{"id":280009,"date":"2026-04-22T09:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/280009\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:49:16","slug":"emails-show-amazon-colluding-with-other-firms-to-raise-prices-california-authorities-allege-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/280009\/","title":{"rendered":"Emails show Amazon colluding with other firms to raise prices, California authorities allege | Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emails released on Monday by California<\/a>\u2019s attorney general show Amazon<\/a> allegedly colluding with other companies to raise the prices of pet treats, khaki pants, eyedrops and other products sold online.<\/p>\n

According to a newly unsealed court filing released by the California<\/a> attorney general, Rob Bonta, Amazon employees have repeatedly worked with vendors using its platform to push retail vendors including Walmart and Chewy to set higher prices collectively.<\/p>\n

In one case, according to Bonta\u2019s office, Amazon<\/a> raised prices on a set of dog treats and worked with a pet treat manufacturer to convince Chewy, the pet supplies retailer, to follow its increases, effectively protecting its market share while sticking consumers with higher prices.<\/p>\n

Amazon emailed the manufacturer a list of products with price increases, instructing the vendor: \u201cAs you noted, Chewy should be aware of this update and follow suit accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, in an internal message, the manufacturer confirmed that the price raise had gone up on both sites, Bonta\u2019s office alleges. The prices \u201cthat went up on Amazon immediately went up on Chewy :)\u201d, an employee of the manufacturer wrote, according to a court exhibit.<\/p>\n

3. Declaration of Nell Moley with REDACTED Exhibits – Part 1-43 copy<\/p>\n

double quotation markThe ones that went up on Amazon immediately went up on Chewy \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n

In another case, Amazon sent links to Levi\u2019s, the apparel giant, showing Dockers khaki pants being sold by Walmart, describing them as \u201cstyles of concern\u201d. The big box chain was selling them for less, according to Bonta\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

The next day, state officials allege, Levi\u2019s reported to Amazon that it talked to Walmart and that the big box chain had \u201cpartnered with us\u201d to raise the khakis\u2019 price up to \u201c$29.99 immediately\u201d.<\/p>\n

3. Declaration of Nell Moley with REDACTED Exhibits – Part 1 (1)-32 copy<\/p>\n

double quotation markI talked to Walmart and they have partnered with us to over-ride price match and take Easy Khaki Classic fit back up to ladder SPP price, $29.99 immediately.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, Amazon notified Levi\u2019s that it would also update its price to $29.99, a few dollars higher than it had been selling the pants for previously, according to Bonta\u2019s office.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence uncovered today is clear as day: Amazon is working to make your life more unaffordable,\u201d Bonta said in a statement. \u201cThe company is price fixing, colluding with vendors and other retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires \u2013 beyond what is fair.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response to Bonta\u2019s claims, an Amazon spokesperson called the attorney general\u2019s filing \u201ca transparent attempt to distract from the weakness of its case\u201d, noting that it came \u201cmore than three years after filing its complaint and based on supposedly \u2018new\u2019 evidence it has had for years\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmazon is consistently identified as America\u2019s lowest-priced online retailer, and we\u2019re proud of the low prices customers find when shopping in our store,\u201d the company said in a statement. \u201cAmazon looks forward to responding in court at the appropriate time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walmart, Levi\u2019s and Chewy are not defendants in the attorney general\u2019s case.<\/p>\n

Levi\u2019s and Chewy did not respond to requests for comment. In an email, a Walmart spokesperson declined to comment on the litigation but said the company \u201cwill always work hard on behalf of our customers to keep our prices low\u201d.<\/p>\n

Amazon turned over the newly unsealed records to Bonta\u2019s office as part of an antitrust lawsuit<\/a> that his office launched<\/a> in 2022 alleging<\/a> that the tech giant has \u201ccowed\u201d online vendors, dependent on Amazon\u2019s dominant e-commerce platform, into hiking their prices on the websites of other retailers such as Walmart and Target.<\/p>\n

Maintaining this artificial price floor, Bonta contends<\/a>, has allowed Amazon to preserve the appearance of low prices while heading off robust competition and extracting more from consumers.<\/p>\n

Amazon has not yet filed its response to the court filing, which was heavily redacted until today. In response to Bonta\u2019s original lawsuit, the tech giant has asserted<\/a> that its practices promote, incentivize and reward competition.<\/p>\n

Amazon previously declared<\/a> in a court filing that the state\u2019s core allegations are \u201centirely false and misguided\u201d.<\/p>\n

The recently unsealed examples were part of a motion that the California attorney general submitted to a judge in February seeking an injunction to stop Amazon\u2019s alleged price-fixing tactics.<\/p>\n

The attorney general\u2019s trial against Amazon is currently scheduled to begin on 19 January 2027.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Guardian reported<\/a> on a separate trove of recently unsealed documents from the court case, which included testimony from smaller companies alleging that Amazon\u2019s tactics had pushed them to increase their prices.<\/p>\n

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