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Independent product & compliance insights
For nearly a decade, we’ve sold on Amazon Australia — from the early days when the platform was still building local momentum. We’ve run both FBM (shipping from our own Sydney warehouse) and FBA (sending stock into Amazon’s fulfilment network).
In the beginning, the value proposition was clear: a marketplace that connects customers with sellers, reduces friction, and helps small businesses grow. Over time, however, many sellers have noticed a structural change: the marketplace is no longer just a venue — it has become a competitor.
This article isn’t a “rant” and it isn’t a legal accusation. It’s a practical discussion about how marketplace design can reshape competition, and why neutrality matters if we want a sustainable seller ecosystem.
1) The moment a marketplace stops being neutral
A marketplace is powerful because it sets the rules — search ranking, Buy Box logic, fee structures, fulfilment standards, delivery promises, return policies, and customer communication.
When the platform also sells products directly (through a retail or first-party division), it becomes both referee and player. Even if internal teams claim separation, the structure creates three natural advantages that independent sellers rarely have.
2) Three structural advantages sellers can’t easily match
A. Different cost structures
Third-party sellers pay platform fees (referral commission), and often face pressure to spend on ads to stay visible. In many categories, these costs can be the difference between a viable margin and selling at break-even.
A platform-owned retail offer may not carry the same “external” cost burden in the same way a third-party offer does — which means pricing becomes a structural advantage, not simply a competitive strategy.
B. Bigger bargaining power
Large-scale buyers negotiate differently. They can secure better terms, faster supply, or special bundles — even when the product is identical. Independent sellers might access the same brands, but we rarely access the same leverage.
The result: price competition becomes less about operational excellence, and more about who can afford thinner margins for longer. Margins in high-volume catergories like toner cartridges ...
C. Information asymmetry
Marketplaces naturally sit closest to demand signals: what customers search for, what converts, what returns, what’s trending, what’s seasonal. Sellers can access some reports — but the platform’s view is always broader and deeper.
Even without any wrongdoing, this asymmetry alone can shift markets. It changes which products get prioritised, which offers get visibility, and ultimately who wins the Buy Box more often.
3) Why Buy Box dynamics matter
In categories like business printers and consumables, customers don’t always browse ten sellers — they buy the default offer. That means Buy Box access can decide whether a listing is profitable, or simply a cost centre.
When a platform retail offer consistently dominates, independent sellers may find themselves forced into a race to the bottom — pricing below sustainable margins just to keep the listing alive.
4) The long-term risk: cheaper today, fewer choices tomorrow
Lower prices can look like a win in the short term. But if the structure pushes independent sellers out, the market becomes less diverse:
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fewer specialist resellers who offer better guidance and support
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fewer niche products and local inventory
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less incentive to invest in service quality
Eventually, consumers may face fewer alternatives — and the ecosystem becomes more fragile.
5) A constructive question, not an accusation
We’re not arguing against marketplaces. We’re asking for a conversation about transparent rules and sustainable competition.
A healthy marketplace should make room for independent sellers to compete on value — not only on price — and should avoid structures that unintentionally concentrate outcomes.
Closing
If you sell on marketplaces, you’ve likely felt some of these changes too. As an independent Australian business, we focus on service, expertise and long-term relationships. So I’d love to hear your experience — especially what has shifted in the last 2–3 years. The goal isn’t to “attack” anyone. It’s to name the structural realities and push for a healthier ecosystem.
Next article in this series: Same Products, Different Rules: How Delivery Structure Shapes Competition .
Marketplace Dynamics Series
This article is Part 1 of 3.
Continue to Part 2: Same Products, Different Rules: How Delivery Structure Shapes Competition
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