- Amazon soon will end its “Sold by Amazon” program following the antitrust enforcement action by Washington State’s Attorney General. The SBA program amounted to unlawful price-fixing, according to the AG’s office.
- Amazon will pay $2.25 million to the Washington State Attorney General’s office and must provide annual proof of compliance with the legally binding consent decree.
- “Consumers lose when corporate giants like Amazon fix prices to increase their profits,” the statement emphasized. “Today’s action promotes product innovation and consumer choice.”
Daphne Howland from Retail Dive writes:
“Dive Brief:
- Amazon will end its “Sold by Amazon” program, following antitrust enforcement action by Washington state, Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office announced on Wednesday. The SBA program amounted to unlawful price-fixing, according to a press release from Ferguson’s office.
- “This was a small program to provide another tool to help sellers offer lower prices, much like similar programs common among other retailers, that has since been discontinued,” an Amazon spokesperson said by email. “While we strongly believe the program was legal, we’re glad to have this matter resolved.”
- In addition to ceasing the program nationally, Amazon must pay $2.25 million to the Washington State Attorney General’s office and provide it with annual updates showing that it’s complying with the legally binding consent decree, according to the release.
Dive Insight:
When Amazon launched this program in 2019, it touted it as a seller perk, describing it as “a free, opt-in service that helps selling partners save time and increase sales by automating prices so they can consistently and effortlessly offer customers great prices…”
See full story here.
Categories: Business, Economy, Government, Tech
Economic Left 
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