It’s official: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon on Tuesday along with the Attorneys General of 17 states, accusing it of overcharging sellers, preventing rivals from fairly competing against Amazon, and engaging in actions that Read more
Amazon said proposed legislation introduced in Congress this month would hurt buyers and sellers, while an organization of online sellers claims Amazon has monopoly power over its merchants and supports the antitrust proposals. The BBC reported on the five bills Read more
Organizations like National Retail Federation (NRF) and Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) advocate for policies that benefit retailers of all sizes, but they may have their biggest members top-of-mind when lobbying Congress. Big businesses are exceptionally good at working together Read more
In 2007, a Wall Street analyst warned online sellers about listing on a marketplace that could turn around and compete with them, specifically pointing to Amazon.com. Many years later, government regulators in the US and Europe are scrutinizing Amazon practices Read more
The Federal government of the United States has opened an antitrust investigation into online platforms. While not naming names, the Justice Department cited concerns about services related to “search, social media, and some retail services online.” CNBC, among others, took Read more
Amazon informed sellers on Wednesday it is making changes to the Business Solutions Agreement. A summary of the changes is available for sellers to review here, and Amazon made available a “redlined” version of the agreement so sellers could read Read more
The European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into whether Amazon uses third-party merchant data in breach of EU rules. Amazon’s dual role as marketplace and retailer puts it in an unusual position, and the Commission wants to study how Amazon Read more
Online merchants are wise to watch what ecommerce heavyweight Amazon is up to – here’s today’s roundup of news of interest to online sellers for August 12, 2016. Amazon has been expanding its private-label food line since the spring, it Read more
The government is scrutinizing the Stamps.com deal to acquire Endicia, but Stamps said it expects the deal to go through this year. It also revealed that if the deal does not gain antitrust regulatory approval, Stamps must pay Endicia’s parent Read more
Stamps.com revealed that its planned acquisition of Endicia is still proceeding through the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust review process. CEO Ken McBride said during the company’s recent quarterly earnings call, “We are currently in the regulatory review process with the Department of Read more
