Lawsuit accuses Apple, Amazon of colluding to raise iPhone prices

A lawsuit filed in Washington state on Wednesday alleges that Apple and Amazon have worked together to raise the prices of iPhones and iPads sold on the retail site. 

The class-action antitrust lawsuit alleges that Amazon is the largest online retailer of electronics, capturing about 82% of the market and selling Apple products directly while also allowing third-party users to sell new or used devices. The complaint alleges that because Apple and Amazon do not benefit from sales by third-party users, they have been suppressing Apple resellers with a "horizontal agreement that eliminated nearly all Apple resellers on Amazon Marketplace."

According to the lawsuit, just seven authorized Apple resellers now exist on the platform, down from a high of 600. Since the alleged agreement between Apple and Amazon was finalized in 2019, the online retailer has been provided with consistent Apple supplies at a discount of up to 10%. That discount, the lawsuit alleges, is contingent on resellers not being able to sell Apple products on Amazon.