Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Friday December 10 2021, @06:53AM   Printer-friendly

Italian regulator fines Amazon $1.28 billion for abusing its market dominance:

Italy's antitrust authority (AGCM) has fined Amazon €1.13 billion ($1.28 billion) for "abuse of dominant position," the second penalty it has imposed on Amazon over the last month. Amazon holds a position of "absolute dominance" in the Italian brokerage services market, "which has allowed it to promote its own logistics service, called Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)," the authority wrote in a (Google translated) press release.

According to the AGCM, companies must use Amazon's FBA service if they want access to key benefits like the Prime label, which in turn allows them to participate in Black Friday sales and other key events. "Amazon has thus prevented third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA," it said.

The authority said access to those functions are "crucial" for seller success. It also noted that third-party sellers using FBA are not subject to the same stringent performance requirements as non-FBA sellers. As such, they're less likely to be suspended from the platform if they fail to meet certain goals. Finally, it noted that sellers using Amazon's logistics services are discouraged from offering their products on other online platforms, at least to the same extent they do on Amazon.

[...] In a statement to Engadget, an Amazon spokesperson said the company "strongly disagreed" with the decision and will appeal. It also noted that non-FBA sellers can use its Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP) service, which gives them access to Prime benefits without having to use Amazon's logistics services.

We strongly disagree with the decision of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) and we will appeal. The proposed fine and remedies are unjustified and disproportionate. More than half of all annual sales on Amazon in Italy come from SMBs, and their success is at the heart of our business model. Small and medium-sized businesses have multiple channels to sell their products both online and offline: Amazon is just one of those options. We constantly invest to support the growth of the 18,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon, and we provide multiple tools to our sellers, including those who manage shipments themselves.

Previously:
Italy Fines Amazon, Apple $230M (€203M) Over Reseller Collusion


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 10 2021, @08:03AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 10 2021, @08:03AM (#1203528)

    third-party sellers using FBA are not subject to the same stringent performance requirements as non-FBA sellers

    Is this true? I find myself twice as likely to get a counterfeit from a non-FBA seller. Regardless, counterfeits are a serious problem for every item on Amazon.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   0  
       Interesting=1, Overrated=1, Total=2
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   0  
  • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 10 2021, @12:19PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 10 2021, @12:19PM (#1203549)

    That has also been my experience. So much so that I will not order from any seller that is not "FBA". I'm curious what performance requirements they are talking about.