Amazon Courtesy of Third-Party Sellers in FTC Antitrust Suit

Amazon wants its third-party sellers to know they are appreciated.

At its annual seller conference this week in Seattle, Amazon repeatedly told the thousands of independent sellers in attendance that Amazon sees them as partners. Doug Herrington, Amazon’s global head of stores, told sellers that they are an essential part of the “magic of Amazon.”

The news comes as the company faces sweeping antitrust allegations, including that Amazon is exploiting its relationships with these sellers. In a lawsuit filed last September, the Federal Trade Commission accused Amazon of forcing sellers to sign up for Amazon’s services and pay high fees to the e-commerce giant in order to succeed with its digital store.

Amazon has denied the accusations, arguing that its business practices spur innovation in the e-commerce industry and help lower prices for online shoppers.

Without any direct mention of the FTC lawsuit, Amazon apparently spent this week’s three-day event reminding sellers that it wants them to succeed — on Amazon and off.

Herrington told sellers that Amazon is “going through another evolution” in its approach to what it offers sellers, adding that five years ago he wouldn’t have considered many of these services. Peter Larsen, an Amazon vice president, said the company was working to “bring the best of Amazon to channels outside of Amazon.”

Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of seller services, told attendees that their partnership with Amazon is a “force multiplier… Together we are writing the history of the most successful partnership in retail history.”

It’s still unclear what changes the FTC would like to see, and it could take years to resolve the case. A federal judge has set a trial date for October 2026.

“Does this apply to me?”

Much of the sprawling lawsuit focuses on Amazon’s seller services and how they work with independent sellers who use its platform.

There was little mention of the ongoing regulatory battle at the seller conference—although Martha Stewart, who came to talk about her entrepreneurial journey, did gently attack the high fees Amazon charges sellers to use its services. Those fees are one of several issues raised in the FTC lawsuit. Stewart’s remarks drew applause from the crowd.

Several vendors who spoke to the Seattle Times said they either weren’t following the ongoing lawsuit or thought a resolution was too far off to factor into their day-to-day business calculations. All of those vendors asked to remain anonymous to protect their businesses.

One California retailer compared the legal battle to the ever-evolving debate over TikTok’s ban: It’s important. It’s going to have a big impact, no matter how it goes. But “does it impact me?” the retailer said. “I think people are talking about it, but we have more pressing issues.”

Another seller said he wasn’t concerned about the outcome of the case because a lot could change in the years before it was resolved — even if he worked for the same company that currently sells products on Amazon.com.

Yet another retailer said he doubts the outcome will have much of an impact because regardless of the ruling, Amazon’s influence on e-commerce is already undeniable. Too many businesses rely on the platform to reach customers, and too many shoppers expect the fast shipping that Amazon’s fulfillment network makes possible.

“If someone had to stop them, they should have done it a long time ago,” the vendor said.

Many sellers have labeled Amazon a “necessary evil,” acknowledging that they need the platform to reach customers but underestimating its potential.

Angus Junkin, an Amazon seller who spoke to the Seattle Times after an Amazon media roundtable, had a different take, calling Amazon “the fire that allowed me to get a foothold.”

Junkin, as well as four other sellers who attended the press conference, attributed the success of their business to Amazon’s seller services. Junkin focused on two services — Transparency, which helps small businesses combat counterfeits, and Fulfillment by Amazon, which lets sellers use Amazon’s fulfillment network to make deliveries.

Fulfillment by Amazon, or FBA, is one of the programs examined in the FTC complaint. Regulators accused Amazon of forcing sellers to sign up for the program, in part by limiting access to a “Prime Eligibility” badge to sellers who use the service. The badge indicates to shoppers that their order will be delivered with a free two-shipping guarantee that comes with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Amazon has denied these accusations, maintaining that sellers are not required to use Amazon’s fulfillment services and that they can access the Prime badge by using other fulfillment services that are able to meet Prime customers’ needs.

David Zapolsky, senior vice president of global public policy and general counsel for Amazon, previously said the allegation “that we are somehow forcing sellers to use our optional services is simply not true.”

One seller who spoke to the Seattle Times at a conference this week said he voluntarily used FBA to make deliveries easier for his small business.

Others said they did not use FBA and had to constantly “work around” Amazon’s services.

A third seller, who also didn’t use the service, said Amazon account managers often tried to encourage people to use the service — but no more so than account managers at other fulfillment and logistics companies. Amazon promised plenty of incentives for signing up, but didn’t threaten punishment if they chose not to, the seller said.

Amar Lingala of shipping company ShipGlobal.US said the sellers he works with like FBA because “Amazon doesn’t chase them.”

New features

Some of the new products Amazon unveiled at the Seller Conference were fun — like a new feature called “Where’s My Stuff?” that helps sellers track global shipments. Others were practical — like the announcement that Amazon would quadruple the storage capacity for third-party sellers in one of its programs by the end of the year. Or that sellers could sign up for automatic replenishment of products when their inventory runs low.

Some have gotten creative: Amazon has launched a new AI-powered chatbot to help sellers access information and advice about their store.

But other announcements were sobering. Piyush Saraogi, Amazon’s vice president of fulfillment, told sellers that he knew the transition to a regionalized delivery network wasn’t easy for third-party suppliers. To make the change possible, Amazon built new facilities across the country to put products closer to customers and speed up deliveries. Sellers had the option of spreading inventory across regions by splitting shipments or paying a service fee to have Amazon do it for them.

“I know this has been a big change for your businesses, and I want to acknowledge that we didn’t make it as easy as we could or should have,” Saraogi said.

During the conference, Amazon leaders acknowledged that not all sellers will want to use the same company for every service — while also making sure sellers know they can, in fact, use Amazon for everything.