Apple broadcasts its Amazon lists with iPhones, iPads and more

Amazon has signed an agreement to expand the selection of Apple products on its sites worldwide. The world's largest e-commerce company announced Friday that it will soon start selling more Apple products directly and access the latest Apple devices, including the new iPad Pro, iPhone XR, iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series. 4, as well as to the Apple range of Beats headphones. The Amazon-Apple deal includes the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and India, and new products will arrive on Amazon sites during next few weeks.

Only authorized Apple dealers will now be allowed to sell Apple and Beats products in the Amazon Marketplace.

At present, many of these Apple products are not available on Amazon or are for sale only on its third-party market at various prices and conditions. Amazon already sells some Apple devices directly, such as MacBook laptops and Beats headphones.

"Amazon is always striving to improve the customer experience, and we are doing this by increasing the selection of products we know customers want," said Friday a spokesperson for the company. 39, Amazon in a statement. "We look forward to expanding our Apple and Beats product line globally."

With this new offering, customers should expect to see a greater selection of new Apple products at standard prices. In addition, this deal offers Amazon a big win just before the holiday shopping season, by offering it more electronic products from a leading manufacturer of high-end products. For Apple, this deal could help it sell more devices around the world.

The agreement also highlights the improved relationship between the two tech giants, after Amazon in 2015 removed the Apple TV video streamers from its site and then reported the devices last year. At the same time last year, Amazon had announced the reopening of Google Chromecast streamers, but they are still not available in a context of precarious relationships with Google.

"We are working with Amazon to enhance the experience of Apple customers on their site," said Apple spokesperson, Nick Leahy, "and we look forward to these customers having a great deal of experience. Another great way to buy an iPhone, an iPad, an Apple Watch, a Mac and more. "

Andrew Lipsman, an analyst at eMarketer, said the timing of the deal raises questions. lower than expected income during its last quarter may have been a motivator for the company as the holidays approached. He added that Apple could face some risks by providing sales data to Amazon.

"But the real threat to Amazon is to introduce a competing product – I would say Apple is pretty safe there," he said.

The arrangement includes some caveats. Apple's HomePod smart speaker, which rivals Amazon's Echo devices, is not included. Amazon does not list HomePods or rival Google Home speakers.

"We are constantly making assortment decisions, based on conditions and a lot of other factors," said Amazon spokesman about the abandonment of the HomePod.

In addition, independent sellers who list new and custom Apple products on Amazon will see these lists deleted after January 4, 2019. These sellers will now have to ask Apple to become authorized resellers on Amazon. An email was sent to the vendors about this change just after the transaction was signed.

The agreement does not affect the Renewed program of Amazon, which sells refurbished electronic products certified.

This change will allow Apple and Amazon to have more control over the inventory and price of Apple products. But small sellers and people who launch the iPhone right after they go on sale may feel aggrieved by the deal. In addition, customers who are looking for used (but not refurbished) Apple products may find a much more limited selection on Amazon. In either case, these sellers and customers will be more likely to use competing online sites such as eBay.

Amazon has already added new restrictions to its market over the years, making it harder for small sellers to offer products to Amazon if they do not work directly with the brands they list. Last year, Amazon signed a similar partnership with Nike, which allowed both companies to reduce the number of counterfeits on Amazon and better control unauthorized sales of Nike products to third parties.

Independent sellers with Apple stocks in Amazon warehouses after January 4th will have to issue an order of return, with Amazon offering to reimburse the cost of return or disposal until early February. These sellers will not be able to ship more Apple products to Amazon warehouses as of December 1st.

First published at 8:04 Pacific Time.
Updated 8h55, 10h and 12h26: Adds more information on the impact of the transaction on independent sellers, as well as on comments from Apple and an analyst.

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