On 5 February 2026, the German competition authority prohibited Amazon from excluding offers from third-party sellers deemed too expensive from its main shopfront, and gave it nine months to comply. For those selling shoes and bags online, the question is how much of the price is still up to them.
The seller competes with the platform operator
The crux of the matter is the dual role. Amazon operates the marketplace whilst simultaneously selling on it. “Amazon is in direct competition with other sellers on its Marketplace,” said Andreas Mundt, chairman of the Bundeskartellamt, when presenting the decision in Bonn on 5 February 2026. According to the authority, around 60 per cent of the goods on amazon.de are sold by independent third-party sellers. The press release explains what happens to those who are held under that roof: “For the sellers concerned, Amazon’s intervention in pricing can mean they are no longer able to cover their costs, and are forced out of the Marketplace.”
Key figures
· 15%: the Amazon commission on shoes and bags, in Europe and the United States (2026)
· 59 million euros: the financial gains that the Bundeskartellamt has ordered Amazon to return (5 February 2026)
· 60%: the proportion of goods sold by independent third parties on amazon.de (Bundeskartellamt, February 2026)
· 19%: the median online return rate for footwear amongst members of the British Footwear Association (survey from around 2022)
Brussels, Washington and the shoe commission
This is not the first intervention. In December 2022, the European Commission made Amazon’s commitments regarding seller data and the Buy Box binding. Amazon cannot use non-public information about competitors and must allocate the Buy Box using non-discriminatory criteria, displaying a second offer alongside the first.
In the United States, discussions and proceedings similar to those already described are currently underway.
Amazon’s influence in the fashion sector depends on who is doing the measuring. According to Wells Fargo, as reported by CNBC, in 2024 it accounted for almost 13 per cent of the US clothing and footwear market. PYMNTS Intelligence, focusing solely on clothing, puts the figure at 17 per cent for 2025.
European commission rates fell in December 2025, but only for clothing priced under 20 euros. For shoes and handbags, the rate remains at 15 per cent, in Europe as in the United States.
The returns that eat into the margin
For footwear retailers, the price is merely the first item on the bill. The second is the parcel being sent back. Around one in five pairs is returned. The British Footwear Association reports an average online return rate of 19 per cent amongst its members, in a survey dating back to 2022. Those selling trainers on Amazon report similar figures. ‘For footwear, it’s the same – a return rate of 15–20 per cent, which eats into the margin. A typical consumer product, say vitamins, has a return rate of 3 per cent,” said Griffin Myers to the Snobette newsletter in 2025. Myers founded Ponderosa Commerce, which resells trainers on the platform as a third-party seller.
Fees and returns, when added together, leave little room to lower the price when the algorithm demands it. The Bundeskartellamt has suggested another approach: if Amazon wants lower prices, it writes, it can offer sellers appropriate incentives by reducing fees and commissions. The cost of the discount, in other words, should fall on those who request it.
On amazon.de, the box with the yellow button will remain the same. So too will the ten offers for that pair of trainers. The German ban calls into question who decides the number written next to the button.
On the €80 pair of trainers, the €12 commission is not up for debate. The price, however, is.
Whilst international markets face no small number of complexities, the online market is also fraught with issues and tensions, and here we have considered the Amazon issue merely by way of example. The Market Focus events at Expo Riva Schuh and Gardabags provide the ideal opportunity for discussion and networking to identify and develop possible solutions. The next edition will take place in Riva del Garda from 16 to 19 January 2027.
