Internal emails show how Amazon raises prices across the Internet, lawsuit says
Short summary
California’s attorney general unsealed Amazon emails showing three tactics the company uses to push vendors and rivals into raising prices—from coordinated price matches to pressuring sellers to pull cheaper listings. The evidence forms part of a 2022 lawsuit accusing Amazon of using its market power to inflate prices online and squeeze out lower-cost competitors.
- Amazon matches a rival's price only after nudging that rival to raise it first, then both sellers profit while shoppers pay more
- When a competitor's price is too low, Amazon pressures its own vendors to push that rival to raise prices—vendors comply within a day, fearing loss of Amazon's sales channel
- Amazon also pressures vendors to pull products from cheaper competing sites entirely, removing any reason for Amazon to lower its own price
- Evidence comes from unsealed internal emails in California's 2022 antitrust suit against Amazon's $2.66 trillion retail business
Full summary
Emails unsealed in California’s lawsuit against Amazon show the company quietly nudging competitors to hike prices on diapers, clothing, furniture and more. According to Attorney General Rob Bonta, Amazon would agree to pause sales or match a higher price set by a rival, prompting that retailer to raise its list price. Once the other seller bumped up costs, Amazon would match the new, steeper price—pushing both companies’ profits up and leaving shoppers paying more.
A second tactic flips that playbook. If Amazon spots a rival selling at what it deems an unprofitable low price, it leans on vendors to pressure the competitor to lift its rate. After the competitor complies, Amazon trots out its own matching price. Emails show vendors reacting fast—some prices jumped within a day—because they feared losing Amazon’s massive sales channel or facing other penalties.
The third method goes further: Amazon pressures vendors to yank products from any platform undercutting its price. Without those listings on cheaper sites, Amazon has no reason to lower its own price. That forces customers back to Amazon’s higher prices across the board.
California filed this suit in 2022, accusing Amazon of using its $2.66 trillion retail empire to strong-arm sellers. The newly revealed correspondence offers a rare look behind the curtain at how Amazon leverages its market dominance, according to The New York Times. Vendors, anxious about losing access, appear to comply almost immediately—at consumers’ expense.