Bundeskartellamt surveys Amazon Marketplace sellers

Today the Bundeskartellamt launched a web survey of 2,400 sellers who offer their products through Amazon Marketplace.

Within the framework of administrative proceedings under competition law the Bundeskartellamt is examining the effects of the price parity clause used by Amazon.de for its Marketplace sellers. Apart from the direct sale of products through Amazon, other sellers also have the opportunity to offer their products on the Amazon platform. The price parity clause prohibits them from selling products they offer on Amazon Marketplace cheaper on any other internet sales channel. The prohibition applies to other internet platforms, such as e.g. Ebay or Rakuten, as well as online shops owned by the sellers.

Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt: "Amazon's price parity clause, under which sellers are deprived of their freedom to sell a product offered through Amazon cheaper on another internet sales channel, could violate the general ban on cartels. This applies in particular if the restriction of the sellers' freedom to determine prices also restricts competition between the different internet marketplaces. Such a restraint of competition seems likely as, under normal circumstances, sellers have an interest in offering their products on several internet marketplaces."

In order to become active on an internet marketplace, sellers must pay the operators of the marketplace (Amazon, Ebay, Rakuten) various fees, e.g. a specific percentage of the sales prices they achieve. As the sellers cannot allow any favourable conditions to translate into a more favourable price payable by end consumers, it can be difficult for other internet marketplaces that compete with Amazon, especially new platforms entering the market, to reach a large number of customers. There is the threat of Amazon enforcing high seller fees which could result in a generally higher price level without producing sufficient benefits, to the detriment of consumers.

The survey of sellers is meant to provide as much information as possible on the effect of the price parity clause and the importance of Amazon Marketplace.

If the investigations were to confirm the suspicion, Amazon could be required to delete the price parity clause from its terms and conditions.