# CNBC | FTC sues Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of misleading advertisers **URL:** \ **Category:** News for Ecomm Sellers\ **Tags:** ftc, amazon, advertising\ **Created:** [September 1, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497 "2026-09-01T03:46:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 3:46am UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/1 "2026-09-01T03:46:05Z")
> **[FTC sues Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of misleading advertisers](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/08/31/amazon-ftc-lawsuit-advertisers.html)** > > The FTC sued Amazon, alleging the company misled advertisers through a deceptive auctioning system. > [@](#): > > _The company has traditionally used a “second-price” auction system, wherein it told advertisers they “only pay the least bid amount needed in order to win,” the complaint states, citing Amazon’s own marketing materials._ > > _The FTC alleges in its complaint that Amazon in 2019 changed its auction rules without notice by adding an undisclosed surcharge it referred to as a “soft reserve price,” which led to higher ad prices._ > > _“Amazon made this surreptitious change to its auction because it was unhappy about how much revenue its advertising auctions were generating,” the agency said in its complaint, which cites internal communications between Amazon ad executives._ FTC press release: [FTC, States Sue Amazon Over Secret Ad Surcharge Scheme | Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/08/ftc-states-sue-amazon-over-secret-ad-surcharge-scheme) Amazon blog statement: [Amazon’s response to the FTC’s lawsuit regarding Sponsored Ads](https://www.aboutamazon.com/company-news/amazon-ftc-sponsored-ads-lawsuit-response) ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 3:54am UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/2 "2026-09-01T03:54:07Z")
This piece does a good job of clarifying that Amazon’s “customers” who have been (allegedly) harmed are _Sellers_–who might then be passing their advertising losses on to Amazon shoppers. > **[Amazon rigged billions in ad pricing, lawsuit from states and US watchdog...](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgy91nvy27o)** > > Amazon responded to the lawsuit, arguing the US Federal Trade Commission "misunderstands" their ad market. > [@](#): > > _The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bipartisan group of 22 states has filed a lawsuit alleging Amazon secretly overcharged more than a million advertising customers by manipulating online auctions it uses to set ad prices._ > … > _The complaint accuses Amazon of secretly charging advertisers more in so-called “second price” auctions, whereby prospective advertisers expect to pay one cent more than the next highest bidder for each bid they win._ > > _But in practice, the complaint alleges, Amazon has charged its Sponsored Products advertisers their own winning bid close to 80% of the time._ ---
**Author:** ![dwat0870](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/dwat0870/32/5233_2.png) [@dwat0870](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/dwat0870)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/3 "2026-09-01T15:19:09Z")
I was pretty tied up yesterday but there have been a couple posts about this on the NSFE as well. At least one post there where the OP was actually SURPRISED by this. On the other hand, I’m shocked that anyone would be surprised! Seems to fit the normal play book – make more money… [https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/952dc76c-a245-430d-9253-d51e2009e8c5?postId=a1321f12-efdd-4582-b1be-8168ea6be2c5](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/952dc76c-a245-430d-9253-d51e2009e8c5?postId=a1321f12-efdd-4582-b1be-8168ea6be2c5) ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/4 "2026-09-01T16:09:14Z")
> [@dwat0870](#): > > At least one post there where the OP was actually SURPRISED by this. They must be new. I feel like @ASV_Vites has been warning us about this for _years_. Here’s the actual complaint: [https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc\_gov/pdf/AmazonAds-Complaint.pdf](https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/AmazonAds-Complaint.pdf) And some excerpts: ![51431](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/a/9/a9e0fff5499f97b87ca66477346effebf8e25df1.jpeg) ![51433](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/7/2/724f36b727c6e1fc77b222dae100b69f8850bcca.jpeg) ![51435](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/b/9/b9c442b6c5f059283314f68c4ab68c78de5123f3.jpeg) ![51437](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/b/e/bec13d9fa2a9f39f38362459033d904cda8c3fc7.jpeg) ![51439](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/7/7/77c0a76610160a5706708ca86ead3bd48edc60fa.jpeg) ![51441](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/9/a/9a746b25c01479642ec4ab1e9a33caa9d79d3647.jpeg) To be clear, the FTC alleges that 1. Amazon lured and duped Sellers into higher ad bids by publicly claiming that when the Seller wins the bid, they only pay one cent more than the next highest bidder (second price), no matter how much more their own bid was. 2. In reality, Amazon was “closing the gap” between the two bids by charging hidden and undisclosed surcharge fees (soft reserve fees) to the winner (contrary to how Amazon promoted their bid process) that Amazon claimed in internal discussions would ensure that ad bids were more commensurate with “market value”. 3. Further, Amazon intentionally hid this surcharge process from Sellers because they thought that disclosure would lead to lower bids…and less revenue (someone literally said “we are leaving money on the table”). ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/5 "2026-09-01T16:21:08Z")
> **[Amazon Sued by FTC and 22 States Over Alleged $20 Billion Advertising...](https://www.aol.com/articles/amazon-sued-ftc-22-states-143009000.html)** > > Amazon is facing a new federal lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of secretly manipulating its advertising auctions and overcharging more than 1.2 million advertisers by more than $20 billion. The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general... ![51445](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/2/f/2f4622c9257f4fa3e8cc7c21b66595bc62b45164.jpeg) ![51448](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/a/2/a25e4896e892f8ac5f4c07bac59252dc646e6111.jpeg) ![51451](https://sellersasksellers.com/uploads/default/original/3X/2/7/27bd542850af4cc552428adc7fdbadd8b657d6f2.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![ASV\_Vites](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/asv_vites/32/48_2.png) [@ASV\_Vites](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/ASV_Vites)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 4:31pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/6 "2026-09-01T16:31:00Z")
Where do we sign up for our refund? 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Lost\_My\_Marbles](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/lost_my_marbles/32/2919_2.png) [@Lost\_My\_Marbles](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/Lost_My_Marbles)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 4:53pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/7 "2026-09-01T16:53:28Z")
> [@ASV\_Vites](#): > > Where do we sign up for our refund? You shouldn’t be drinking so early … 😏 ---
**Author:** ![ASV\_Vites](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/asv_vites/32/48_2.png) [@ASV\_Vites](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/ASV_Vites)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/8 "2026-09-01T17:22:01Z")
I’m drinking for different reasons. Watching our bottom line vanish due to out of control Ad spending by our guy, fuel surcharges, increased freight to FBA, declining sales, increased stress and anxiety. Good times! Where’s that robin to peck my brain out? This has been a tough year to compete. Sales are flat and profit is plummeting **📉** ---
**Author:** ![Dogtamer](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/dogtamer/32/4766_2.png) [@Dogtamer](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/Dogtamer)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/9 "2026-09-01T18:11:10Z")
> [@dwat0870](#): > > … > At least one post there where the OP was actually SURPRISED by this. > … > [@papy](#): > > They must be new. I feel like @ASV_Vites has been warning us about this for _years_. The OP of that “Shrieking Horror Show” post isn’t new - like many, they’re just using a handle that we hadn’t seen before the NSFE’s advent; she’s also a member of SAS. * * * Our friend Steve has indeed been remarking on this sort of shenanigan for a _long_ time, as has many another Sponsored Ads user (and some agencies, to boot); it’ll be interesting to see if Amazon suffers anything more than another mere hand-slap when this is finally adjudicated. ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2026, 8:51pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/10 "2026-09-01T20:51:37Z")
> [@Dogtamer](#): > > The OP of that “Shrieking Horror Show” post isn’t new - like many, they’re just using a handle that we hadn’t seen before the NSFE’s advent; she’s also a member of SAS. Ah! Then my apologies 😅 ---
**Author:** ![lake](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/lake/32/66_2.png) [@lake](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/lake)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/11 "2026-09-02T01:26:14Z")
I was never of the impression that there was a real auction and that any information recommending a bid was based on fact. This is the internet, and to actually provide actual accurate data would be heresy. I guess the FTC has a different understanding. I wonder how far they might drive a quest for accuracy and honesty? ---
**Author:** ![joebcrafts](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/joebcrafts/32/488_2.png) [@joebcrafts](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/joebcrafts)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 2:21pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/12 "2026-09-02T14:21:26Z")
I stopped advertising on Etsy when they took control of the bids. One must trust the company providing the advertising space, **that stands to profit off you** , bid only just enough for you, didn’t bid against you, didn’t have you bid against yourself to increase the bid, and didn’t just say this was what the winning bid should have been because money. Yeah, the whole buy advertising where you have no real control over how much you’ll spend (you set a max per day and amazingly it is all gone every day) nor a way to prove your ad was even seen is completely on the up and up… sure it is. ---
**Author:** ![Image](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/image/32/55_2.png) [@Image](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/Image)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/13 "2026-09-02T21:03:18Z")
> [@joebcrafts](#): > > …nor a way to prove your ad was even seen is completely on the up and up… sure it is. This is our biggest problem, with advertising with ANYONE. No transparency at all ever. We used Woopra on our eCommerce WordPress websites. We caught Google Gaming the System, shut that down and never looked back. Amazon advertising has the same issue no transparency, no way to hold them accountable for cheating the system. We do one very small ad, and our ROAS ranges from 13 to 80. However, this product is a micro niche item. Frankly, it may not even need the ads since no one else sells it. Of course they (Amazon) misleads advertisers, they make way more money selling adds to people that do not understand the difference between Sales and Revenue. Let alone calculating Profits from those items. To most CoGS and Overhead, are something to do with a flying train. It is that foreign to most Amazon sellers. IMO. ---
**Author:** ![VTR](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/vtr/32/14279_2.png) [@VTR](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/VTR)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/14 "2026-09-02T21:59:24Z")
> [@lake](#): > > I wonder how far they might drive a quest for accuracy and honesty? This is America, the quest for accuracy and honesty is probably directly/indirectely proportional to SuperPAC contributions. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Amasucker](https://sellersasksellers.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/a8b319/32.png) [@Amasucker](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/Amasucker)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/15 "2026-09-07T17:20:23Z")
But, but … Amazon _said_ that they’ve done nothing wrong, and this is all just a big misunderstanding. Don’t you trust them, after all the things they’ve done to – um, I mean, for – you? ---
**Author:** ![VTR](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/vtr/32/14279_2.png) [@VTR](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/VTR)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/16 "2026-09-08T17:18:33Z")
Yup, yup. Fake news. Nothing to see here. ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/17 "2026-09-08T19:14:42Z")
These are the states participating, as of now: - Alaska, - Arizona, - California, - Colorado, - [Florida,](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/22) - Idaho, - Illinois, - Indiana, - Iowa, - Kentucky, - Louisiana, - Maryland, - Nebraska, - New Jersey, - New York, - North Carolina, - Oklahoma, - Pennsylvania, - Rhode Island, - South Carolina, - Vermont, and - Washington If you’re one of the “over 500,000 small- and medium-sized businesses” that has been affected but your state isn’t participating yet, it might be worthwhile to contact your state’s AG office. Especially if you have good, simple records (screenshots, spreadsheets, reports, etc) to back you up. ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/18 "2026-09-12T18:36:05Z")
> **[ChatGPT Pricing Euphemism Backfires on Amazon](https://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/abblog/blog.pl?%2Fpl%2F2026%2F9%2F1788662034.html)** > > Companies may try to obfuscate bad news, sometimes through the use of euphemisms and creative wording. We've seen ... ---
**Author:** ![primetime](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/primetime/32/1419_2.png) [@primetime](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/primetime)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 5:28am UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/19 "2026-09-17T05:28:58Z")
This article is not available due to the Steiner’s shutting down the site. Can you summarize what it was about? It’s too bad there aren’t archives available on their site but I guess they are not interested in funding the continuance of it. ---
**Author:** ![papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/user_avatar/sellersasksellers.com/papy/32/7639_2.png) [@papy](https://sellersasksellers.com/u/papy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497/20 "2026-09-17T19:36:54Z")
Hm, no luck on Wayback Machine, so I’ll keep looking. > [@primetime](#): > > It’s too bad there aren’t archives available on their site Yes! I didn’t think that stopping publishing would bring everything down, at least not immediately. * * * ETA: I think–and I’m dealing with food poisoning so might not be recollecting correctly-- @primetime the Ebytes post was about calling the auction second prices “soft reserve” prices. The euphemisms of grift. [Next page](https://sellersasksellers.com/t/cnbc-ftc-sues-amazon-accusing-the-e-commerce-giant-of-misleading-advertisers/7497.md?page=2)