The possibility that Amazon is still forcing a ``contract to force the lowest price to third-party vendors'' that should have been abolished

by Province of British Columbia

In the case that California sued Amazon for violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, the plaintiff, California, said, ``Amazon has not abolished the contract to force the lowest price to third-party vendors,'' which was abolished in 2019. , Rather, it was found that the internal document was submitted to the court as a document indicating that it is showing a move to strengthen the penalty imposed on the vendor.

Amazon Vow to Stop Seller Squeeze Was Fake, California Says - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-14/amazon-s-vow-to-stop-squeezing-sellers-was-fake-california-says

In 2019, Amazon announced that it had removed a provision penalizing third-party vendors who sell products at lower prices than Amazon on other e-commerce sites such as Walmart, Target , and eBay.

Amazon removes the clause that forces vendors to ``lowest price'', and presidential candidates say ``Amazon should be dismantled''-GIGAZINE

by Scott Lewis

In September 2022, Attorney General Rob Bonta, on behalf of the state of California, said, ``An anti-competitive contractual act that violates California's unfair competition laws and other laws hinders competition and causes price increases.'' I sued Amazon. Attorney General Bonta says despite Amazon's 2019 announcement that it 'removed contract clauses,' it continues to seek contracts that enforce the lowest prices to avoid price competition with other e-commerce sites. claimed to have been

Attorney General Bonta Announces Lawsuit Against Amazon for Blocking Price Competition | State of California - Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General
https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-bonta-announces-lawsuit-against-amazon-blocking-price

And in this trial, Amazon's internal documents were submitted, and among them, ``The announcement that the contract clause has been deleted has been positively reported, so third-party vendors have lower prices than Amazon on other sites. Enhancing penalties to prevent products from being sold at Amazon may create a backlash, ”said an Amazon executive. California, the plaintiff, argues that this statement is evidence that Amazon is still trying to negotiate deals with third-party vendors that impede price competition.

In addition, Amazon's vice president of pricing said about the seller who complained that they had to lower their prices to match Amazon, saying, ``Selling directly on other sites or selling through an agency may cause the seller and Amazon to become relative. It may be a good idea to ask the seller to confirm that you are not at a competitive disadvantage,' the plaintiff said, adding a smiley emoticon.

Furthermore, in the documents submitted by the plaintiff, ``Amazon makes a lot of profit every year while exempting taxes, but it uses ads to display products that are not related to searches, and is wasting my time. It seems that the testimony from the user was also posted.

An Amazon spokesperson claims that Amazon allows sellers to set their own prices, saying, ``Many of the claims in the complaint are inaccurate. We look forward to presenting the facts to the court.'' I am commenting.