Internal Amazon emails and interviews with former employees reveal tactics that allegedly drove up prices across the internet, according to a California attorney general lawsuit. The practices include suppressing supplier sales, demanding compensation for price matching, and encouraging suppliers to raise prices on rival platforms like Walmart and Target.
Price Hikes and Product Disappearances
A "modern leather" table lamp at Walmart jumped from $24.99 to $39. An air fryer on Newegg rose from $84.99 to $149.99. An electric ice-cream maker, initially $17.99 at Amazon and Best Buy, became unavailable at Best Buy and tripled to $59.99 at Amazon. These changes were not market fluctuations but results of Amazon's pressure, according to internal emails and court claims.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges Amazon coerced suppliers into raising prices with competitors. In the ice-cream maker case, emails show Amazon temporarily removed the supplier's inventory, prompting Maxi-Matic to pull stock from Best Buy. Amazon then reinstated the product at more than triple the price.
Amazon's Internal Practices
Amazon employees flagged low competitor prices as threats to profitability and informed suppliers their sales were cut or would be cut. Other emails describe Amazon slashing prices to match rivals, then demanding suppliers compensate for lost revenue. To escape pressure, some suppliers raised prices on rival sites or pulled products, according to litigation records.
Former vendor manager (2022-2024) told the Guardian he advised suppliers: "If you can make sure this product doesn't continue to be sold at this lower price point, then we don't have to keep revisiting this discussion about margin." A former customer success manager said Amazon staff had "very black-and-white conversations" about raising prices with competitors, with instructions to avoid digital trails: "The only rule was, 'Do not have this in writing'."
Algorithmic Price Surveillance
Amazon systematically tracked competitor prices. In 2011, a team of 200-250 people monitored prices; by 2019, it grew to nearly 2,000, using web crawlers to collect pricing data from tens of thousands of sites. The FTC alleges Amazon developed an algorithm that copied rivals' price changes "to the penny." This algorithm aimed to teach competitors they could not undercut Amazon, so they might as well raise prices.
Ryan Turano, CEO of AgroThrive, said an Amazon vendor manager directed him to contact Home Depot to raise prices. Turano recalled: "We were at their mercy. Because we didn't have the resources to push back."
Supplier Responses and Court Cases
In 2020, Amazon told Armen Living it suppressed an office chair due to a competitor's lower price. Amazon offered options: compensate Amazon, lower wholesale price, or "manage" other channels. Armen Living removed inventory from "problematic competition." Amazon employee Paige Nguyen thanked them but noted other chairs' prices had not recovered.
Amazon faces multiple price-fixing lawsuits: California AG, FTC (both trial in 2027), a private class action, and Washington DC's revived action. Amazon denies claims, stating practices encourage lower prices and competition. In 2022, Amazon paid $2.25 million to resolve Washington state claims without admitting liability.
Amazon argues the California AG distorts emails and that its practices are common in retail. The company says it works to protect customers from overpaying and that the lawsuit would lead to higher prices for Amazon customers.
