The Amazon tactics that hiked prices across the internet
3 hours ago
- Amazon allegedly pressured suppliers to raise prices on rival retailers' sites to protect its own profitability, using tactics like suppressing product listings and demanding compensation.
- Examples include a table lamp jumping from $24.99 to $39 at Walmart, an air fryer rising from $84.99 to $149.99 on Newegg, and an ice cream maker tripling to $59.99 at Amazon.
- Internal emails show Amazon employees flagged low competitor prices as threats and instructed suppliers to fix pricing or face consequences, often using code words like 'channel optimization'.
- Amazon's algorithmic price-matching and 'game theory' approach led to demands for supplier reimbursement, pushing some to pull products from rivals or increase prices elsewhere.
- California and FTC lawsuits allege Amazon's practices constitute illegal price-fixing, while Amazon defends them as routine retail negotiations that lower consumer prices.
- Former employees and suppliers described pressure to raise competitor prices, with Amazon staff advised to avoid written records of such discussions.