Despite the continued public and federal scrutiny against Big Tech, it seems like there’s no threat of breaking up the monopoly powers the big players hold—at least so far.
This year alone has seen successful antitrust rulings against Google, as well as ongoing lawsuits against Meta and Microsoft. So is it any wonder that Amazon might be next on the chopping block?
It shouldn’t. The history of antitrust cases against the Seattle retail behemoth dates back several years, resulting in actions ranging from the successful shuttering of their “Sold by Amazon” program to civil complaints that the entity utilizes ongoing anticompetitive strategies to illegally maintain their monopoly power.
Sellers have made similar arguments for years. Yet for better or worse, Amazon remains the one of the few successful options for many brands looking to gain headway in digital retail.
Now it’s up to the Washington, DC Attorney General to successfully argue that Amazon has established unfair pricing policies for sellers before the DC Court of Appeals—an appeal that first began over three years prior in addition to a highly publicized FTC antitrust case scheduled to begin in 2026.
The Revival of DC’s Antitrust Case
At the heart of the DC antitrust complaint is a 2021 case brought before the courts by former Attorney General Karl Racine which alleged Amazon prevented third-party sellers from offering lower prices on other platforms—including their own websites.
The suit alleged that, among other arguments, that official Amazon policies effectively required “third-party sellers to incorporate the high fees charged by Amazon – as much as 40% of the total product price – not only into the price charged to customers on Amazon’s platform, but also on any other online retail platform.
“As a result, these agreements impose an artificially high price floor across the online retail marketplace and allow Amazon to build and maintain monopoly power in violation of the District of Columbia’s Antitrust Act. The effects of these agreements continue to be far-reaching as they harm consumers and third-party sellers, and suppress competition, choice, and innovation.”
Yet that initial lawsuit was dismissed by the following year after Amazon successfully filed a motion before DC Superior Court Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo which defended those policies as prohibitions against discrimination and price gouging that actually encourages competition.
Now, the DC Court of Appeals has successfully reversed that decision, stating that the allegations “plausibly suggest” that Amazon already has monopoly power over online marketplaces or is close to achieving it.
Fair Pricing and Customer Trust
Amazon retracted a price parity clause that helped spark the 2021 case requiring FBA sellers to offer products at the lowest prices on its online marketplace in 2019.
But the reversal argues that Amazon’s Fair Pricing Policy amounts to what is an essentially identical substitute—including a clause that “setting a price on a product or service that is significantly higher than recent prices offered on or off Amazon” constitutes a pricing practice that harms customer trust.
“Just like any store owner who wouldn’t want to promote a bad deal to their customers, we don’t highlight or promote offers that are not competitively priced,” Amazon spokesperson Tim Doyle told The Verge in a statement. “It’s part of our commitment to featuring low prices to earn and maintain customer trust, which we believe is the right decision for both consumers and sellers in the long run.”
Similarly, Walmart has a long established policy of “Everyday Low Prices” which essentially prohibits brands to offer lower prices for products sold at competitive stores—a policy which has extended to third party sellers on Walmart Marketplace. But the price difference is rarely a substantial one; more often than not, it equates to little more than pennies on the dollar.
Yet there’s also a significant difference between Amazon and Walmart: customer trust.
Despite the former’s claims to be “Earth’s most customer-centric company,” regular Amazon customers shop there out of convenience just as much as they do prices. Walmart customers, on the other hand, tend to be more budget conscious (despite recent reports of luxury brands turning to the retailer.) And in times of economic uncertainty, nothing establishes customer trust more than affordability.
The Ramifications of the Antitrust Case for Sellers
In a statement on social media, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb noted that his district “was the first jurisdiction to take antitrust enforcement action” against the platform. “Now, our case will move forward, and we will continue fighting to stop Amazon’s unfair and unlawful practices that have raised prices for District consumers and stifled innovation and choice across online retail.”
Yet it goes without saying that Amazon isn’t just a $574.8 Billion marketplace. It’s also a highly irrational one.
Third party sellers may make up over 60 percent of Amazon’s worldwide sales volume. That doesn’t mean they take priority. More importantly, that doesn’t mean changes to seller sales and pricing policies will be clearly communicated—if at all.
Anticompetitive lawsuits have historically resulted in the breakup of massive entities which ultimately altered their respective industries. And there’s every chance to imagine the same can occur to Amazon as well, including both their logistics business as well as their third party marketplace. That may be to the benefit of Amazon, but it may also result in an even more unaccommodating landscape for sellers if they choose to remain on the platform.
What brands can do in the meantime is to maximize their visibility on Amazon. Naturally, that includes maintaining competitive pricing. But that also includes optimizing both your brand narrative and the quality of your product line.
Customers may not seem to know just how fiercely the atmosphere of Amazon is. But much like retail purchasing off Amazon, their loyalty will remain with a brand who establishes a coherent message that speaks to their values and their lives.
And that customer trust can’t be prosecuted.
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