A recent class-action lawsuit claims Amazon has been misleading customers about the discounts on its Fire TV Smart TVs by inflating list prices on its product pages.

The lawsuit, first reported by Engadget, argues that Amazon has been tricking customers into believing they are getting significant discounts on these TVs, which violates consumer protection laws.

The claim focuses on Amazon-branded Fire TV Smart TVs, including models from the 2-Series, 4-Series, Omni Series, and Omni QLED Series. The complaint states that these TVs rarely sell at their advertised list price, making the advertised discounts misleading.

It’s important to note that this lawsuit is specific to Amazon’s Fire TV televisions. Stand-alone streaming devices like the Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube are not included in the lawsuit. While these devices often appear to be on sale, their prices regularly revert to their list price for extended periods, which is different from the TVs in question.

The claims in the lawsuit appear to be backed by data from price tracking site Keepa. For example, the Amazon 55-inch Fire TV 4-Series television has reportedly been listed at its regular price only five times in the last year. Whenever the TV wasn’t on sale, a new “sale” began almost immediately, making comparisons to the list price practically meaningless.

This pattern raises questions about the integrity of Amazon’s pricing practices for its Fire TV Smart TVs. According to the lawsuit, these brief returns to the list price are insufficient to justify the advertised discounts, as they give the impression of a constant sale, rather than a genuine price reduction.

Amazon’s Defense

Amazon does have a disclaimer about its list prices, which could potentially protect it from this lawsuit. The company states that a list price means the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above that price within the past 90 days. However, the lawsuit argues that the TVs are listed at their regular price for such short periods that it renders the list prices almost meaningless.

In cases where a product hasn’t returned to its list price in over 90 days, Amazon often replaces the “List Price” with a “Typical Price,” based on the median price over the last 90 days. This switch could indicate an effort by Amazon to adhere to its own definitions and avoid misleading customers.

Amazon has faced legal trouble over its pricing practices in the past. In 2021, the company paid around $2 million in penalties and restitution for a similar case involving misleading list prices. This recent lawsuit could potentially have a similar outcome if the court finds Amazon’s pricing tactics to be deceptive.

What’s Next?

If you’ve recently purchased an Amazon-branded Fire TV Smart TV, it might be worth keeping an eye on this lawsuit. Should the case succeed, affected customers could be entitled to compensation.

Amazon’s approach to pricing will be scrutinized closely as this lawsuit unfolds. A key question for the court will be how frequently or for how long a product needs to be sold at its list price for the discount to be considered genuine and not deceptive. The outcome could influence how list prices are used not just by Amazon but by other retailers as well.

For now, it’s advisable to look beyond list prices and compare products using historical sale prices, which are often more indicative of actual value.

Wrapping Up

Amazon is known for offering major discounts, especially during sales such as Prime Day or Big Spring Sale which oftentimes includes tons of savings on Fire TV devices and televisions.

However, this may change in the future if the lawsuit holds up and the company is forced to pay penalties for their “discounted” items.