Internal emails revealed in court and interviews with ex-employees describe how Amazon’s practices drove up prices for competitors like Walmart and Target. Amazon denies price-fixing claims and says it works to lower costs for consumers

A “modern leather” table lamp, listed online at Walmart, shot up from $24.99 to $39.

The price of an air fryer on a retail site called Newegg went from $84.99 to $149.99.

An electric ice-cream maker was listed at just $17.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. Then it became unavailable at Best Buy, and more than tripled in price to $59.99 at Amazon.

The price hikes and the product disappearances were not the blips of supply and demand – they were the results of behind-the-scenes pressure by Amazon, according to internal emails reviewed by the Guardian and court claims against the world’s largest company.

For years, as many Americans have felt squeezed by the costs of basic consumer goods, Amazon has deployed a variety of techniques that have incentivized suppliers to push for higher product prices on other retailers’ sites, California authorities claim in court.

  • ɔiƚoxɘup@beehaw.orgEnglish
    2·
    2 days ago

    What? Amazon using deceptive pricing that leads to skewed and unfair cost outlay? (Laughs in AWS)