FRANKFURT, Feb 5, 2026, 18:29 CET
- Germany’s cartel office blocked Amazon from enforcing price caps on marketplace sellers and slapped the company with a €59 million repayment order
- Amazon announced plans to appeal and confirmed it will continue running its German store without interruption
- The watchdog invoked new powers introduced in a 2023 reform and signaled plans to scrutinize rival platforms similarly
Germany’s cartel office has blocked Amazon from imposing price caps on independent sellers in its German marketplace and demanded the U.S. company return 59 million euros ($69.5 million), claiming it profited through this tactic. Amazon plans to appeal.
This move comes as European regulators intensify their crackdown on platform rules that skew competition within online marketplaces, especially where the gatekeeper doubles as a seller.
This is significant because Germany is combining conduct bans with financial penalties, leveraging newer measures designed to hit harder and quicker than drawn-out court battles. Such a ruling could influence seller pricing strategies and how platforms order listings.
Cartel office president Andreas Mundt stated that Amazon “competes directly” with retailers on its own platform. He added that adjusting competitors’ prices should be restricted to exceptional situations, like price gouging — where prices spike abnormally due to scarce supply.
The watchdog revealed that Amazon’s system can limit the visibility of listings it flags as too pricey. This includes excluding offers from the “Buy Box,” the key purchase button that drives most sales, or even removing them entirely—moves that can quickly slash a seller’s revenue. Engadget
The Bundeskartellamt stated that about 60% of products sold on amazon.de reach customers through independent third-party sellers, not Amazon’s own retail division. The agency described the 59 million euros as an initial “disgorgement” — essentially a clawback of estimated economic gains — and warned this amount could increase if the behavior persists. It referenced both German and EU regulations on abuse of market dominance, adding that it worked with the European Commission, which enforces the EU’s Digital Markets Act targeting gatekeeper platforms. Bundeskartellamt
Amazon’s Germany country manager, Rocco Braeuniger, described the order as “unprecedented” and confirmed the company will continue operations as usual while it mounts a legal challenge.
Amazon warned that a strict ban might force it to “promote uncompetitive” prices on its platform, which it says would harm both shoppers and the overall buying experience.
The case poses a clear downside risk for both parties: Amazon’s appeal might limit the scope of what Germany’s watchdog can enforce under its updated powers, yet tweaks to ranking and visibility tools could still influence seller pricing, even if official “price caps” are rolled back.
Germany’s cartel office flagged increased scrutiny on price steering in e-commerce. Back in October, it launched an investigation into whether Temu, owned by PDD Holdings, is affecting prices set by third-party sellers on its site.
