California seeks injunction to stop Amazon's alleged stifling of price competition

Feb 24 (Reuters) - California asked a authorities justice connected Tuesday to halt Amazon.com from inflating prices for consumers done an alleged ‌campaign to bully merchants not to merchantability goods much cheaply elsewhere.

The ‌state's lawyer general, Rob Bonta, sought a preliminary injunction successful his 3-1/2-year-old antitrust suit against Amazon, ​which besides seeks to recoup ill-gotten profits.

"Amazon’s extremity is to insulate itself from terms contention by preventing little retail prices successful the market," Bonta said successful a heavy redacted filing successful the California Superior Court successful San Francisco. "Amazon ‌tells vendors what prices it ⁠wants to spot to support its ain profitability."

Bonta said his bureau has uncovered "countless" interactions wherever Amazon, rivals and merchants ⁠agreed to hole prices to guarantee that Amazon would not beryllium undercut connected websites specified arsenic eBay, Target and Walmart.

He said Amazon and rivals, with merchants acting ​as ​intermediaries, often agreed to rise prices oregon ​make products temporarily unavailable, eliminating ‌any request for price-matching.

Merchants that rejected Amazon's demands would beryllium chopped disconnected oregon denied entree to its "Buy Box," wherever shoppers tin click "Add to Cart" oregon "Buy Now," Bonta said.

The Buy Box accounts for the immense bulk of income connected Amazon's website.

"We invited companies that win by offering amended prices and amended ‌service," Bonta said successful a statement. "What we ​have present is simply a greedy, behemoth corp ​intentionally expanding prices successful the ​marketplace to get richer and richer disconnected the backs of ‌consumers."

The projected injunction would halt Amazon's ​alleged anticompetitive behaviour portion ​the lawsuit is pending, and a show would oversee Amazon's compliance.

Amazon has argued successful tribunal papers that its "procompetitive" agreements with merchants are ​legal, commonplace successful the ‌industry, and payment consumers done accrued merchandise selection, due merchandise stocking ​and competitory prices.

A proceedings is scheduled for January 2027.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel ​in New YorkEditing by Nick Zieminski)