Amazon Touted Fake Sale Prices for Fire TVs, Class Action Suit Alleges

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A proposed class action lawsuit alleges Amazon has deceptively posted fake “limited time” sale prices online for its Fire TVs, falsely suggesting that the products are offered at a discount from their purported regular prices.

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The 29-page Amazon lawsuit says that although the nation’s largest online retailer conveys that its Fire TVs and Fire TV bundles are available for a limited time at a discount from a purported “list price,” the products are in fact not on sale, as the Amazon list prices are “not real.” In reality, Amazon fails to disclose to consumers how long the purported Fire TV sales last and when the stated list prices were actually in use, the filing claims. Per the suit, Amazon never or rarely sells its Fire TVs at the advertised list prices—meaning consumers are tricked into believing they are getting a bargain.

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According to the suit, “everything” about Amazon’s pricing for its Fire TVs is false and misleading, and the defendants’ conduct in this regard is a violation of a March 2021 injunction barring the company from advertising prices that are “false or misleading” or could potentially “deceive or mislead” the public.

“Amazon tricks its customers into buying Fire TVs by making them believe they are buying Fire TVs at steep discounts,” the false advertising case summarizes, alleging Fire TV buyers have “spent more money than they otherwise would have if not for the purported time-limited bargains.”

Advertised sale, list and/or reference prices are important to consumers as they’re more likely to buy a product if they believe they are getting a good bargain, the filing relays. Per the suit, consumers are also more likely to pay more money for something if they believe they are getting a deal, a scenario especially true if they believe a sale will end soon.

The lawsuit alleges Amazon is a “repeat and willful offender” of sharing false sale prices and has done so from at least April 1, 2021 through April 1, 2024, the timeframe in which the injunction was to remain in effect.

“Amazon flouted the Final Judgment’s injunction and brazenly used, and continues to use, fake and misleading [advertised reference prices] to trick consumers into believing that they are getting good bargains and spending more money than they otherwise would have,” the complaint alleges.

According to the suit, the listings for Amazon’s Fire TVs each display a percentage discount, e.g., “-33%,” the sale price, and a stricken through “List Price” that is higher than the advertised price. Though Amazon states online that it will display a list price if a product was bought by customers on Amazon.com “at or above the list price in at least the past 90 days,” this disclosure is false and misleading—“and Amazon knows it”—as the list prices for Fire TVs are not those at which the products were sold in the previous 90 days, the lawsuit claims.

“As of September 10, 2024, most of the Fire TVs were not sold at the advertised List Prices since 2023 but were instead consistently sold well below (often hundreds of dollars below) the List Prices during the class period,” the suit charges.

The Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV bundles covered by the class action include, but are not limited to:

• Amazon Fire TV 4-Series 4K UHD smart TV with Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote (43”, 50”, 55”);
• Amazon Fire TV 2-Series HD smart TV with Fire TV Alexa Voice Remote (32”, 40”);
• Amazon Fire TV Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV (43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, 75”);
• Amazon Fire TV Omni QLED Series 4K UHD smart TV, Dolby Vision IQ, Fire TV Ambient Experience (43”, 50”, 55”, 65”, 75”); and
• All associated bundles that contain these Fire TVs, such as Amazon Fire TV 50” Omni Series 4K UHD smart TV bundle with Universal Tilting Wall Mount and Red Remote Cover and Amazon Fire TV Omni Series 50” with Fire TV soundbar.

The Amazon Fire TV lawsuit looks to cover all individuals who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, bought one or more Fire TVs when such televisions had not been sold at the list price within the previous 90 days.

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