The WSJ covers how Amazon is growing its business at the cost of others.
Article highlights:
Amazon's leading selling points are endless selection and the lowest prices.
Amazon is so competitive that it often undertakes potentially unethical routes to grab more market share.
Amazon often takes a 30% commission on orders for third-party sellers. Due to this fee, many businesses prefer to receive orders on their own website which may be powered by Shopify (...or Bridge :) ).
When Amazon does something that is 'bad,' a trademark response from the company is that it's an 'industry practice' and 'good for the consumer.'
Amazon may sell items at a loss to kill competition. That's good for consumers but bad for other businesses.
Amazon often creates teams dedicated to copying a successful business. Amazon did this to competitor Diapers.com (whose parent company it later bought for $500m), and Amazon is reported to be creating a competitor to Shopify, code named “Project Santos.” The goal is to undercut and neutralize a competitor in infancy vs adulthood. The king of retail appears to have its soldiers knocking on town doors asking if their are any newborn children inside.