Elon's comment to spin up Amazon competitor isn't a fluke... Amazon has major problems...Amazon has become a Chinese flea market operating inside an American distribution empire... 55.9% of its top 10,000 sellers are now China based...

x.com ^ | October 15, 2026 | Observing Consciousness @holonabove

[ransomnote]

Brian Cates - Political Columnist & Pundit reposted
Observing Consciousness
@holonabove
·
2h
Elon's comment to spin up Amazon competitor isn't a fluke... Amazon has major problems...

Amazon has become a Chinese flea market operating inside an American distribution empire... 55.9% of its top 10,000 sellers are now China based, while American entrepreneurs invest in developing products, building brands, proving demand and creating the very markets that overseas competitors move in to capture...

The pattern is well documented... an American inventor develops something successful, Chinese knockoffs flood the marketplace, prices collapse, original listings get hijacked, and fraudulent intellectual property complaints can even force legitimate sellers offline...

Forearm Forklift watched revenue and American jobs disappear, Drop Stop fought Chinese made patent infringement, PopSockets took its counterfeit problems to Congress, and federal investigations have exposed fraudulent takedowns and insiders manipulating seller accounts...

All inside a marketplace where Amazon controls visibility, advertising, enforcement and access to the customer, collecting $172 billion in seller services and another $68 billion in advertising revenue annually...

Now Elon Musk suggests building an Amazon competitor after reports of Amazon blocking Grok purchasing bots... and suddenly this connects directly into the larger architecture I've been mapping around American manufacturing, tariffs, the elimination of de minimis exemptions, autonomous logistics, alternative financial rails and Super Intelligence (SI)...

Imagine verified American manufacturers connected directly to consumers through intelligent purchasing agents that authenticate product origins, protect intellectual property, compare actual value and bypass the machinery that allows innovators to be displaced inside their own marketplace...

With X potentially providing discovery, Grok providing intelligence and an entirely new commerce network connecting production, payments and delivery...

The implications reach far beyond Amazon... China has leveraged America's retail infrastructure to reach American consumers at extraordinary scale, while American innovators have become increasingly dependent on the same platform that exposes them to imitation and marketplace abuse...

I've been mapping the rebuilding of America's sovereign industrial stack from production through distribution... Musk's comment opens another potential front, connecting that machinery directly to the American household...

America creates the product... the next battle is over who controls the marketplace, the purchasing decision and ultimately the economic value of American innovation...

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[BenLurkin]

They need to look into used items being sold as new.

[Mr. K]

Everything I’ve purchased online that was made in China has been an incredible disappointment.

Especially from Facebook ads. I haven’t done much, just a few that looked good so I thought i would try it.

Especially clothes... A Chinese XX Large is like a USA Medium.

I remember shopping once for a shirt in Thailand - and a 5X was too small on me (I am NOT fat just tall )

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"Imagine verified American manufacturers connected directly to consumers through intelligent purchasing agents that authenticate product origins, protect intellectual property, compare actual value and bypass the machinery that allows innovators to be displaced inside their own marketplace..."

That sounds great! Now also imagine prices 60% higher. Will enough people want to "Buy American" and pay the premium? I am doubtful.

[ansel12]

Something that I’m curious about with Amazon is how they shut some customers out of their coupons and discounts, the perception is that they identify long term customers as bargain hunters and take them for granted by not showing the coupons to them, although they are there for the general public, that is a growing complaint, the coupon is there in incognito search but not when the account is identified with cookies.

[SpaceBar]

Meanwhile Amazon is making money hand over fist.

SpaceX has been in the red since its IPO and will probably remain that way for the forseeable future.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I bypass that by using a browser that I have never logged into Amazon with to search for items. Multiple times I have found cheaper prices than what is showing in my logged in browser. I use Edge browser what I want to hide from Amazon. I use Brave or Firefox or Chrome for everything else.

[Semper Vigilantis]

I use AMAZON Prime for business purchases - supplies like paper, toner, packing boxes, shim stock, tools, etc. All from USA companies.
Living 40 miles from any real retailer makes free shipping a no-brainer. I also buy my pet food and some consumables for free delivery.
It's the same stuff I get from H-E-B, Krogers or Walmart so no BD.
I will NOT buy clothes, jewelry, furniture, etc from Amazon though.

If Elon started a competitor I would definitely look into switching from Amazon to Xzon, no... AmaX? ...no.... Xplus?

[Carry_Okie]

I’d do all the shopping I could there in a minute, but...

Musk will have a hard time displacing the vertically integrated supply chain Amazon has built in food to include returns at Whole Foods stores.

[FatherofFive]

Will enough people want to "Buy American" and pay the premium?

As I read it, they connect directly to the retailer. No transportation to stores, no middlemen markups.

Could result in lower prices

[bigbob]

People will go where the perceived value is highest.

[Carry_Okie]

SpaceX has been in the red since its IPO and will probably remain that way for the forseeable future.

As opposed to Blue Origin?

[ansel12]

For coupons, they are removed when you sign in to make the purchase.

[Carry_Okie]

Try getting your pet food at Chewy.

They do a great job.

[Fungi]

What is wrong with your local supermarket? Are they not cheaper than online retail?

[IWONDR]

“ If Elon started a competitor I would definitely look into switching from Amazon to Xzon, no... AmaX? ...no.... Xplus?” please don’t make the entry portal “X”, so that I have to create an account with X before purchasing .

[Dawgreg]

Just darn! I order so much from Amazon but if at some point in time Elon can challenge Bezos I’ll sure try it

[webheart]

We have quickly evolved into a delivery economy. I go to Walmart to do my own shopping and I have observed a lot of middle eastern men shopping in the grocery section. You can tell the ones that are not shopping for themselves because they pull the shopping cart around behind them. Personally I do get things from Amazon like I wanted a 8.5 inch cast iron griddle but couldn’t find it anywhere else. It was a Lodge brand griddle. I looked for it in stores before ordering. I have only once ever used Door Dash and they left the food outside the door but didn’t ring the bell to tell me when it arrived. We waited for a while and finally looked outside for our cold food. Never again.

[Carry_Okie]

What is wrong with your local supermarket?

It's not local. We're rural. Both Costco and Whole Foods deliver here.

[butlerweave]

People buy something at a local supermarket for $1 and sell it on Amazon for $50 , LOL