De Coster et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc.

Selling on Amazon
1

Got this class action notice today. Almost missed it because it went into my spam box. Just curious which database my email address came from…seller or buyer or both? Any sellers with a separate unlinked buyer account get this notice?

Maybe a gift card before Christmas 2028? Any sellers with a separate unlinked buyer account get this notice?

EMAIL NOTICE

If you purchased five or more new physical goods from third-party sellers on Amazon’s marketplace on or after May 26, 2017, you may be a class member in an ongoing class action lawsuit.

For more information about the lawsuit, read below or visit Link removed.
Para una notification en Espanol, visitor Link removed.

A federal court authorized this Notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.
Who’s included? You could be affected by a lawsuit against [Link removed], Inc. The Court ordered this notice and decided that the lawsuit should proceed on behalf of a group of people that could include you (the “Class”). The Court has decided that, unless you request to opt out (exclude yourself), you are a member of the Class defined as: all persons in the United States who on or after May 26, 2017, purchased five or more new, physical goods from third-party sellers on Amazon’s marketplace.

What is the lawsuit about? The name of the lawsuit is De Coster et al. v. [Link removed], Inc., and it is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington (Case No. 2:21-cv-00693-JHC).

A group of consumers (“Plaintiffs”) have filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon violated federal antitrust laws by using its market power to impose and enforce an anti-discounting policy on its third-party sellers that allowed Amazon to charge higher commission fees and caused higher prices for goods sold on the Amazon marketplace by third-party sellers. Specifically, Plaintiffs claim that Amazon violated the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. Plaintiffs are seeking money damages for purchasers and changes to Amazon’s policies and practices. Amazon denies any wrongdoing, and the Court has not yet decided whether Amazon did anything wrong.

Who represents the Class? The Court has appointed the law firms of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Keller Postman LLC, and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP to represent the Class (“Class Counsel”). If you are a member of the Class, Class Counsel is representing your interests in the lawsuit. You don’t have to pay Class Counsel to participate. You may hire your own lawyer to appear in Court for you at your own expense.

What are your options? If you want to be included in the Class and this lawsuit, you do not need to do anything, and you will be legally bound by all of the Court’s orders and Court’s judgment, whether favorable or not. You also keep open the possibility of getting money or benefits that may come from a trial or settlement. If you do not want to participate in this lawsuit against Amazon or if you want to keep any right you may have to sue Amazon on your own over the legal claims in this lawsuit, you need to exclude yourself (“opt out”). If you exclude yourself, you cannot get money or benefits, if any are awarded, from this lawsuit in the future. Your request to opt out must be submitted by August 31, 2026. Go to Link removed for more information on how to opt out.

Where to get more information? This notice is only a summary. For more information on this lawsuit, please visit Link removed or call (877) 238-1874.

You may also obtain information regarding the lawsuit on the Court docket in this lawsuit, for a fee, through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at Link removed or by visiting the office of the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, 700 Stewart Street, Suite 2310, Seattle, WA 98101, between 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE OR CONTACT AMAZON, AMAZON’S ATTORNEYS, THE COURT OR THE COURT CLERK’S OFFICE TO ASK ABOUT THIS LAWSUIT.

2

I’ve purchased so much from Amazon. Why wouldn’t I also get this email?

3

I have over a dozen ASINs deactivated because Amazon wants me to drastically lower my price. I’ve heard reports of many others experiencing the same thing.
Has anyone actually had Amazon force them to price higher???

4

I was going to post this also. Got the email this week but its been one of those weeks!

5

Our buyer and seller accounts are not linked. We don’t remember seeing this come through either account email … and we regularly buy from Amazon.

6

After seeing this thread, I found this in my spam folder. Interestingly, I also found another class action notice in my spam folder relating to google from the end of May…

I wonder how many other notices I never saw because I never look in my spam folder.

7

I checked business e-mail and two separate buyer accounts; didn’t see this in inbox or spam folders on any of them.

8

Is it a GMAIL account? You just answered your own question. LOL

9

Yeah the lawyers who send these notices don’t care about email compliance and spam protocols so most notices end up in the “bin”

10

I also received this email a couple days ago, I believe it was for our buyer account that was not linked to my seller account, because I only made purchase on the buyer account that’s linked to my seller account couple times - just to be able to use gift cards I received from Amazon for doing survey, etc.

11

I recall seeing a MSM news piece about this Class being certified last fall, and I’ve seen it mentioned over in the NSFE a time or two, such as in this 042826 discussion:

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/11a07570-2ee5-40de-9195-23e72d55befe

So far, only a few of our Buyer accounts have received direct notification.

12

We got one but again, discovered it in our trash after you posted. Thanks for the public service!

Along w/ most of the commentors-isn’t a reason I’d sue Amazon! What about their co-called “Fair Pricing” Policy which cripples many vintage booksellers and others that have been forced out of the market by their arbitrary pricing. IMO, seems like this will go nowhere.

13

The bulk of my Amazon purchases are sold and fulfilled by Amazon.

Did not receive the notice. Usually I only get class action notices when a settlement has been agreed on.

I suspect this lawyer is hoping to build a big enough class to pressure Amazon to settle.

I hope that Amazon holds firm and goes to trial on this case.

14

Class has already been certified by the court. Email is not soliciting people to say “me too,” only notifying them of the case at hand.

I doubt amazon will settle no matter how big the class is.

Considering that amazon does suspend the sellers asin for “price too low” there is a solid argument to be made.

15

Notification usually occurs after a settlement has been agreed upon, since it costs money to manage the class, and the lawyer usually wants to defer any costs until they have reason to believe they are going to get paid.

I am far more likely to expect some form of strategy is in play.

16

Could this actually be a reference to the policies that discouraged lower prices on other marketplaces and websites, keeping the Amazon price lower or equivalent to other outlets.

Sellers pricing must account for higher fees, so the Amazon fee structure and lowest-price pressure affected pricing everywhere and discouraged lower prices elsewhere; in order to keep a live offer on Amazon.