Consumers accuse Amazon of using fake list prices to inflate Prime Day discounts

Amazon class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Two Amazon Prime members, plaintiffs Cathy Armstrong and Oluwa Fosudo, filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.
• Why: Armstrong and Fosudo allege the company misled consumers with false discounts during its Prime Day sales event.
• Where: The Amazon Prime Day class action lawsuit was filed in Washington federal court.

A new class action lawsuit accuses Amazon of misleading consumers with false discounts during its Prime Day event, according to a new class action lawsuit.

Plaintiffs Cathy Armstrong and Oluwa Fosudo filed the class action complaint against Amazon on Sept. 22 in Washington federal court, alleging violations of state consumer laws.

Every year since 2015, Amazon has invited consumers to enjoy steep discounts on products sold in its online storefront during a short window called “Amazon Prime Day,” the plaintiffs say.

“Amazon promises consumers that during the brief Prime Day window they can get ‘Amazon’s best discounts of the year on millions of products from top brands,’” the lawsuit says.

However, the plaintiffs allege Amazon’s Prime Day is rife with fake sales and misleading “percent off” claims like “Prime Day Deal – 40%” or “44% off Prime Day Deal.”

With these conspicuous Prime Day Percentage Discounts, Amazon promises that, during Prime Day, the discounted products will be sold at a percentage off a purported prior price, the plaintiffs explain.

Amazon Prime Day discounts based on false list prices, plaintiffs claim

However, the plaintiffs argue that Amazon used a fictional “List Price” to calculate the Prime Day Percentage Discounts that Amazon promised as Prime Day Deals.

For example, the lawsuit says a “List Price” of $179.95 was advertised as part of a Prime Day Deal with a claimed 44% discount, even though that price had not been Amazon’s List Price for at least 90 days before the promotion.

Instead, the “List Price” on Amazon has always been much lower than $179.95, ranging from $130 to $160, the lawsuit says.

The plaintiffs claim the inflated “List Price” meant that they and other consumers did not obtain the Prime Day Percentage Discounts that Amazon promised them to draw them into the transaction.

“Because Amazon used a Fake Prior Amazon Price to calculate the Prime Day Percentage Discounts, Plaintiffs and other consumers like them paid more than they would have had the items truly been discounted (i.e., from the actual prior price) with the Prime Day Percentage Discounts that Amazon promised and that they relied on in the transaction,” the lawsuit says.

As a result, the plaintiffs are suing on behalf of themselves and all other consumers who were allegedly duped by Amazon’s fake Prime Day sales. They are suing for violations of Washington’s consumer protection laws and seeking certification of the class action, damages, fees, costs and a jury trial.

Meanwhile, Amazon recently faced a class action lawsuit alleging it misled consumers about their ownership rights when buying digital goods on its Prime Video platform.

What do you think of the allegations made in this Amazon class action lawsuit? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Todd Wyatt of Wyatt Gronski PLLC, Katherine M. Aizpuru and Annick M. Persinger of Tycko & Zavareei LLP and Yeremey O. Krivoshey and Joel D. Smith of Smith Krivoshey P.C.

The Amazon class action lawsuit is Armstrong, et al. v. Amazon.com Inc., Case No. 2:25-cv-01826 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.

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