Amazon to halt sales of Apple TV, Google Chromecast in bid to push Fire TV & Prime Video

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  • Reply 81 of 163
    mechanicmechanic Posts: 805member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by snova View Post

     

    unfortunately happens all the time.   I see large stores in a mall, push the landlord to get rid of other smaller stores which compete with the larger tenant. 



    maybe..  Amazon no longer sell ANY iOS devices directly.  All things like iPad or iPhones, for which require you to use a web browser workaround for their Amazon Video App (to avoid the 30% cut from Apple are no longer sold by Amazon directly.  So it makes sense for them to stop selling AppleTV directly also.  

     

    Of course this does not stop third party merchants from reselling iPhone, iPads and AppleTV on Amazon.   Like they are already doing. Amazon doesn't have to sell Apple product directly out of spite, the 3rd party merchants will do it for them.  So its just silly. 




    Problem is that now there telling the third party merchants they can't sell them either.  That is anti trust.  They can choose not to sell it themselves but they can't tell hosted stores that they can't sell them.   With the apple store apple is the store owner.  with amazon they host others stores through amazon.  Apple does not do this. 

    Oh and by the way, Adorama is an amazon hosted store so they can't sell apple tv either.  at least not through amazons portal.

  • Reply 82 of 163
    roakeroake Posts: 811member
    1. Amazon is a merchant - they can choose to stop selling whatever product that want. They do not have a mil opt, so there is no antitrust issue.
    2. I really like Amazon. It's the #1 site I use by far for most of my purchases.
    3. I guess I'll be buying an Apple TV from Apple, because I'm buying that Fire crap.
  • Reply 83 of 163
    pmcdpmcd Posts: 396member
    boltsfan17 wrote: »
    Not everyone. I bought the Fire TV so I could use the Plex App. 

    So did I. Unfortunately the Plex app on the Fire TV is not great.
  • Reply 84 of 163
    pmcdpmcd Posts: 396member
    What a strange thing for Amazon to do. Surely this has to be a mixup. They have nothing to gain by doing this.
  • Reply 85 of 163
    runbuhrunbuh Posts: 315member
    mechanic wrote: »

    Because amazon needs to get off there lazy butt and build an app for the apple tv.
    For the currently shipping (older generation) Apple TV, exactly how in the heck is Amazon supposed to do that?
  • Reply 86 of 163
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pmcd View Post



    What a strange thing for Amazon to do. Surely this has to be a mixup. They have nothing to gain by doing this.



    They lose sales of competing products. I suspect they view that as a win.

  • Reply 87 of 163
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    mechanic wrote: »
    snova wrote: »
     
    unfortunately happens all the time.   I see large stores in a mall, push the landlord to get rid of other smaller stores which compete with the larger tenant. 


    maybe..  Amazon no longer sell ANY iOS devices directly.  All things like iPad or iPhones, for which require you to use a web browser workaround for their Amazon Video App (to avoid the 30% cut from Apple are no longer sold by Amazon directly.  So it makes sense for them to stop selling AppleTV directly also.  

    Of course this does not stop third party merchants from reselling iPhone, iPads and AppleTV on Amazon.   Like they are already doing. Amazon doesn't have to sell Apple product directly out of spite, the 3rd party merchants will do it for them.  So its just silly. 


    Problem is that now there telling the third party merchants they can't sell them either.  That is anti trust.  They can choose not to sell it themselves but they can't tell hosted stores that they can't sell them.   With the apple store apple is the store owner.  with amazon they host others stores through amazon.  Apple does not do this. 
    Oh and by the way, Adorama is an amazon hosted store so they can't sell apple tv either.  at least not through amazons portal.

    Is there any other way to buy from those 3rd party merchants? Yes. Amazon is not your only portal to them so there's no antitrust violation. Is this really any different than Apple dropping Bose headphones from their stores in favor of Beats?
  • Reply 88 of 163
    justbobfjustbobf Posts: 261member
    It is not anti-trust. Anti-trust is when two or more companies collude to set prices, thus giving them an unfair competitive advantage.
  • Reply 89 of 163
    cash907cash907 Posts: 893member
    Before people blast Amazon for this, keep in mind that Apple doesn't sell Fire TV's or Google Chromecasts. What's more, they pulled Nest thermostats off their shelves when the company was bought by Google.
    If you don't see anything wrong with that, you don't have a leg to stand on now.
  • Reply 90 of 163
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    asdasd wrote: »
    anome wrote: »
    Hasn't stopped Netflix from having an app, at a time when all apps had to be developed by Apple. Doesn't stop Amazon having a Kindle or Amazon Prime app on iPads.

    I honestly don't think it's the 30% cut that's stopping them, because if it was they'd have abandoned the iOS platform as well, instead of just cutting in-app purchases.

    The 30% wipes out their profits but they probably see some value in being on the platform.
    What are these amazonprofits of which you speak? Profits for amazon is a rounding error.
  • Reply 91 of 163
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,166member
    runbuh wrote: »
    mechanic wrote: »

    Because amazon needs to get off there lazy butt and build an app for the apple tv.
    For the currently shipping (older generation) Apple TV, exactly how in the heck is Amazon supposed to do that?
    same way Netflix, Hulu crackle, etc, etc did.
  • Reply 92 of 163
    It doesn't really change anything. Much ado about nothing.
  • Reply 93 of 163
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post





    Apple isn't a general purpose retailer. Their stores are in service of selling their own products. They could choose to not sell any 3rd party accessories if they wanted to.

     

    Yeah, like Nest.

  • Reply 94 of 163
    dacloodacloo Posts: 890member
    Apple removes competitor products on their website as well. Big deal.
  • Reply 95 of 163
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mechanic View Post

     



    Plex announced that there currently writing a Plex app for the new apple tv so one less reason to buy the fire.




    My Fire TV will become a paperweight when the new Apple TV comes out. I hope the Plex app will be available at launch. 

  • Reply 96 of 163
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by pmcd View Post





    So did I. Unfortunately the Plex app on the Fire TV is not great.



    I haven't had that many issues with the Plex App. Occasionally my movie library won't show up. When that happens Il just go into the settings and clear the cache and force stop the app and restart it again. 

  • Reply 97 of 163
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by dasanman69 View Post





    They have an insane overhead delivery system.






    That's pretty cool. I will visit that store for sure next time I'm in NYC. 

  • Reply 98 of 163
    snovasnova Posts: 1,281member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Anome View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by snova View Post



    The workaround is even more of PITA on AppleTV (which does not have a browser) and Amazon knows it.   On iPad or iPhone, at least its less of a PITA as you don't have to go to a different device to purchase context.



    This is why HBO, Showtime and Netflix are willing to the hit on a cut when a customer decides to signup for their service directly on AppleTV.  Payments come straight from iTunes account and Apple takes a cut.  



    Why would they allow this when a workaround is possible? Because its a much bigger PITA to work around on Apple TV than iPhone/iPad. 

    Amazon is not willing to do this for their rental and purchased movies on AppleTV.  So no App on AppleTV.  I doubt inclusion of an App store on AppleTV 4 will change Amazon's position on this.


    Can you sign up for Netflix from your AppleTV? I haven't seen it as an option. I had to go to the website to join before I could use it on either my AppleTV or my iPad.

     

    Yes, this was enabled in March of 2012.

    http://blog.netflix.com/2012/03/integrated-itunes-sign-up-1080p-hd-on.html

     

    "...We’re always looking for ways to make the Netflix experience simpler and better. Starting today, you can sign-up for Netflix directly on your Apple TV and pay via your iTunes account...."

     

     

    Appears that Apple is getting a 15% cut from Netflix, Hbo Now and Hulu.   

    http://recode.net/2015/04/13/how-to-beat-apples-30-percent-subscription-fee-sell-your-stuff-on-apple-tv/

     

    "...Apple didn’t extend its 30 percent policy to developers on its Apple TV platform. While Apple and its partners have never talked about it publicly, my understanding is that a handful of video services, including Netflix, Hulu Plus and pro-baseball’s MLB.TV, give Apple 15 percent of their monthly fees for any subscriber who signs up on Apple TV..."

  • Reply 99 of 163
    asdasdasdasd Posts: 5,686member
    snova wrote: »
    Yes, this was enabled in March of 2012.
    http://blog.netflix.com/2012/03/integrated-itunes-sign-up-1080p-hd-on.html

    "...We’re always looking for ways to make the Netflix experience simpler and better. Starting today, you can sign-up for Netflix directly on your <a href="http://www.apple.com/appletv/whats-on/#netflix" style="color:rgb(181,18,27);margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;" target="_blank">Apple TV</a>
     and pay via your iTunes account...."


    Appears that Apple is getting a 15% cut from Netflix, Hbo Now and Hulu.   
    http://recode.net/2015/04/13/how-to-beat-apples-30-percent-subscription-fee-sell-your-stuff-on-apple-tv/

    "...Apple didn’t extend its 30 percent policy to developers on its Apple TV platform. While Apple and its partners have never talked about it publicly, my understanding is that a handful of video services, including Netflix, Hulu Plus and pro-baseball’s MLB.TV, give Apple 15 percent of their monthly fees for any subscriber who signs up on Apple TV..."

    That 15% is doable. The reason why nobody is paying the 30% is because it's on the gross price of the digital item. Amazon are making less than that per digital sale so they would be out of pocket
  • Reply 100 of 163
    pmcdpmcd Posts: 396member
    boltsfan17 wrote: »

    I haven't had that many issues with the Plex App. Occasionally my movie library won't show up. When that happens Il just go into the settings and clear the cache and force stop the app and restart it again. 

    Interesting. When I first got mine it all worked well. Then at some point almost everything started transcoding. Over at the Plex forums there seems to be quite a few people with similar experiences. I then moved to PlexConnect on the ATV3 which, for me, works much better. This is one reason I have been looking forward to the ATV4. Plex on my iPad and iPhone works really well.

    In any case, not having the ATV sold on Amazon would have not been a reason, one way or another, when buying a Fire TV. Just seems like a strange move on Amazon's part. I'm not about to stop buying their stuff. I quite like it and their service. This has probably made me think slightly less of them though. Will have to see why they did this.
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