How Ethical Is Amazon?
The larger an organisation the more we are drawn into believing they operate in an ethical manner. In the cut and thrust game of global ecommerce these thoughts could be naive. It would appear many tactics are used to deliver the upper hand. I was amazed to see how Amazon operate especially with their pricing structure and review sections.
One of the main Unique Selling Points (USP’s) for all ecommerce ventures is the pricing point. If this is not set correctly the consumer will look elsewhere. Part of the pricing element is based around cost saving, special offers, free postage and packaging etc. Amazon who lead the way in the online ecommerce market offer many price reductions, however when these are analysed it appears there are some underhand, unethical practices at work.
As you can see from the graph below, prices spike for a short space of time then drop back to their original level. This allows Amazon to state on their website, item X is now for sale at a reduction of Y. This practice is rife.
Now this practice may not break any laws or contravene trading standards, however it is unethical. It’s certainly something the general public should be aware of.
Next are product reviews, independent comments made by consumers on items they have purchased. I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed how well written these entries are, almost perfectly presented, it’s like they have been written by journalists with in-depth knowledge. My own personal opinion is the vast majority of reviews displayed on the Amazon are not written by the general public. Once again this may not break any laws or contravene trading standard regulations but it’s not good.
If Amazon set the standard for smaller operators to follow, they're hardly doing a good job. Maybe it’s time for them to put their hands up and clean up their act, eventually these games will be seen for what they are. If not the public have a knack of voting with their feet. No one should ever take their customer base for granted or treat them like fools, unfortunately this happens all too frequently these days.
Pete Arkwright
Date Written: Mon, Oct 17th 2011
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