Amazon won’t necessarily wait for a seller to prove their inventory is not fake or illegal before the company will dispose of it, according to a new policy announced this week. It applies to sellers who participate in its Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) program.
“Under the new policy, if we suspect that you may have been engaged in the sale of counterfeit products or other illegal goods, we may require additional information about the affected Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) inventory,” Amazon wrote. That part isn’t new, but it went on to announce: “If you do not provide the requested information, or we investigate and find that the inventory constitutes unsuitable units, we may dispose of it.”
Some sellers aren’t sure that part of the policy is new either.
One seller said they didn’t see a problem with Amazon cracking down on counterfeit or illegal goods – most sellers would welcome it, they said. However, there should be a real, factual basis for alleging a seller is selling counterfeit goods, the seller said on the Amazon Announcement Board comments.
Amazon’s “unsuitable inventory investigations” policy takes effect on March 19, 2021, you can find the announcement on Amazon Seller Central.