We’re in agreement about all the basic premises, I think the key points I’d push back with are:
(1) I can’t “easily” register as a seller with Costco, but I can with Amazon (Or so I believe)
(2) The ease with which non-company merchants can enter is a key property of the bazaar vs store dichotomy. Easier to enter, more bazaar-like
(3) Given (2) and (1), it seems like Amazon wants to be both a store and a bazaar, which my initial post articulated as a “problematic” state, at the least. Even if only problematic through novelty
This doesn’t make Amazon good or bad, I can just see where it leads to new discussion
Sure, but I think it’s somewhat dubious to be immediately suspicious of any successful business model that changes the basic assumptions. Once you start enshrining “this is how we’ve always done it” into law and policy you basically outlaw innovation and start operating in a prohibited-unless-explicitly-allowed rather than allowed-unless-explicitly-prohibited mode.
(1) I can’t “easily” register as a seller with Costco, but I can with Amazon (Or so I believe)
(2) The ease with which non-company merchants can enter is a key property of the bazaar vs store dichotomy. Easier to enter, more bazaar-like
(3) Given (2) and (1), it seems like Amazon wants to be both a store and a bazaar, which my initial post articulated as a “problematic” state, at the least. Even if only problematic through novelty
This doesn’t make Amazon good or bad, I can just see where it leads to new discussion