Amazon pushes up prices across the Internet

Amazon charges sellers increasingly high fees—now often close to 50% of sales through commissions, fulfillment, and advertising costs—which sellers must pass on to consumers through higher prices. The FTC's upcoming antitrust case against Amazon centers on how these mandatory fees artificially inflate prices across the entire internet, as sellers cannot afford to charge less elsewhere without risking removal from Amazon's platform. This system ensures Amazon profits both from the fees themselves and from the percentage-based referral commission that grows as prices rise.