On June 7, Beijing time, Amazon was so worried about the possible technology antitrust reform in the U.S. Congress that an executive recently tried to say on an online forum that third-party sellers stood up against the Antitrust Act. Amazon sellers communicate on hot topics through this online forum.
However, Amazon's efforts seem to be counterproductive, as many sellers have raised objections to Amazon's claims and said they intend to support the legislation. The legislation aims to thoroughly reform the U.S. Antitrust Law and restrict the power of large technology companies.
Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of Amazon's global sales partner service, posted a post on the Amazon seller Center Forum last Thursday, encouraging businesses to contact local senators to oppose the legislation called the American innovation and choice online act. The bill was passed by the Senate committee in January this year and may be pushed forward this summer. Mehta then directs Amazon sellers to a website. The site has a form that sellers can use to contact their senators. The page was filled with an email prepared in advance to oppose the legislation, and said that filling out the form "will take you less than two minutes".
Hundreds of sellers responded to Mehta's post. Many of them did not seem to believe Amazon's views and promised to support the legislation. Third party sellers account for more than half of Amazon's total retail sales. In recent years, they have expressed disappointment at the price they paid to maintain good reputation, the advertising fees Amazon charged them, and Amazon's inability to eliminate scams and dangerous elements in the market.