Potentially affected is not the same as eligible
No eligibility rules, covered date range, distribution formula, settlement, or refund program exists. The government’s population estimate cannot be converted into a claimant count.
Advertiser groups that may be relevant
The complaint and FTC announcement describe U.S. advertising customers broadly. Amazon’s current Sponsored Products materials identify several kinds of eligible advertisers, but current product eligibility does not prove that every historical campaign used the challenged mechanism. Federal Trade Commission Amazon Ads
Third-party sellers
Sellers that purchased Sponsored Products or other implicated Sponsored Ads are a central population described by the government.
Brands and vendors
Professional sellers, vendors, and book vendors can use Sponsored Products under Amazon’s current documentation.
Agencies
An agency may operate campaigns, but who contracted, was billed, and funded the advertising could affect who owns any future claim.
KDP and book advertisers
Amazon currently lists KDP authors among Sponsored Products users. Historical coverage remains a campaign-level question.
Non-seller advertisers
A conventional Seller Central account is not necessarily required; vendor-side and agency-managed advertising may also be relevant.
Advertisers outside plaintiff states
The FTC is a federal plaintiff and alleges nationwide effects. State-specific remedies may still have geographic limits.
Which advertising products are implicated?
The FTC identifies Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Display Ads. Sponsored Products receives especially detailed treatment. “Display Ads” should not automatically be read as every Amazon DSP transaction, every open-web display auction, or every current Sponsored Display placement. U.S. District Court filing via FTC
Questions that could matter later
- Which Amazon Ads account and billing entity purchased the ads?
- Which products, marketplaces, and campaign dates were involved?
- Did the challenged pricing mechanism affect the relevant auctions?
- Who economically bore the charges in an agency-client relationship?
- What relief, if any, is eventually ordered or agreed?
These are practical factual questions, not published eligibility standards.
What records might be worth preserving?
There is no official documentation requirement. Preserving existing records may make later analysis easier, but this is not a claim checklist.
- Amazon Ads account IDs, billing profiles, and associated legal entities
- Historical advertising invoices and transaction or billing reports
- Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Display or Sponsored Display reports
- CPC, click, spend, bid, bid-adjustment, and placement history where available
- Campaign dates and marketplace information
- Agency-client agreements showing who paid or bore the advertising cost
- Archived Amazon Advertising Agreement or other accepted advertising terms
- Communications with Amazon and contemporaneous complaints about unexplained CPC changes
Required context
These are preservation suggestions, not current claim requirements. A future process, if one exists, could rely on Amazon’s records instead.