill currently under discussion . It believes that the antitrust bill has some flaws and may eventually consolidate Amazon's power.

In response, OMG proposed a solution of " Merchant Rights and Responsibilities Bill" to regulate the behavior of platforms that compete with sellers and clarify the responsibilities of sellers . OMG said that this would be a more effective way than the antitrust bill of Congress .

Amazon

Antitrust

Third-party sellers