Amazon keeps prices 'artificially high' for consumers, California alleges

California sued Amazon.com, saying the company forces third-party merchants to agree to policies that lead to “artificially high prices” for consumers. State Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday announced the antitrust suit challenging Amazon merchant agreements that bar sellers from offering lower prices on other sites and impose stiff penalties if they do. 

He said the agreements block competition from other online retailers, resulting in inflated fees for merchants and higher prices for consumers.

“Amazon coerces merchants into agreements that keep prices artificially high, knowing full-well that they can’t afford to say no,” Bonta said in a statement. The suit, filed in state court in San Francisco, seeks an order blocking Amazon from continuing to engage in anticompetitive behaviour and compensation for California consumers. The suit comes three years after Bloomberg reported that the company’s pricing policies were forcing sellers to raise their prices on competing sites like Walmart.