Background
Third-party resellers received an email at the time, warning them that their listings would be removed.
That led to reports that many small and family-owned resellers would be put out of business.
It led to an FTC investigation into whether the arrangement amounted to price-fixing. One anti-trust expert argued at the time that it definitely did.
CNET reports that authorized resellers will be limited to those ‘who handle millions of dollars in Apple products,’ which will eliminate small businesses and individual sellers.
A second antitrust investigation followed in Italy.
“You put a gate around the brand and say all the third-party sellers of whatever that brand is get a notice saying you can no longer sell this product on our platform unless you get authorization from the brand,” Hubbard tells The Verge. “But of course the brand is not going to let you sell if you’re under the [minimum advertised price]. Problem is that it’s illegal under antitrust law.”
Bloomberg reports that a fresh investigation has been opened in Germany.
