[nerdponx]

This is an interesting thought experiment. Maybe the objection is that Amazon is erroneously considered a neutral marketplace, and not a "store". But practically is there a difference between these arrangements, other than the incidence of who technically is the retailer and who is the wholesaler?

I think the real issue is how people shop online versus in stores. Online, they see a linear feed of individual products and buy whatever is near the top. In a store, they see a variety of displays, and it's almost hard not to comparison shop even a little bit.

It's much, much easier to be "anti-competitive" on a web store than a physical store. Imagine if Costco did what Amazon does, deliberately making Kirkland products easier to find in the store and look more reputable/trusted compared to other brands.

So I don't think the problem is that this particular move by Amazon is any more anti-competitive than anything a normal store with store brand would do. The problem is that Amazon already engages in other anti-competitive activity, so pretty much anything they do related to their own store brand is distasteful.