Amazon probed by German antitrust body over prices

The Federal Cartel Office is “investigating whether and how Amazon influences retailers’ pricing” on its marketplace.

Amazon has policies in place to help ensure selling partners are pricing their products competitively. (REUTERS)

Germany's antitrust regulator is looking into whether Amazon.com Inc. is abusing its online market dominance to exert pricing pressure on sellers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing the body's president.

The Federal Cartel Office is “investigating whether and how Amazon influences retailers' pricing” on its marketplace, Andreas Mundt told FAZ in an interview.

His office was reacting to complaints that the US tech giant blocked individual sellers because they allegedly charged excessive prices during the first months of the coronavirus crisis. Mundt said the regulator is evaluating Amazon's response to its questions.

While vendors set their own product prices, Amazon has policies in place to “help ensure selling partners are pricing their products competitively,” the company said Sunday in an emailed statement. “Our systems are designed to take action against price gouging.”