Amazon may no longer influence the prices set by sellers on its German marketplace – something the company has been doing. Amazon must change its policies and may only exert price influence in exceptional cases. It must also repay 59 million euros in economic benefits.
This was announced today by the Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s national competition authority. As a seller, Amazon competes directly with hundreds of thousands of third-party sellers, which together account for around 60 percent of trade on Amazon.de. These partners are responsible for setting their own prices and also bear the financial risk of their sales activities.
Price control mechanisms
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In practice, Amazon uses various mechanisms to control sellers’ prices on the platform. If a price is deemed too high under these mechanisms, offers may be excluded from the Buy Box or even removed from the platform altogether. For sales partners, a loss of visibility often results in lost revenue.
‘Lower prices can also be achieved through lower fees’
Andreas Mundt, President of the Bundeskartellamt, said: “Amazon may not restrict the visibility of legitimate sellers’ offers on the platform – or remove them altogether – simply because their prices do not meet Amazon’s expectations.” According to Mundt, Amazon has other options to offer low prices. “It could incentivise retailers by reducing the costs and commissions they have to pay Amazon.”
Price manipulation
The watchdog ruled that the company should not interfere with the prices of third-party sellers. “Otherwise, there is a risk that Amazon manipulates the price level on its platform and uses this to compete with other online retailers outside Amazon”, Mundt said. “For affected sellers, such price manipulation could mean they can no longer cover their own costs, potentially leading to their removal from the platform.”
Price gouging as an exception
Going forward, Amazon may only influence sellers’ pricing in exceptional cases – particularly in instances of price gouging. In doing so, the company must comply with guidelines set by the Bundeskartellamt.
59 million euros
Amazon has one month to appeal the Bundeskartellamt’s decision, which was coordinated with the European Commission. For the first time, the German watchdog is using its powers to claw back the economic benefit Amazon gained through anti-competitive conduct. As the identified antitrust infringement is still ongoing, the Bundeskartellamt has initially set a partial amount of approximately 59 million euros.
Amazon dominant in Germany
Amazon is by far the market leader in ecommerce in Germany, a thriving market. In 2024, revenue in the country reached nearly 40 billion euros, driven in part by strong growth in online advertising. Figures for 2025 are expected soon. Gross merchandise volume on Amazon.de already exceeds 50 billion euros, thanks to sales by third-party sellers.
Amazon.de holds a 60% market share
According to the Bundeskartellamt, Amazon.de now accounts for 60 percent of all online sales in Germany. Amazon’s impact is also significant in the physical retail domain.
