Topic: Will Amazon destroy the e-commerce business for SMEs? (Read 317 times)

So I see... it's like a join me or get destroyed game? Just like what's happening with the crypto-currencies?
This is why capitalism is failing.

Some SME's are putting their products in Amazon. Instead of letting it destroy them, they joined it and utilize it to even boost their sales even more.

You're saying that blockchain and cryptos are ideals to believe in? Well, let me correct you. Both blockchain and cryptos are financial tools for businesses and individuals to use and enrich themselves.
Therefore, whether one wants it or not, both are slowing making their way in the global economy. Their place in the world is no longer an ideal, but rather a reality.

Optimistic about a beneficial alternative to Amazon? Well, you might want to stay here on earth and realize that monopolies exist because of human selfishness. For instance, see how the Tech world is being taken over by Google and Facebook, the latter which has been involved in countless privacy breach scandals.

Still feeling optimistic?

I want to point out though, that this could be addressed with policies/laws/regulations. I believe that while the current big players like Amazon and Alibaba may be bad news due to how they operate, small businesses also benefit from having a "town centre" or a meetpoint where they can showcase how their products/services can be better than everyone else. i.e Such a platform is needed by SME.

I am digressing from the topic of this thread (OP was asking specifically about Amazon, after all), but I am optimistic of a good/beneficial alternative to Amazon. Maybe I am too naive, but hey, that's just most of the people believing in blockchain and the ideals of cryptocurrency 

Well we're not in an ecosystem where each entity acts based on the quest for survival. In a human dominated structure which is capitalistic by nature, only one entity will survive.
I thought you'd advocate for regulations to allow SMEs to flourish in the digital economy but no... If you really think what you've said, then you need to be more informed about how humans work.

In other words, you are accepting an e-commerce system characterized by a monopoly? Because, the big picture is ... while a few TAP Network-like structures may give an opportunity for a few SMEs to grow, a significant amount of entrepreneurs will be left out of the virtual economy.
I don't think it is the right way to go

Small fish can not eat the big one.  But big sharks always eat the smaller ones.  So the the entry and working of Amazon ; definitely small business will be affected to certain extant.
But it is also true that despite the fact that big fish kills and eats small one; still there are plenty of small fish. 
So these two will live side by side.  both will survive.

Well, isn't it what's currently happening in the U.S. now? Sure seems like the end of SMEs and cooperatives if you ask me, unless something is done.

Wait... don't you guys love the tax breaks for the rich? You do realize that we can't have our cake and eat it as well? Economics don't work like that.

Unfortunately, let's face it, Amazon is not the problem here, lacking client-centric strategy from SMEs created the necessary gap for Amazon to jump in and dominate. However, for every action there is an equal counter force. TAP Network is just another example of how SMEs and customers could find a way on how to rebuild trust and mutually beneficial relationships between them

You do realize that Amazon doesn't pay as much taxes as those small businesses? Isn't that an impediment for those entrepreneurs to improve?

As of right now and in the near future, I feel it already has. It's too convenient to ignore and people trust it thanks to things like user reviews, etc.

Further down the line, I think decentralized global marketplaces (such as the Virternity Project) will eliminate all middlemen. They still take quite a lot of commissions and Amazon sellers don't make as much profit as they could if they were to sell directly to customers.

Amazon is giant not like eBay or any which will perish or lose market due to some juvenile start-ups.

I have deeply felt that large-scale e-commerce will have a huge impact on small and medium retail business.

For example，now China has a super e-commerce giant named Alibaba, people can buy all the daily necessities or anything you want from the company's platform.

This has had a huge impact, and many retailers are not able to maintain their operations because they need to pay shop rents, pay taxes and management fees, pay wages to employees, so they cannot compete with Alibaba's electronic business because of higher costs.

Alibaba has developed into top 1 among Chinese companies in just a few years. Their founder Ma Yun is now the richest man in China，you may have heard of him.

With the rapid rise of Alibaba, most small retailers quickly went bankrupt. In order to deal with Alibaba, they can only be forced to sell goods at a reduced price, but this is not much use, because in any case their cost is higher, and ultimately they Inevitably fail in competition.

The result of this is the depression of the real economy，No one wants to engage in the real economy, everyone can only use the money for speculation, so this is also an important reason why China’s current Ponzi scheme and MLM are prevalent.

Because the Chinese government tends to have centralized management, and over-protects super-enterprises like Alibaba, ignoring the interests of small retailers. The government has not cut taxes or offered preferential policies for small retailers, this is very bad.

From a fair point of view, I do not think that this type of development is correct. This will only lead to the rich becoming richer, the poor being poorer, the wealth becoming more concentrated, and the gap between the rich and the poor growing.

This is unfair if there are no restrictions on electronic commerce.

Small businesses and cooperatives need tax breaks to level the playing field.

There are ways for SMEs to fluorish despite Amazon. And there is no benefit in the long run for Amazon to hurt businesses, rather than cooperate, because a no-brainer niche/need will appear for a competitor to grab. If it continues to adopt strategies and policies that squash smaller businesses, sooner or later another foreign or new platform that offer to do what Amazon is unwilling/unable to do, and everyone will jump ship.

The way businesses works nowadays is to constantly improve and find the next problem in your sector to solve. And being destructive to its "environment" isn't the way to do it. But even if it continues doing so, I believe there will be enterprises that can rise up and offer a competition, so I don't see an "end of the world" future looming.

https://www.seattlebusinessmag.com/business-operations/amazon-didnt-pay-any-federal-income-taxes-2017

Let amazon pay taxes like everyone else  and it will come to a stop

Amazon is becoming more important by the day so I think it's fair to ask whether the consequences would be dire for small and medium-sized enterprises in the future.