The Enshi*ification of Amazon

Sell On Amazon General Selling on Amazon Questions
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Hi all,

10 year UK seller here, I just discovered this alternative forum! How cool! Nice to meet you all!

So, I figured my first post should be interesting. The term enshi t ification was coined in 2022 by writer Cory Doctorow of Wired magazine and the Financial Times. I noticed many parallels with modern amazon.

It’s basically the 4 phases of any major platform, which eventually lead to its demise. It applies to almost all major online services we use today, and I think amazon too.

phase 1 - creating fantastic offers with great value to customers, attracting a huge user base of customers. Building a massive customer base with maximum loyalty.

phase 2 - amazing offers to businesses, attracting a large number of providers for those customers.
Solidifying a highly incentivised base of providers which completely destroys all competitors, until competition is minimized, and it’s close to a monopoly.

phase 3 - Abusing the customers who are now ‘locked in’ to the ecosystem and have no more alternatives. Initially with small fees or minor inconveniences, and eventually becoming full on dodgy-ness and financial bilking.

phase 4 - abusing the businesses. Initially with small fees or minor inconveniences, and eventually over-charging and micromanaging to such an extent that they lose all incentive and leave.

phase 5 - death of the platform

Which phase of enshi t ification do you think Amazon is in right now, and why?

I legitimately think we have recently entered phase 4. I believe that customers are robbed of prime benefits, they are drowning in deceptive cheap chinese offerings, and they can no longer trust the reviews. Meanwhile, businesses are over-charged and micro managed with so many extra expenses and regulations that it’s quickly losing profitability.

Maybe I’m just being a negative nancy, but 10 years ago, things were completely different for both sides.

Are we looking at a terminal decline? Thoughts?

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Hi @kitty,

nice to see you there :slight_smile: Are you a regular from the UK Seller Forum?

I kind of agree with you. But I think that each platform of any kind comes to repeated points in time when they are about to lose everything quickly, unless they take a very good decision.

Myspace used to be on the top for years, before their time was up because they failed to adjust to market changes. Similar with Yahoo, MSN, Google Plus, Omegle, Nokia, Blockbuster then Clubhouse.

You always need to take quick turns as the market evolves, or you will be replaced with a competition. Think of TikTok, OnlyFans or Vinted, how quickly they came and filled a gap, which resulted in immediately taking over a specific previously unexplored niche.

TikTok - videos for those with short attention span
OnlyFans - way how to easily make money off your social media following
Vinted - safe and easy way how to sell unprofessionally

Although, in terms of copying trends, I think that Amazon is doing quite well and they also have a massive customer base. They now launched a Temu copycat called Haul. AWD also evidences they are after all sorts of niches.

The only think that could seriously cripple a company like Amazon is regulation. There is already a new law in Europe an the UK called Digital Services Act / Online Services Act, giving the consumers more power, such as suing the company for a suspended account.

When Amazon is having issues with something like this on large scale, it could seriously impact them.

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Hi Kika! I remember you from your official forum days, you must’ve been THE most helpful poster ever on there! It’s great that we have this alternative forum here. I used to post on the official one, but after the transition to the new system I just abandoned it, due to privacy reasons. That forum’s been thoroughly enshi t ified since you left, lol.

Looking forward to contributing here.

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Hi there, welcome to the forum! That’s a fascinating analysis of enshtification and its potential application to Amazon. I’d agree that Amazon seems to be teetering into phase 4. From a seller’s perspective, the constant fee increases, strict regulations, and overreliance on ads to maintain visibility have undeniably squeezed profitability. Customers, too, seem to be losing faith in the platform, with Prime benefits eroding, fake reviews rampant, and the marketplace flooded with low-quality, price-driven products. While it may not be terminal yet, the current trajectory certainly feels unsustainable. The big question is whether Amazon can recalibrate to avoid phase 5 or if history will repeat itself as with other major platforms.