Germany has introduced research into Amazon’s pricing policies with third-party retail stores on its website, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (paywall), CNET. “Lately we read whether Amazon influences how investors set costs in the market and how they do it,” said Andreas Mundt, president of the Federal Cartel Office.
In the United States, Amazon was accused of charging astronomical costs for things like masks and hand sanitizers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the German regulator does not seem to focus on abusive costs, but on Amazon making costs artificially low. According to Mundt, research began after third-party vendors complained that Amazon had blocked them due to high costs. “Amazon won’t have to pay, ” he said.
Amazon said its policies ensure that partners set competitive but exaggerated values. “Amazon’s sales partners set the value of their own products in our store,” a spokesman to the New York Times said in a statement. “Our systems are designed to combat worthwhile abuse.”