Apple and Amazon colluded to increase the price of products sold to customers in the United Kingdom, according to a new lawsuit lodged with the Competition Appeals Tribunal.
It's said that Apple products now cost more than they might otherwise have done if the two companies hadn't worked together to limit competition on Amazon's marketplace. It's said that the pair struck a deal in 2018, in secret, that would impact third-party sellers that could otherwise have helped drive down prices.
Amazon says that its agreement with Apple simply means that "customers can find the latest Apple and Beats products on our store, and they benefit from an expanded range with better deals and faster shipping."
No more independent merchants
TechCrunch reports that the lawsuit is seeking at least £500 million ($645 million) on behalf of Apple-buying customers across the United Kingdom. It relates to Apple products as well as those branded as Beats that have been sold on Amazon since October 2018 including AirPods, all of Apple's best iPhones, and other products.
“The claim alleges that, by January 2019, almost all independent merchants of Apple and Beats products disappeared from the Amazon marketplace as a result of Apple and Amazon’s collusion,” a press release says. “This led to a decrease in the discounts provided to customers by the limited number of independent merchants remaining, and a significant increase in the sales of Apple and Beats products at undiscounted prices.”
Apple is yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit and told TechCrunch that it was yet to see it. However, it did argue that its agreements with Amazon were designed to battle counterfeit products previously sold on its marketplace. This is the same argument it put forth when faced with a similar situation in Spain earlier this month.
