Amazon Follows Through: Drops Apple TV, Chromecast

Hot Hardware notes that Amazon has stopped selling two pieces of hardware -- Apple TV and Google's Chromecast -- that compete with Amazon's own streaming business. (They promised to drop them a while back; not everyone though they actually would.) From the article: While some have likened this move to being anti-competitive, it's hard to grasp whether the legal system would agree. Amazon's defense is that since these devices don't support Prime Video, it doesn't want to sell products to its customers and have them assume that they will."

Comments

Interesting Amazon response

[ClaraBow]

Here is the response I received from Amazon when I contacted customer service: Amazon Your Account Amazon.com Message From Customer Service Hello, I am sorry for the inconvenience you experienced in this case. After looking into your inquiry about the item new Apple TV that you could not find in the website, I feel we could best resolve this concern for you over the phone so that we can help you locate the item. This way, you can speak to our live customer support team who can ensure we resolve this concern to your satisfaction. I realize that, at this point, asking you to contact us again would be disappointing; however, we really feel that the best way to assist you with this concern is over the phone. Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. So in this case, I request you to please visit the following link, enter your phone number through the Phone tab, and we'll call you: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help... We're available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Please be rest assured that we are here to make things easier for you and we'll take every action to prevent you from bearing any loss. On a personal level, I highly appreciate your patience, cooperation and understanding in this matter. It is our privilege to have you as our valued customer & we want to make sure you are always taken care of. Thanks for your cooperation. We'd appreciate your feedback. Please use the links below to tell us about your experience today. Best regards, Johann S.

Re:Don't or Won't support Prime Video?

[murdocj]

I don't know that it's legally anti-competitive. It's not like Amazon is preventing people from buying competing products or locking those products out, it's just isn't stocking them. Can a store be required to sell certain products?

Re:Don't or Won't support Prime Video?

[PopeRatzo]

Can a store be required to sell certain products?

Well, Amazon allows people to sell stuff in the Amazon store. I wonder if they'd forbid me from selling a used Apple TV or Chromecast there.