Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Reality is far more complex then the simple take you have here.

>by offer better quality stuff,

Amazon, for example, offering counterfeits of your product as your product is not under the definition of "better quality stuff"

>for a lower price

Again, offering a lower price consistently is one thing. Using pricing as a weapon, for example selling a product lower than cost in order to monopolize a market is not.



> Using pricing as a weapon, for example selling a product lower than cost in order to monopolize a market is not.

If the price stays low and never goes to high monopoly prices then it is a good thing.

If a company becomes a "monopoly" by being cheap, and staying cheap, thats just competition by definition.

Which is the situation we are seeing with amazon.


>If the price stays low and never goes to high monopoly prices then it is a good thing.

Not necessarily, but it goes a long way to balancing out the negative consequences. The problem, though, is they've never had prices stay low. Eventually, prices go up. So far, Amazon does this through loss-leaders; products that have low prices allowing them to capture a market and charge high prices for other products as a monopoly.

>If a company becomes a "monopoly" by being cheap, and staying cheap, thats just competition by definition.

If that was all they were doing it would be legal.


Selling things at a loss doesn’t mean things are cheap it just means the real costs are being subsidized elsewhere.




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: