FTC Sues Amazon for Allegedly Abusing Monopoly Power, Resulting in Higher Prices and Worse Shopping

The FTC sued Amazon for allegedly using its monopoly power to squeeze merchants and thwart rivals, resulting in inflated prices and a degraded shopping experience.

Merchants claim Amazon punishes them for offering lower prices elsewhere by removing their items from the "buy box," costing them significant sales.

Some merchants support the lawsuit and hope it leads to changes in Amazon's business practices, though others are skeptical the issues raised directly impact them.

Merchants have concerns about Amazon's pricing policies, like matching lower prices on other sites, and steadily increasing fees charged to sellers.

One merchant stopped selling on Amazon due to "anticompetitive price fixing" and "tremendous fees," though it cost him over $300,000 in lost sales.