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‘We were at their mercy’: inside the Amazon tactics that hiked prices across the internet
Internal Amazon emails and court documents examined by the Guardian show how the company pressured suppliers into raising product prices on rival sites such as Walmart, Best Buy, Target and Home Depot. When suppliers priced items cheaper elsewhere, Amazon staff flagged this as a threat to its own margins, cutting or threatening to cut a supplier's Amazon sales unless it raised prices with competitors or pulled products from their platforms entirely. This matters because it suggests the price rises many consumers have faced were not simply due to supply and demand, but the result of a deliberate corporate strategy by the world's largest online retailer.
The findings stem from a trove of emails, presentations and depositions obtained by California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, as part of a lawsuit accusing Amazon of price fixing, alongside interviews with 15 current and former Amazon and supplier representatives. Examples cited include a table lamp at Walmart rising from $24.99 to $39, an air fryer on Newegg jumping from $84.99 to $149.99, and an ice-cream maker pulled from Best Buy before more than tripling in price to $59.99 on Amazon. Other emails describe Amazon cutting its own prices to match rivals, then demanding suppliers compensate it for the lost revenue. Amazon denies engaging in price-fixing and says its practices are aimed at lowering costs for consumers.
In short
- Amazon pressured suppliers to raise prices on rival retail sites
- Court documents cite an ice-cream maker, air fryer, lamp price hikes
- Amazon denies price-fixing, says it works to cut consumer costs
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Evidence compiled by the California attorney general—including internal Amazon emails and court documents substantiated by supplier testimony—appears to reveal a systematic pattern where Amazon pressured suppliers to raise prices on rival platforms under threat of reduced Amazon sales. Specific examples demonstrate tangible consumer harm: a table lamp rising from $24.99 to $39, an air fryer jumping from $84.99 to $149.99. This deliberate strategy directly contradicts Amazon's stated commitment to lowering consumer costs and represents anticompetitive price-fixing that harms consumers and fair market competition.
The case against
Amazon's commercial practices reflect legitimate business conduct within standard retail dynamics, where established platforms naturally exercise negotiating leverage with suppliers. The company emphasises that it has consistently lowered prices for consumers through efficiency and competitive scale—frequently pricing below rivals in ways that suggest competitive advantage rather than collusion. Demanding pricing consistency from suppliers is ordinary retail practice, and suppliers benefit substantially from access to Amazon's massive customer base in ways that justify such terms. What appears to regulators as coercive pressure reflects normal commercial negotiation between parties with inherently unequal bargaining power, a commonplace feature of competitive markets.
Explained simply
Amazon is the world's largest online retailer, dominating the market in the UK, United States and elsewhere. Most suppliers of consumer goods depend on it as a major sales channel, giving the company considerable leverage over them.
California's attorney general is investigating whether Amazon pressured suppliers to raise prices on competing retail websites such as Walmart and Best Buy. Documents and internal emails obtained by investigators show Amazon allegedly threatened to reduce suppliers' sales on its platform or remove them entirely if they did not comply.
The case matters because it raises fundamental questions about the power of dominant companies over the broader market. If the allegations are proven, it would suggest that price increases consumers have experienced were not simply due to market forces but deliberately orchestrated by a single retailer. Amazon denies the allegations.
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