AMZN · News · 20261104N

Regulatory Scrutiny — Alleged Price-Fixing

AMAZON COM INC · 2026-11-04 · Importance 52 · Surprise 48 · In source text

A federal district court in Seattle granted class certification in a lawsuit alleging Amazon used most-favored-nation restraints on third-party Marketplace merchants, leading customers to pay supracompetitive prices. The certified class covers people who bought goods from third-party sellers on Walmart or eBay when those same goods were also offered by the same sellers on Amazon Marketplace. The court rejected Amazon’s argument that the proposed class’s size would make the litigation unmanageable; the report does not provide claimed damages or a trial timetable.

Key facts

• A federal district court in Seattle granted class certification in a lawsuit alleging Amazon's Marketplace price-parity restraints caused customers to pay supracompetitive prices; the proposed class includes people who bought goods on Walmart and eBay from third-party sellers who offered the same goods on Amazon Marketplace. source
• The court rejected Amazon's argument that the proposed class's "unprecedented size" would make the litigation unmanageable. source

Impact estimates