Is This Extortion?
I've been an Authorized Reseller of a large brand for many years. Recently the brand called me to say that Amazon noticed my high volume of sales and doesn't like it. Amazon also sells this brand but different products and ASIN. Amazon does not sell on the ASIN that I sell on. However; Amazon has now told the Brand that if they don't stop selling to me, Amazon will pull all of their business from them.
Is there any other way to see this than extortion on Amazon's part?
Is This Extortion?
I've been an Authorized Reseller of a large brand for many years. Recently the brand called me to say that Amazon noticed my high volume of sales and doesn't like it. Amazon also sells this brand but different products and ASIN. Amazon does not sell on the ASIN that I sell on. However; Amazon has now told the Brand that if they don't stop selling to me, Amazon will pull all of their business from them.
Is there any other way to see this than extortion on Amazon's part?
15 replies
Seller_rGcQW1yb6ZWbC
It’s not extortion towards you. If anything, it’s extortion against Amazon. The brand told you that they will stop selling to Amazon if you don’t pull your product off Amazon? That’s not your problem. Will the brand still sell to you? Will Amazon close your listing? You have nothing to do with how the brand sells to Amazon and how Amazon sells that brand.
Seller_9z7K85RzAOGC9
lawyer up! A good attorney can find that to be worth pursuing most likely.
Seller_Ggt6s7zXEwLbA
Talk to an attorney, get evidence from the brand, and make sure you/your attorney contact the California Attorney General's Office and DOJ as this seems to relate to the anti-trust litigation against Amazon.
This is likely criminal extortion so your attorney will be able to assist in filing criminal complaint(s) with your local District Attorney and in Washington.
Seller_z1JDNz6de1lqc
We have seen this on a bran we used to sell lots on then Amazon started competing against us as they had our selling data so in the end amazon lowered their prices to cost then we lowered our prices to undercut amazon our FBA shipments which we drove to the manufacture warehouse so we could pick up and get a month early selling window Amazon started not checking our inventory in and listing it as Amazon sold then weeks later after they sold out our inventory would be in stock and listings stopped selling and then eventually Amazon removed 90% of the brands listings claiming child safe-t issues. Amazon is the DEVIL!
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This is exactly why all those FBA shipments go so called missing until you provide Amazon proof of life ownership AKA all your invoices and suppliers contact info!
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX
How about that. We have a couple of different manufacturers with in 2 miles of our location. We have had retail accounts with them for 20+ years. Amazon also carries their products on the site, and we list on those pages for less because our overhead costs are less. Amazon gets no better pricing than we do.
Amazon has not told us to stop selling but has told the manufacturer to stop selling to us. The manufacturer said no, because is it not in the best interest of the manufacturer.
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That is no better that Amazon seeing a highly profitable new item on the site offered by a seller, mass producing it, creating a new brand name to sell it under, and selling it for less. Amazon has over 110 brand names on the site they use for just this purpose.
Seller_oioJwIfByMwHu
Amazon is a scam and they steal from people
Seller_Vjnwgi5MFIKNy
So this is confirmation about the suspicions about why Amazon keeps milking this type of information out of sellers. They are going straight to the manufacturers to box out sellers.
Seller_tC1DElwAln1zd
This what I noticed, I have a product that people demand a lot, Amazon deactivated the product and restricted me from listing the product again.. this pure evil, and they expect sellers to pay monthly bill and all deductions but won’t allow sellers make sales
Seller_KZWw0GTXjd9JU
This is not just extortion — it has a legal name and Amazon is currently being sued for exactly this.
What you're describing is a combination of tortious interference with business relations and a potential violation of Sherman Antitrust Act Section 1 (unreasonable restraint of trade). Amazon is using its market dominance to coerce your supplier into cutting off a competing seller — that is textbook anticompetitive behavior.
This happened to me too and I am currently in active legal proceedings because of it.
My situation is different from yours but the pattern is identical — Amazon used IP complaints as a weapon to deactivate my seller account after my pricing was undercutting theirs on specific ASINs. What started as a listing dispute turned into full account suspension. I have an attorney actively engaged with Amazon's legal team right now. I'm not going to share details publicly since the case is ongoing, but I will say this: the moment I started documenting everything and got legal counsel involved, the picture became very clear very fast — this is not about policy violations, this is about Amazon protecting its own margins by eliminating competitive sellers through any mechanism available to them, whether that's IP complaints, manufacturer pressure, or policy enforcement selectively applied.
You are not alone. This is happening to hundreds of sellers and it's now at the center of multiple active legal actions:
1. FTC v. Amazon — Trial set for October 2026
The Federal Trade Commission, along with 17 states, sued Amazon in 2023 accusing it of using monopoly power to coerce sellers and suppliers. A federal judge already ruled the case can go forward. Trial starts October 5, 2026 in the Western District of Washington.
2. California Attorney General — April 2026
The California AG just unsealed documents showing Amazon pressured major brands like Levi Strauss and Hanes with the exact same tactic you're describing — threatening to pull their business if they didn't stop selling to competing retailers. AG Rob Bonta said publicly: "Amazon has strong-armed vendors into raising prices elsewhere or pulling products from competing retailers altogether so that Amazon can protect its profit margins. That's not competition. It's price fixing, and under California law, it's illegal."
3. Class Action — 288 million Americans certified
A federal judge certified the largest class in US history covering consumers and sellers affected by Amazon's anticompetitive practices since 2017.
What you should do right now:
Get the communication from your brand IN WRITING. If they told you verbally, follow up with an email saying "as we discussed, you mentioned Amazon contacted you and said..." — make them confirm it in writing.
Report it directly to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov — they are actively building this case and need seller testimony.
Contact law firm (hbsslaw.com) — they are the lead attorneys on the class action and actively want to hear from affected sellers.
Document everything: dates, names, what was said, sales volume, revenue impact.
The more sellers that report this with documentation, the stronger the case gets. Amazon knows what they're doing is legally risky — that's why they tell the manufacturer to do the dirty work instead of telling you directly. But the paper trail still leads back to them.
Don't let this go. This is exactly the evidence these cases need.
Seller_G33ZUnAamgfK1
Yes it is. This and Amazon's Long time practice of issuing full refunds the seller for Fulfillment by Amazon orders that are received damaged by the customer. This is either an Amazon issue in packaging or the shipper,.not the seller. Amazon used to give a reason to list these under damages, but they no longer do - it is now treated as general adjustment. This is outright theft from sellers with no transparency.
