American Tax Officer-Chapter 627 - 316: The Verdict Is as Follows

Chapter 627: Chapter 316: The Verdict Is as Follows

“Director David, you can continue with the previous topic now.”

David nodded and began, “I was just saying, Amazon has been collecting what I call hidden fees from its users, and how do they do this, let me explain in detail.”

“Firstly, Amazon’s strategy is to use Prime to establish, expand, and reinforce entry barriers, one result of which is that Amazon now has an overwhelming monopoly share of online shoppers. Once monopoly power is obtained, Amazon suppresses prices by charging third-party sellers fees. As a third-party seller, you have to pay to be listed on Amazon, use Amazon’s warehousing service, that is, Amazon Logistics, and advertising services. If you don’t pay, you won’t get access to the website positions that consumers click on.”

“So, online shoppers might not actually be ‘customers’ but rather ‘products’ that Amazon offers to third-party sellers, and third-party sellers must pay the fees and associated costs demanded by Amazon, or they will lose their market access.”

“Currently, the total amount of fees Amazon collects from third-party sellers has grown to nearly 50% of its revenue. Amazon uses this money (last year’s total estimated to be 123 billion US Dollars) to pay for all the bundled services with Prime, namely ‘free’ delivery, video services, music services, Twitch, and others.”

“And these third-party sellers, in turn, raise prices for consumers and then send the money back to Amazon in the form of fees…”

In the defendant’s bench and the public gallery, as David laid bare their secrets bit by bit, the faces of the Amazon executives like Lakruwa, Jeff, and others lost all color.

The thing they feared had finally happened, but now they were absolutely powerless, like fish on the chopping board, completely at the mercy of others.

At this moment, many of them already regretted not having sought a compromise with the Los Angeles IRS when it announced the investigation.

Or perhaps they should have cashed in their shares at that time because it was predictable that their group’s stock price was about to plummet. The impact of this case was too significant, and as for how far it would fall, even they couldn’t guess.

“Valda Law, Amazon actually treated us like products to be sold to third parties? This is simply preposterous!”

“Fake, no wonder why every year after subscribing to this 139 US Dollar fee, there are mysteriously a host of other bundled services. So that’s the reason!”

“If this is true, then Amazon is really despicable!”

Th𝗲 most uptodate novels are published on ƒгeewёbnovel.com.

“I actually thought Amazon’s free delivery service was a subsidy to us consumers, but behind the scenes, they had struck a deal with third-party sellers, they sold us out!”

Meanwhile, after listening to David’s explanation, the watching public grew angry.

Why had many people chosen Amazon?

Not only because of the quality of the goods and the low prices but most importantly, for the free delivery service.

And they always believed that this service was a benefit and subsidy from Amazon to them, the consumers.

But now it turned out that what they believed was a benefit and subsidy was actually a harvesting of their wallets without their knowledge, treating them like oblivious cash crops!

In the courtroom, David continued, “This is why Amazon suffers billions in logistical losses every year; of course, this shouldn’t really be called losses, because it’s only on paper. In reality, through bundled services, and fees returned by sellers, they’re profiting hugely…”

“Your Honor, I object to the prosecution’s accusations, which are baseless slander!”

Finally, Lakruwa from the defense could not hold back any longer.

He knew very well that David’s words had undoubtedly ignited the national public’s fury against the Amazon Group, and if the charges were proven, not only would he be finished, but the Group would face the most severe crisis in its history.

But things didn’t look so bleak at the moment.

David spoke convincingly and, indeed, stated facts.

Yet, the hidden fees involved a broad range of third-party sellers and cooperative agencies. He didn’t quite believe that David actually had enough evidence.

“Your Honor, I have here a data list of 366 merchants on the Amazon platform, their testimonies, and additionally, I’ve invited 123 merchants’ representatives to be present here, ready to testify to the veracity of these matters!”

Upon hearing this, Lakruwa and others on the defense bench slumped in their chairs.

They had clung to a faint hope, thinking that because the hidden fees were so extensive, David might not be able to substantiate the charges.

But now, with 366 merchants’ data lists, testimonies, and even a significant number of the involved merchants brought here…

What did that mean?

It meant they had already been dealt with by the Los Angeles IRS to be here.

At the same time, this meant if they wanted to rebut and argue, they would have to engage in a verbal battle with these 123 merchants’ representatives. They could have ten mouths each and still not be able to clear things up!