GoKawiilHundreds of previously redacted records reveal how Amazon has put pressure on independent sellers using its platform into raising their prices on the sites of competitors such as Walmart and Target, so that Amazon can appear to have lower prices, California authorities allege.
The global conglomerate became concerned even if a competitor was selling an item for as little as a penny less, according to one segment of the newly unredacted evidence.
The documents – which have never previously been reported on – include internal emails, deposition testimony and confidential corporate presentations that the California attorney general, Rob Bonta, obtained as part of a civil case his office launched in 2022 accusing Amazon of large-scale price-fixing.
The Guardian obtained and reviewed the cache of evidence, which has been filed in San Francisco county superior court but has not yet become publicly available. Within the documents, lawyers for the state of California have unmasked key details, paragraphs and sometimes whole pages that had previously been blacked out. A judge permitted some redactions to remain at Amazon’s request.
View image in fullscreen Amazon’s Buy Box.
In a statement, Bonta said the newly unveiled evidence reinforced his office’s claims that Amazon’s actions “unlawfully punishes sellers whose products are sold at lower prices by other online retailers”.
“Especially while consumers face an affordability crisis, there is no room for illegal practices that impede competition and raise prices,” Bonta said. “California looks forward to our trial in January 2027.”
Amazon has called the claims in the lawsuit “entirely false and misguided”.
“Amazon is consistently identified as America’s lowest-priced online retailer, and it is ironic that the attorney general seeks to have us feature higher prices in ways that would harm consumers and competition,” the company said in a statement.
For years, the state alleges, Amazon has used automated tools to track how independent vendors on its platform price their goods on competitor sites, then leveraged its dominant position in e-commerce to ensure that those prices do not fall below those on Amazon, even though Amazon often charges vendors far more in fees.
... continue reading