Newly Unsealed Records Reveal Amazon's Price-Fixing Tactics, California AG Claims

California Attorney General Rob Bonta claimed that newly unsealed documents in the antitrust lawsuit filed against Amazon in 2022 more clearly show evidence of price-fixing and price pressure by Amazon.

The disclosed materials include internal emails, deposition transcripts, and confidential presentation materials, and contain content showing that Amazon tracked independent sellers' prices on other marketplaces to pressure them not to sell for less than on Amazon. The claim is that if a seller's price was even slightly lower than competitors like Walmart or Target, Amazon would remove that product from the Buy Box, significantly reducing its exposure and sales.

Specific cases were also presented.

• Mayer Handler of apparel company Leveret testified that the Buy Box was stripped because Walmart's price was 1 cent lower than Amazon's.
• Garden supplies seller Terry Esbenshade said that losing the Buy Box caused Amazon sales to plunge by about 80%.
• He testified that after adjusting the Wayfair price to be higher than Amazon's, the product returned to the Buy Box.

California believes that programs like SC-FOD and Buy Box suppression were used within Amazon to weaken competitors' sales. Internal statements were also cited suggesting an intent to specifically block sales to competing e-commerce sites like Temu.

Amazon has pushed back against these claims as "entirely false and misguided," explaining that it always aims to show the lowest-priced products. The company claims it has no intent to suppress competition, and instead provides better prices and experiences for consumers.

The trial for this lawsuit is currently scheduled for January 19, 2027.