They did all those things unsustainably so they could gain market share and raise prices when people were locked in. Similar to Uber and AirBnB etc. All those things are good but not feasible and subsidized by the capital/venture markets. The game is market share and ecosystem lock-in both from suppliers and customers.
A truly competitive marketplace allows any supplier to easily match with any customer. Suppliers gain market share by being the ‘best’, not by being the only option.
How did they actually raise prices? They are still competing on prices on everything. They have the best return policy even besting Costco. FTC and Lina Khan can pound sand. They should go after Walmart for destroying American towns and small businesses before they go after Amazon. I cannot think of a single company that produced more utility for consumers than Amazon.
A truly competitive marketplace allows any supplier to easily match with any customer. Suppliers gain market share by being the ‘best’, not by being the only option.