this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta last night filed a request for a preliminary injunction in California’s existing case against Amazon for price fixing. Attorney General Bonta’s 2022 lawsuit alleged that the company stifled competition and caused increased prices across California through its anticompetitive policies in order to avoid competing on price with other retailers. New evidence paints a clearer and more shocking picture. The motion for a preliminary injunction comes after a robust discovery process where California uncovered evidence of countless interactions in which Amazon, vendors, and Amazon’s competitors agree to increase and fix the prices of products on other retail websites to bolster Amazon’s profits. Time and again, across years and product categories, Amazon has reached out to its vendors and instructed them to increase retail prices on competitors’ websites, threatening dire consequences if vendors do not comply. Vendors, bullied by Amazon’s overwhelming bargaining leverage and fearing punishment, comply — agreeing to raise prices on competitors’ websites (often with the awareness and cooperation of the competing retailer), or to remove products from competing websites altogether. Amazon’s goal is to insulate itself from price competition by preventing lower retail prices in the market at the expense of American consumers who are already struggling with a crisis of affordability.

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[–] chaotic_ugly@lemmy.zip 23 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

As far as distractions from the Epstein Files go, this is an exciting one.

[–] ScoffingLizard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 58 minutes ago (1 children)

Can't wait for them to be fined one penny for every $20B made.

[–] helpImTrappedOnline@lemmy.world 5 points 34 minutes ago

Hey now, don’t get your hopes up.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 67 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

They're BUSTED when someone goes to prison.

[–] JcbAzPx@lemmy.world 8 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Well, it's California's attorney general, so better than even chance for actual punishment.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 9 points 1 hour ago (1 children)
[–] Earthman_Jim@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 hour ago

"Europeans need to be harder on Amazon" Wags greased finger

[–] lemming741@lemmy.world 40 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

For now they're just SLAMMED

[–] Ruxias@lemmy.world 11 points 1 hour ago

Just wait until they get BLASTED in a strongly worded email.

[–] LoafedBurrito@lemmy.world 22 points 3 hours ago (6 children)

I've been telling people to stop supporting amazon for years, but everyone seems to have their reason to keep supporting them. This hopefully will be a good enough reason for people to finally stop shopping on amazon.

I haven't bought anything from amazon in over 12 years. I find everything on the manufacturer's website or eBay. No need to ever use amazon for anything.

[–] cheat700000007@lemmy.world 1 points 33 minutes ago

I find the Amazon experience and prices to often be worse than elsewhere

[–] Alpha71@lemmy.world 7 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago) (4 children)

Okay. Here's my story. I have been looking for a 4K 32 to 43 inch monitor for my PC. TV or monitor, I just wanted 4k 120hz minimum. Didn't really care about IPS or VA panels. Both have their pro's and con's.

So I ended up getting a Philips Google TV 43" 4K Gaming TV with native 144Hz refresh rate. The asking price from Amazon was 450 CAD. everywhere I looked online It was 50 bucks more OR they were the same price, but charged 50 bucks in shipping.

THAT'S why I use Amazon. IF I can find it cheaper elsewhere, I'll buy it somewhere else. For me price is everything since I'm on a fixed income.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Okay, but have you considered that Amazon is the reason prices are high?

Obviously, none of these other retailers had a hand in it.

[–] Dr0l3aN@lemmy.world 1 points 10 minutes ago

Exactly what they got "busted" for

[–] Ruxias@lemmy.world 6 points 1 hour ago (9 children)

You're not alone in that. A lot of people's care for ethics ends where a good deal begins.

What you should know is that these companies offer these good deals for a variety of reasons, but usually involving shady or borderline illegal business practices in one way or another.

I understand you're on a fixed income - I sympathize with that and I don't want to be rude to a stranger - but is the deal on a particular item you want worth the cost of endorsing what these companies do and stand for?

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[–] 0x0@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

Aren't most people on a fixed income?
Is such a TV... necessary?
Have you considered saving some for a few months and then buy the TV?

[–] ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world 1 points 3 minutes ago

Aren’t most people on a fixed income?

No, most people are on broken incomes.

[–] Alpha71@lemmy.world 9 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

What do you think I've been doing? That took me four months.

[–] nickiwest@lemmy.world 2 points 36 minutes ago (1 children)

There are a lot of people online who think that 100% abstinence from The Bad is the only way to be good.

But if you can shift 10% of your former Amazon spending, do it. And keep looking for a way to get to 15%, then 20%, and so on.

Like, I'm probably never going to be a strict vegetarian. I love a good burger, or a nicely-cooked steak, or a big bowl of chicken and dumplings. But I eat vegetarian for more than 75% of my meals. And that's good enough for me.

[–] Alpha71@lemmy.world 3 points 32 minutes ago* (last edited 29 minutes ago)

It was also the implied "Poor people shouldn't have nice things" That ticked me off.

[–] snausagesinablanket@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Not to leave out they're easy to return stuff too.

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[–] Nebraska_Huskers@lemmy.world 2 points 1 hour ago

Same boat, I cancelled prime 5 years ago. My wife will activate for the holidays but I refuse to use it

[–] JDPoZ@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (11 children)

My biggest problem is that very specific niche products that also have no direct sale options from the supplier / manufacturer tend to only be available on Amazon.

Like there’s a specific caramel sauce I like to put in my coffee that is made from real caramel and not “caramel flavored corn-syrup” and the company that makes it is great and based out of the US, but they have no direct-sale option on their website nor any place that says “where to buy.”

The only place I’ve found it to be reliably sold from is Amazon, because I’m not a small coffee business. As far as I can tell, unless I order massive quantities via some sort of scheduled contract ordering agreement, I don’t think I can order direct from the manufacturer.

I hate Amazon and would rather not give them money, but they have effectively created a de-facto monopoly for certain products… whether they are the actual only major supplier that has both a web storefront and that will ship around the US… or they are the only web storefront that yielded search results for specific products when consumers are combing the web marketplace for them.

Until the US govt or other entities with regulatory teeth willing to prosecute them for monopolistic practices and maybe even break them up some day, I don’t think it’s realistic to expect even the most savvy consumers to fully remove themselves from purchasing at least some number of very specific goods form Amazon.

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[–] holy_scroller@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 hours ago

I've found the Shop App to be a good alternative along with eBay. Shop App is basically a search engine for retailers who use Shopify, which is a ton of them. From my research it seems to be generally better for retailers.

[–] null@lemmy.org 3 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I was going on buy some jack stands for my car and saw the exact same models from harbor freight or auto zone on Amazon. Even if you're not trying to support Amazon, you can't escape the slop products.

[–] Pacattack57@lemmy.world 4 points 1 hour ago

Amazon, in many cases, is not the seller. They are simply an online market. The reason you see the same products across multiple websites is because it is the same product. Doesn’t really have anything to do with shitty products although that’s what a lot of people do. They take advantage of Amazon’s monopoly on the market and sell products for hundreds if not thousands of dollars % mark ups. The reason it’s still cheaper on Amazon is because of the aforementioned price fixing.

[–] WraithGear@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

well they also see what products are doing well on their site, then making exact copies to sell at a loss to kill the original maker, then once the captured competition is killed take their place and inflate the price

[–] TomArrr@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Seen this happen on multiple occasions. I assumed it was other sellers, but now, I'm not so sure.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 34 points 4 hours ago (2 children)

Market regulates itself or somthing.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 3 points 1 hour ago

Yeah, that's what the Health Care CEOs assassin was doing, just a minor self-correction in the Free Market. That CEO's policies pissed off a customer bad enough that the customer eliminated the problem, and that company, and every other health care company, loosened up their denials significantly as a result.

That's the Free Market working the way it's supposed to. That assassin should be celebrated for working within the system to balance the market.

It wasn't Luigi though.

[–] pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 hours ago

I heard there was an invisible hand that I should trust.

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