Amazon Used Secret ‘Project Nessie’ Algorithm to Raise Prices

Re:Amazon Used Secret ‘Project Nessie’ Algorithm to Raise Pr... by losteric on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @07:04PM (#37758762)

Price matching refers to lowering prices. That's legal, up to the point of predatory pricing.

Raising prices then checking if so-called "competitors" follow is the illegal part - that's automated collusion, definitively illegal.

There is grey area around intent/motive, but the OP article is clearly on the bad side.

(Also, "standard practice" doesn't mean legal or moral)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Amazon Used Secret ‘Project Nessie’ Algorithm to Raise Pr... by granzymes on Tuesday October 03, 2023 @07:50PM (#37759104)

>Raising prices then checking if so-called "competitors" follow is the illegal part - that's automated collusion, definitively illegal.

This is completely false. Collusion, legally, requires an agreement between competitors. Tacit collusion is *not* illegal, see Brooke Grp. Ltd. v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. (1993).

Amazon can raise and lower their prices all day, algorithmically or not, as long as they aren't calling up their competitors and telling them to raise their prices too.

[ Parent | on HN ]