9 SURPRISING WAYS AMAZON IS EVIL — AND HOW YOU CAN BE TOO!
These dirty tactics Amazon uses will shock you! Use these tricks in your own business or learn to identify them and fight back!
1. They use paid shills and troll armies.
Much like the Chinese Communist Party, Amazon has a 50 cent army to shift and control online discussion. You too can use your employees to spread your propaganda online. Have them create Twitter and Reddit accounts and post away!
🔄 Reversal: If you suspect your competitors are using this method, call it out and mock them relentlessly. Show that you’re better and provide something altruistic through social media.
2. They send video news releases filled with their corporate propaganda.
News outlets and content creators are often desperate for content. Save them from having to do work by providing a well-written script filled with YOUR propaganda. Then send it wide and far until enough fish take the bait!
🔄 Reversal: If you’re lucky some of the journalists will refuse to take the bait and expose the company’s desperate efforts (like our friend Zach up there). Compile all the evidence you can and make a compilation exposing this shady tactic.
3. They seem to copy and undercut weak competitors.
If you know you’re stronger than a smaller company with a great idea, why not just yoink that shit? What are they doing to do about it? You’ve got your corporate lawyers and every American politician in your pocket. They’ve got less than 1 million and a lawyer who went to public college. Easy win!
🔄 Reversal: If you know a bigger competitor is watching you or trying to steal your ideas, try some misdirection or purposely hype some bad ideas that you won’t actually go through. Maybe they’ll pursue it and waste a bunch of time and resources while you move on to something else.
4. They engage in fake activism.
When the public supports one thing but your interests rely on not supporting it then it’s time for a good old-fashioned sleight of hand. You can always speak strongly for one thing and then work against it where it really counts. Chances are people will never know and if they do find out it’ll be too late anyway.
🔄 Reversal: Whenever you see people and companies taking grand moral stances check their track record. Chances are they’ve benefited from or profited via whatever they claim to be against now.
5. They reframe and deflect all criticism.
In this PBS Frontline clip Jay Carney (senior vice president of global corporate affairs) calls himself an ‘educator and storyteller’ when really he’s just a mouthpiece and propagandist. Then he reframes Amazon’s chokehold on DC as an ‘opportunity to provide resources and information.’ Quite the performance! You too can try reframing and see the wonders that it works!
🔄 Reversal: Learn to spot strategic reframes and call them out for what they are.
6. Their busines model feeds a toxic addiction cycle.
It goes like this: Depression. Order Package. Anticipation. Open Package. Dopamine. Repeat. Amazon does their absolute best to get people hooked on this cycle of retail therapy.
🔄 Reversal: If your competitor is trying ruthlessly to get their customers addicted to their product or service, place limits on what or how much you offer of yours and encourage moderation and well-being for your customers.
You might make less money short-term but long term they will appreciate and trust you more.
7. They seem to make it intentionally hard to end subscriptions.
As this article from Insider points out, “It seems Amazon makes it intentionally hard to end a membership.” And why wouldn’t you? Your customers are merely fish on a hook and nothing else. You should do anything and everything you can to keep them on that hook for as long as possible.
🔄 Reversal: If you find a competitor using annoying tactics, make it a point to ensure your customers that you make refunds and cancellations just as easy as purchases. Make your product seem secretive or exclusive. Use reverse psychology and exclusivity to create even more demand.
8. They love to minimize risk and shift all the blame.
Amazon enjoys the best of both worlds. They can put insane amounts of pressure on their drivers causing them to break traffic laws and have to pee in bottles to meet standards. Then when something bad happens they simply blame the contractors and revert to their slogans of ‘high standards’ and ‘accountability.’
You should learn how to put layers between yourself and the evil things you do to make money!
🔄 Reversal: Instead of blaming others or trying to shift responsibility you could be honest and admit when you make mistakes. You may be surprised at just how forgiving people can be!
9: They gobble up or crush competitors.
Amazon has done an amazing job of leveraging itself to either squash or take control of other companies. You too can use this tactic to either buy out competition or bleed them out in a price war. Keep expanding and expanding in ways that supplement your business model.
🔄 Reversal: The reason David was able to kill Goliath was because the giant was blind and David fought on his own terms. It was no act of God. Anyone or anything that grows too big develops blindspots. Pierce those blindspots with your slingshot and rocks.
I hope you can tell much of this article is meant to be satire. Although these evil tactics may unfortunately be necessary sometimes in life. One should be aware of them and use them as sparingly and subtly as possible (unlike Amazon).
