The high bar is thanks to Robert Bork, the godfather of modern antitrust theory, who declared predatory pricing schemes irrational in his influential book The Antitrust Paradox. In addition, plaintiffs would have to establish that Amazon’s practices had a high likelihood of successfully creating a lucrative monopoly. Plaintiffs bringing suit would have to demonstrate that Amazon set prices below the cost of production, which is difficult without access to the internal books. But predatory pricing is extremely difficult to prove in court. You can’t drop prices with the intent to monopolize. The technical term for this is predatory pricing, and it’s actually illegal under U.S. Amazon is laying in wait, in other words, to become a monopoly. Many critics have offered a more sinister theory: Amazon has spent the past couple decades building up market share by underpricing competitors, and someday, when there are no alternatives left, it will become fabulously profitable. If Sussman is right, Amazon’s suppliers could use his theories to sue the company and gather evidence in discovery that could reveal illegal maneuvering.

Is amazon a monopoly