Amazon Merchant Contracts Inflate Prices, Calif. AG Lawsuit Alleges

Amazon “stifled competition and caused increased prices” in California through “anticompetitive contracting practices” that violate state law, California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) alleged in a lawsuit announced Wednesday. To avoid competing with other e-commerce platforms, Amazon “requires merchants to enter into agreements that severely penalize them if their products are offered for a lower price off-Amazon,” resulting in higher prices for consumers, Bonta’s office said. The case is “exactly backwards’ much like a similar case from Washington, D.C., AG Karl Racine (D), the company said in a statement: “Sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store. Amazon takes pride in the fact that we offer low prices across the broadest selection, and like any store we reserve the right not to highlight offers to customers that are not priced competitively.” The relief Bonta seeks “would force Amazon to feature higher prices to customers, oddly going against core objectives of antitrust law,” Amazon said.