{"id":84431,"date":"2023-05-25T07:43:02","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T07:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sellerlogic.com\/blog\/amazon-marketplace-price-comparison-with-google-shopping-heres-what-sellers-can-do\/"},"modified":"2025-12-04T14:39:48","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T14:39:48","slug":"amazon-marketplace-price-comparison-with-google-shopping-heres-what-sellers-can-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sellerlogic.com\/en\/blog\/amazon-marketplace-price-comparison-with-google-shopping-heres-what-sellers-can-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Marketplace: Price Comparison with Google Shopping? Here’s What Sellers Can Do"},"content":{"rendered":"

The current market leader in the e-commerce world has few competitors that can match it: Amazon has worked hard to achieve this position and works just as hard to maintain it. The online giant is not only known for its reach and size but has also built a reputation for reliability, customer orientation, and speed. But how does one manage to consistently stay number one? Among other things, this requires Amazon to constantly compare prices with, for example, Google Shopping, one of the largest competitors of the shipping giant not only in the German market. Because adaptability at all levels \u2013 especially in pricing \u2013 is a fundamental requirement to always stay at the top.<\/p>

That Amazon compares prices on the platform with competitors to always offer customers the best deal has been speculated by professional sellers for some time. But what about the legality of this price comparison (after all, Amazon is not an unknown company to the Federal Cartel Office) and, above all: How can sellers on such a platform still sell with the highest possible margin? We have the answers for you in this article.<\/p>

How and on which platforms does the price comparison take place?<\/h2>

In the USA, Amazon seems to frequently perform price comparisons not only with Google Shopping but also with many other platforms. Sellers often find a message from the shipping giant in their email inbox suggesting that they make their prices more competitive.<\/p>

\"Here<\/figure><\/div>

In Germany, alongside Amazon, companies like eBay, Otto, and Zalando are the usual suspects with which a price comparison could take place. E-commerce sellers are always troubled by the price comparison between different providers, and for good reason. In this LinkedIn post<\/a>, it becomes clear once again what impact price alignment has on sellers’ margins. <\/p>

But what exactly happens during price alignment and how is it executed? This process can, of course, vary from company to company:<\/p>

  1. Data Collection: To compare prices on both platforms, data about the products is needed. This is usually done automatically through web crawlers or APIs that gather product information from both platforms.<\/li>
  2. Product Identification: The data is matched here to identify similar products on both platforms. This can occur by matching product names, SKU numbers, or similar identifiers. In the aforementioned LinkedIn post, for example, the author was able to determine that the product image (at least in the USA) is often used as an element to find identical products.<\/li>
  3. Price Comparison: Once similar products have been identified, the prices on both platforms are compared. This includes considering the selling price, any discounts or special offers, as well as shipping costs.<\/li>
  4. Updating Price Data: The price data is regularly updated to ensure that the comparison results are as current as possible. Since prices on e-commerce platforms frequently change, it is important to perform the comparison at regular intervals.<\/li><\/ol><\/div>

    Meanwhile, Amazon also involves customers in the process of identifying lower product prices. Through the feedback section on a product detail page, these can be directly submitted to Amazon.<\/p>

    \"Amazon<\/figure>

    Is the price comparison with Google Shopping legal in Germany?<\/h2>

    In short: Yes, price comparison is allowed in Germany as long as the companies involved do not violate any other laws. In particular, the Act Against Restraints of Competition, i.e., German antitrust law, comes into play here. As already mentioned, Amazon is well-known to the German Federal Cartel Office. Moreover, the shipping giant triggers all antitrust alarm bells solely because of the Buy Box concept, as the winners of the Buy Box always capture over 90% of the sales \u2013 did someone say “monopoly position”?<\/p>

    Meanwhile, Amazon has countered: With a second Buy Box on the product detail pages, multiple shopping cart fields are now displayed for at least some products, allowing, for example, FBM offers to have a chance of being noticed by customers. What impact this has on sellers can be read here: Second Amazon Buy Box \u2013 Why everything could change for marketplace sellers<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

    <\/p><\/blockquote>

    As part of the “Big Four” \u2013 Apple, Meta, Alphabet, Amazon \u2013 the BKA is always involved with Amazon in some way, even if it’s just a revision of the laws that facilitate the control of these companies on German territory. Whether the BKA is monitoring Amazon due to price alignment may be the case. However, it is highly doubtful that Amazon would incur a penalty for this. The only possibility for legal action would be the existence of an actual price agreement<\/em> between Amazon and another e-commerce platform.<\/p>\t\t

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    Price Alignment versus Price Agreement<\/h3>

    Price alignment and price agreement are, however, very different concepts:<\/p>