Amazon accused of unfair pricing policies by Washington DC

 Amazon accused of unfair pricing policies by Washington DC

Amazon disagreed with the lawsuit, and said that its policies were aimed at keeping prices low.

The lawsuit was filled in Washington DC Superior Court.

Amazon is being sued by Washington DC over allegations it abuses its position as a retail giant.

The lawsuit was filled on Tuesday, claims that Amazon's control of up to 70% of US online sales results in higher prices for consumers and it said that the online retailer broke antitrust law by requiring the third-party sellers not offer better deals for their products elsewhere.

Attorney General Karl Racine said Amazon requires third party sellers to give its customers the same or better prices than they offer elsewhere. But since Amazon's prices include fees, which can run as high as 40% of the total price, Racine said that the policy could make prices for the same product more expensive on platforms that compete with Amazon.

An Amazon spokesperson said in response: "The DC Attorney General has it exactly backwards - sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store."

The company's share price dipped on news of the lawsuit but quickly recovered.

The lawsuit seeks to stop Amazon from using "anti-competitive" practices and calls for damages and some remedies. But it will not only apply to violations of the rules in the District of Columbia itself.

Amazon added that the relief sought would force it " to feature higher prices to customers, oddly going against core objective of antitrust law."

Meanwhile, Amazon has seen sales soar as consumers were forced to stay at home due to covid-19 lockdowns. In the first three months of the year, it reported a profit of $8.1bn, three times the amount in the same period a year later

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