Amazon is sued in the United States for allegedly manipulating the BuyBox to defraud consumers

As an important helper to improve sales performance, Amazon BuyBox has always been the focus of sellers.

Recently, Amazon was sued by two consumers in the United States because of the Buy Box. The consumers said that Amazon manipulated the products displayed in the Buy Box, allowing consumers to buy the same products at a higher price, thus damaging the interests of consumers.

In theory, the Buy Box will display the same product from different suppliers according to certain rules, either Amazon's own or third-party sellers. But the consumers who filed the lawsuit believe that Amazon's Buy Box algorithm will choose which groups to display as the main objects.

The lawsuit has been accepted by the U.S. District Court, which believes that Amazon 's practice is misleading to shoppers, saying that buyers may think that the price and shipping source shown in the "buy box" are the best options available . But in fact, other suppliers in the box below may offer better prices.

The lawsuit mentioned that Amazon would give priority to recommending self-operated products and third-party suppliers who paid to join Amazon's FBA program. When there are cheaper options for the same products, but they do not meet the above two conditions, they will be submerged in the alternative seller box at the bottom of the page.

But consumers often ignore these cheaper items and choose to purchase items directly from the " Buy Box " and pay more money.

The complaint cited the example of a toy priced at $55 sold by an Amazon seller participating in the FBA program that would appear in the Buy Box, while the same toy priced at $51 sold by a seller not participating in the FBA program was not only not displayed in the Buy Box, but was also placed further down the page.

It is reported that the lawsuit was filed by two California netizens, Jeffrey Taylor and Robert Selway , who claimed that Amazon violated the Consumer Protection Act of their home state of Washington, which explicitly stipulates that "unfair competition methods and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in any trade or commercial conduct are prohibited."

Notably, unlike past cases, this one focuses on Amazon’s harm to consumers rather than antitrust violations.

The two consumers are asking for a jury trial and damages from Amazon, and they are also calling on other Amazon users who have used the Buy Box to shop since 2016 to join the lawsuit.

In addition to the United States, Amazon has also been sued by consumers in the UK. British consumer rights activist Julie Hunter took Amazon to court and claimed 900 million pounds (about 1 billion US dollars).

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BuyBox

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