Amazon's marketplace rules are facing renewed scrutiny over whether they raise prices across online retail, including at stores that do not use Amazon's platform. An independent analysis published this week connects seller fees and Amazon's Fair Pricing Policy to allegations at the center of the US Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against the company. Amazon denies wrongdoing.
Independent merchants typically pay a referral fee on each Amazon sale, often 15 percent depending on the category. Many also pay for fulfillment, storage, returns and advertising. Those services are formally optional, but the FTC has argued that Prime eligibility—which often depends on Amazon fulfillment—and paid promotion can be practically necessary for merchants seeking visibility and sales on the platform. The combined charges can consume a much larger share of revenue than the base commission alone.
Sellers can respond by increasing the Amazon price to cover those costs. The competition concern arises when they cannot offer a lower price on their own website or through another retailer without risking consequences on Amazon. Under the Fair Pricing Policy, Amazon can remove an offer from the Buy Box, the prominent purchase panel on a product page, or suspend a seller when it judges a price elsewhere to be lower. Losing that placement can sharply reduce sales.
The result, according to the analysis and government lawsuits, is that a merchant may raise prices across all channels instead of discounting away from Amazon. Sellers have previously reported losing the Buy Box after promotions at Target. California's attorney general has separately alleged that Amazon pressed brands to secure higher prices at Walmart, Target and other stores. Those claims remain subject to litigation.
The FTC and 17 states sued Amazon in 2023, accusing it of illegally maintaining monopoly power through rules that punish lower prices elsewhere, pressure merchants toward Amazon's logistics services and support rising fees. The case is expected to reach trial next year. Amazon disputes the characterization of its practices. Germany has also ordered the company to stop controlling marketplace sellers' prices, although that decision is not final.
Amazon's scale makes the issue significant. The supplied analysis estimates that the company accounts for roughly 40 percent of US online retail sales. Merchants may find it commercially difficult to leave even when they object to the cost structure, while pricing lower elsewhere can jeopardize their performance on the platform.
The new article does not itself establish that Amazon unlawfully sets prices across the internet. It organizes public allegations and seller examples into an account of how the mechanism could work. The antitrust trial will determine whether regulators can prove that these policies suppress competition rather than protect customers from uncompetitive offers.
