The Class Action lawsuit argues that the HUGE retailer pushes companies to raise their prices to get Amazon incentive listings…
The state feels that the company is stifling competition by using its size and market share to induce companies to stay with them with higher pricing that go to other on line retailers with less market share exposure…
This is but one the efforts by more and MORE government’s to blunt to large American based multinational companies cornering markets , then driving up prices and shutting out choice and competition….
Amazon , a company that does a LOT more things than retail sales, has been very aggressive in defending itself in the courts….
The lawsuit largely focuses on the way Amazon penalizes sellers for listing products at lower prices on other websites. If Amazon spots a product listed cheaper on a competitor’s website, it often will remove important buttons like “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” from a product listing page.
Those buttons are a major driver of sales for companies selling through Amazon, and losing them can quickly hurt their businesses.
That creates a dilemma for marketplace sellers. At times, they can offer products for lower prices on sites other than Amazon because the cost of using those sites can be lower. But because Amazon is by far the largest online retailer, the sellers would rather raise their prices on other sites than risk losing their sales on Amazon, the complaint said, citing interviews with sellers, competitors and industry consultants.
“Without basic price competition, without different online sites trying to outdo each other with lower prices, prices artificially stabilize at levels higher than would be the case in a competitive market,” the complaint said.
The California suit is the latest in a string of increasingly aggressive efforts by states and regulators in Washington and Europe to curb the influence of the technology industry’s biggest companies. Also on Wednesday, a European Union court gave its blessing to a record multibillion-dollar fine issued against Google in 2018….
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Given the size of California’s economy and Amazon’s role in it, “this is a piece of litigation that has significant national implications,” said Christopher R. Leslie, a professor of antitrust law at University of California, Irvine. If the antitrust claims prevail, “there is no way other states won’t pick up the mantle and bring other cases,” he said….
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Lawmakers in Washington also have Amazon in their sights. The company has aggressively fought a bipartisan antitrust bill that would stop Amazon from favoring its own products in its online store. The proposal’s chances of passing may dim further as lawmakers turn their attention to the midterm elections.
Amazon has been more diplomatic in other cases. Facing an inquiry into its retail practices in Europe, the company proposed a series of changes, including limiting the data it collects from rival sellers and allowing them to sell to Prime customers without using Amazon’s logistics program….