Lawsuit claims Apple, Amazon colluded to raise iPhone, iPad prices
On Wednesday, an antitrust complaint claimed that Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) had colluded to raise the pricing of iPhones and iPads by excluding practically all other resellers of new Apple goods from selling them on Amazon’s website.
Lawsuit claims Apple, Amazon colluded to raise iPhone, iPad prices
The proposed class action in Seattle federal court was in response to an arrangement between Apple and Amazon that began in January 2019 and provided Amazon with discounts of up to 10% on Apple items in return for Amazon allowing just seven of 600 retailers to remain on its platform.
The lawsuit claims this made Amazon, which has previously sold just a small selection of Apple devices along with knockoffs, the preeminent online reseller of new iPhones and iPads.
According to the lawsuit, prices increased by over 10% while Apple maintained the same retail pricing throughout the year. It also noted that significant price cuts of 20% or more were becoming less usual.
Congress enacted antitrust laws to prohibit businesses from “erecting barriers to entry to keep rivals out and increasing prices in the aftermath of their removal,” as stated in the lawsuit. The evidence is undeniable; the case is closed.
We reached out to Apple and Amazon, but neither company responded right away. Third-quarter product sales for both Cupertino, California-based Apple and Seattle-based Amazon exceeded $125 billion.
Americans who have purchased a new iPhone or iPad from Amazon since January 2019 are included in the class action lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
Unspecified treble damages, compensation, and an end to the claimed “collective boycott” by the corporations are sought.
The identified plaintiff, a man called Steven Floyd from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, claims he spent $319.99 for a new iPad he purchased from Amazon on the company’s website and was denied the opportunity to spend less due to the stifling of competition.
One month ago, an Italian administrative court overturned an antitrust regulator’s 173.3 million euro ($173.6 million) penalties against Apple and Amazon for suspected pricing collusion.
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