Amazon’s Classified Operation: The Covert Hunt for Rival Intel

In the heart of Seattle’s Denny Triangle, Amazon’s clandestine subsidiary, Big River Services International, operates under the guise of a bustling ecommerce enterprise, the Wall Street Journal reports, republished on LessWrong.com. But behind this facade lies a secretive mission: Project Curiosity.

Since its inception in 2015, Project Curiosity has orchestrated stealthy corporate strategies aimed at infiltrating ecommerce platforms and gathering critical intelligence on competitors. Under the cloak of fictitious brands and covert operations, Amazon has deployed Big River to penetrate rival marketplaces and extract invaluable insights.

Big River’s modus operandi involves creating and selling products under fabricated brands, allowing Amazon to gather data on competitor platforms while concealing its true identity. From scooping up liquidated goods to penetrate Walmart’s marketplace to crafting streetwear brands in Japan, Big River operates on a global scale, gathering data across 13 different ecommerce marketplaces.

Although initially unable to qualify for Walmart as a seller, Big River eventually secured entry onto the platform, boasting multiple product listings under the seller name “Atlantic Lot,” all while collecting data on Walmart’s operations without its knowledge. Reports show that in 2023 alone, Big River raked in an annual revenue of $125,000 through sales facilitated on Walmart.com and approximately $1 million in annual sales by retailing goods across various ecomm platforms, such as eBay, Shopify, and Amazon.

Note: Walmart is on the lookout for seasoned sellers with a proven track record of steady and significant sales. While exact revenue thresholds remain undisclosed, it’s generally suggested that sellers demonstrate annual sales of at least $500,000 across platforms like Amazon or other sales channels. While exceptions may be made for sellers with slightly lower sales volumes, a strong history of sales performance stands as a criterion for consideration.

The operation’s reach extended into logistics, with Big River discreetly engaging with FedEx to gain early insights into pricing and operational terms, feeding back valuable information to Amazon to inform its competitive transport strategies.

Moreover, Big River’s employees operated under a veil of secrecy, adopting policies not to share documentation via email to reduce the paper trail, using non-Amazon email addresses and conducting meetings in private areas to ensure confidentiality. They even infiltrated eBay’s seller conference, gathering exclusive intel intended for eBay sellers and funneling it back to Amazon.

Despite Amazon’s claims that Big River primarily serves to understand how selling partners experience its platform rather than spying on rivals, many questions remain unanswered regarding the covert nature of its operations. Concerns over antitrust implications arise as Amazon’s stealthy tactics may provide it with unfair advantages in the marketplace, potentially stifling competition and harming smaller sellers.

For sellers directly competing with Amazon, the revelation of Project Curiosity raises concerns about fair competition and data privacy. With Amazon gaining access to extensive competitor data through covert means, smaller sellers may find themselves at a significant disadvantage, struggling to compete on an uneven playing field.

In light of these revelations, the impact of Amazon’s secret operation on both competitors and sellers underscores the need for increased transparency and regulatory scrutiny in the ecommerce sector. As Amazon faces mounting antitrust scrutiny globally, the revelation of Project Curiosity adds fuel to the fire, raising questions about the tech giant’s market dominance and its potential abuse of power.

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