But exclusivity contracts is not what's in question here, which preclude you from selling elsewhere (as opposed to selling elsewhere but at a lower price). Also exclusivity contracts usually come with minimum volume commitments (since you're locked in). That's quite different than third-party sellers on Amazon.

And it usually has to do with brand perception. Nordstrom doesn't want you selling that same product at Target because it devalues the brand.

To add, both parties usually get additional value out of an exclusivity deal, which is why they voluntarily enter into an arrangement.

In the case of Amazon though (and I caveat this with the fact that I’m not aware of the full details) this is about being able to sell on Amazon at all, there are no extra perks involved for the sellers.

Based on the details of the suit and the anecdotes here though, it doesn't sound like Amazon actually drops the product. They withhold it from One Click or reduce its listing.

The analogy in a retail setting might be losing your signage or being yanked from a good location.

> being yanked from a good location

"Reducing the listing" can potentially mean being pushed to page 23 of search results. In retail, that would be equivalent to never leaving the warehouse, available only upon specific request by a customer.

Absolutely -- usually the value for the seller is a guaranteed (depending on exact terms) minimum volume of sales through a successful channel.