It has perhaps never been easier to go shopping. Thanks to the infinite reach of the internet, a few clicks and a credit card number can get just about anything you need (or want) delivered to your doorstep. Given the massive potential customer base, it’s no surprise that online commerce sites are willing to fight tooth and nail to be a shopper’s preferred purchasing destination. Just like with a brick-and-mortar store, one of the quickest and most effective paths to an online consumer’s heart and wallet is a big sale.
When it comes to online retailers, there’s currently nobody bigger than Amazon.com. Having long embraced the power of a sale to motivate shoppers, its annual Amazon Prime Day in July has become so anticipated and successful that it’s expanded to four days. However, a proposed class-action lawsuit filed in a federal court in Washington state on September 22, 2025, accuses the e-commerce giant of having Prime Day deals that are less price-busters and more P.T. Barnum. The suit claims that Amazon used fake sale list prices to artificially inflate the savings for the Prime Day sales.
The suit comes on the heels of Amazon’s extremely expensive settlement payout in September over Amazon Prime subscriptions that included a $1 billion civil penalty for violating Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consumer protection laws. With another Prime Day event occurring last week, Amazon’s business practices may fall under even stricter legal and administrative scrutiny.
Savings So Amazing, They Aren’t Real! Wait, What?
The first Amazon Prime Day sale took place in 2015 as part of a celebration for the online behemoth’s 20th anniversary and sold more than 24 million items during 24 hours. Offering Prime Day discounts that offered more sale items than Black Friday became an annual tradition. As the event grew in popularity, it drew more and more media coverage, including breakdowns of the “best deals” by outlets like the New York Times’ Wirecutter, CNN, and Forbes. This is allegedly due to a referral fee Amazon pays on sales directed by the outlets.
During the Prime Day sale, each item displays the current sale price along with a list price that is struck through. Sale items are usually only available at that price for a limited time, which can last for mere hours or until the supply is sold out, sometimes in minutes. These methods, along with others, are identified as scams in the pending suit.
The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court by Cathy Armstrong and Oluwa Fosudo. The plaintiffs claim that they were tricked into buying items during the Prime Day sale because they believed they were receiving savings off the list price. However, they discovered that the list prices for the items they purchased either hadn’t been that high in more than 90 days or had never been that high.
This, they discovered, was a common practice by Amazon for the Prime Day sale. The retailer, they allege, would either briefly raise the list price artificially high or just create a fictional high list price. The plaintiffs also allege that the time constraints and limited stock of the “Lightning Deals” during Prime Day create a high-pressure buying situation that unfairly blocks price comparisons with other online markets like Walmart and Alibaba.
The complaint charges Amazon with violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, breach of contract under Washington law, and unjust enrichment. In what they hope will become a certified class-action lawsuit, Armstrong and Fosudo insist they would not have made their purchases without Amazon’s deceptive sales tactics, which tricked them into believing they were indeed getting special deals.
Better Keep the Legal Department on Speed Dial
Along with a demand for a jury trial, the plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages. In addition, the suit requests injunctive and declaratory relief blocking Amazon from continuing these sales shenanigans during Prime Day sales. Juries can often be sympathetic toward plaintiffs taking on corporate monoliths, but it will be interesting to see how the jury interprets the fact that the list price shown was indeed correct in many cases, albeit in somewhat murky ways.
Amazon can’t be thrilled by the timing of the suit in the aftermath of their $2.5 billion FTC settlement. The FTC ruled that the company was guilty of illegally enrolling customers into its Prime Membership program, which includes access to Prime benefits and Prime Video. Amazon was also cited for making the cancellation process difficult and frustrating. $1.5 billion from the settlement is earmarked for consumers who were forced into illegal Prime enrollments, and the rest is an FTC civil fine. Maybe Amazon can find a good deal on legal representation during the next Prime Day event.
Related Resources
- How To Sue an Online Business (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- What Is the Most Common Legal Remedy for Breach of Contract? (FindLaw’s Small Business Law)
- How To File a Class Action Suit (FindLaw’s Filing a Lawsuit)
