Amazon refunded every buyer and contacted them stating I sold them fake items, which were very much so not fake.
All orders revolving around the Ms. Rachel doll were refunded by amazon without any mention to me at all. All buyers received a refund as well as an email from Amazon stating that the item was fake.
I provided real invoices from major retailers to be ungated in this category and yet still without any mention to me at all noticed all the orders were refunded to the buyer and money was taken from me.
I contacted a few other sellers who had the same thing happen to them. Every. Single. Order. Refunded to the buyer and a message sent out stating the item was fake.
This seems highly illegal. And how can they say every single doll was fake without doing any research at all? And on top of that just take all the money and not expect anyone to return the items.
This has stolen a couple thousand dollars from me because of this and I know for a fact that others are hurting worse.
Has this ever happened to other sellers before? And if so, is there a solution to this? Or am I just expected to eat the loss and go through the fun of dealing with useless seller support?
Amazon refunded every buyer and contacted them stating I sold them fake items, which were very much so not fake.
All orders revolving around the Ms. Rachel doll were refunded by amazon without any mention to me at all. All buyers received a refund as well as an email from Amazon stating that the item was fake.
I provided real invoices from major retailers to be ungated in this category and yet still without any mention to me at all noticed all the orders were refunded to the buyer and money was taken from me.
I contacted a few other sellers who had the same thing happen to them. Every. Single. Order. Refunded to the buyer and a message sent out stating the item was fake.
This seems highly illegal. And how can they say every single doll was fake without doing any research at all? And on top of that just take all the money and not expect anyone to return the items.
This has stolen a couple thousand dollars from me because of this and I know for a fact that others are hurting worse.
Has this ever happened to other sellers before? And if so, is there a solution to this? Or am I just expected to eat the loss and go through the fun of dealing with useless seller support?
79 Antworten
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
No, you provided RECEIPTS. Retail purchases don't come with invoices.
Because the burden of proof is on you to show that you sourced your inventory from authorized WHOLESALE sources, and are authorized to sell those products on Amazon. Had you followed the rules, you would have no problems doing this; but by your admission, you did not source properly.
Yes. As spelled out in the ToS you agreed to when you signed up. Also, since you cannot prove that your items are legit, Amazon would be placing themselves in a position of legal liability if they returned your funds, as they could be an accessory to Trafficking in Counterfeit items.
It's happened to a lot of sellers who didn't bother to learn the rules. Had you spent some time reading the forums before jumping in, you would have seen many stories such as yours; all ending the same way.
Amazon has made it very clear that the ONLY way to resolve a complaint such as this is to show the proper documentation, including (but not limited to), proper INVOICES, which you do not have.
No, there is no solution to the situation you created for yourself.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
"And how can they say every single doll was fake without doing any research at all?"
They DID research by asking for invoices or receipts.
YOU convicted yourself by sending in RECEIPTS! In court, that is called a confession.
Because you do NOT have a verifiable chain of custody you have no proof of authenticity. By US Law they are not permitted to send you the money for items they now believe are fake or unauthorized sales.
Everything that @Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrwwrote is correct.
"is there a solution to this?"
Maybe, for OTHER sellers. You don't say if they have suspended your account YET, but if you are NOT suspended there might be some slim chance of surviving this even for you.
This is more for any other rookies out there reading this post, but on the off chance you are not suspended, STUDY THE FOLLOWING --
THE AMAZON TWO STEP -- A NEW DANCE FOR SELLERS
More and more frequently Amazon is taking a TWO STEP approach and you are probably caught with not doing one of the steps (or either one!)
You are likely confusing AMAZON allowing you to list (or at least "ungate") an item or category and actually being APPROVED to sell a product. Amazon may have ungated you for a CATEGORY but there can be 100's of brands in the category and they ALL have their own restrictions.
AMAZON is only interested in FEES. They will allow a chimpanzee to list if it means they collect $$$$$.
Additionally, brands that you COULD sell yesterday may be restricted today or next week. Amazon is a moving target to deal with.
DO YOU have an LOA from the brand allowing you to sell on here?
NO, you do not have one or you would not be having this problem.
More and more brands are providing such a "whitelist" of their approved sellers and if YOU are NOT on the list you will be stopped in your tracks and probably hit with an IP violation.
DID YOU source from AUTHORIZED wholesale sources that your rep at the brand says are OK? You DO have a sales rep at the brand, don't you?
NO, you did NOT source from authorized wholesalers.
NOTE the verification is required from the brand that the source is legitimate and authorized, NOT from one of those touted on TikTok and YouTube as having "thousands of brands and products" that assures you that they are authorized.
If you have watched any YouTube or TikTok videos FORGET everything you saw there.
Spend hours/days on Seller U and read the Forum to see all the really creative ways rookies and experienced sellers find to get suspended by ignoring the advice above!
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
If you don't already have the above in place you are probably going to have stranded inventory and a suspended account.
For any rookies out there reading this, please take the following information into account so you don't end up where the OP is!
HINT #1 -- VACATION MODE -- NOW!
HINT #2 -- SELLER U -- NOW!
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
If you don’t want to follow the advice above, go directly to this step and save some time --
HINT #3 -- Start writing your "please help with my Section 3 suspension' letter NOW. It will save you time when you get it.
Pay attention to this recent story in the Amazon 'news' from September 25, 2024.
Sellers were given a 5 day warning that this was being put in place. Sellers have posted that LOAs are required in Europe, so you can see the handwriting on the walls -- this is coming for EVERYTHING on Amazon eventually!
"Updates to listing products with compliance requirements, effective September 30, 2024"
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/headlines.html?id=GTF566XNEPCPXKDM&ref=nslp_at_6_GTF566XNEPCPXKDM_en-US_ttl_rf_recent_news_7
Seller_oOzJBmGMIiDjH
I'm dealing with seller support on this same issue right now. None of my dolls were fake and I have invoices for every single doll I sold.
Seller_JRoDg3Kmefru3
Here is hoping this is an easy fix to show that they were all legit. It is wild that amazon even went so far as to MESSAGE the buyers saying they were all fake too without any research at all.
I have 4 other seller friends that are in the same boat as well. So hopefully a solution to this can be had.
Was 1 bad chinese seller that ruined this whole mess for the rest of us. And well, if amazon wanted to do this in the first place, they should not have allowed us to be ungated in the first place with the documents they requested in the ungate process.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
" I have invoices for every single doll I sold."
NO, you have RECEIPTS because you admit at the start that "I provided real invoices from major retailers".
You do not understand the difference between a receipt and an invoice.
You might want to watch the unit on Seller U about the requirements for invoices, specifically the part about coming from "an authorized distributor." at about the 40 second spot.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/learn/courses?ref_=selleru_athena&courseId=74c81f60-b036-47ad-8851-d0130b7155fa&moduleId=b133c6c0-aa5a-405a-b58f-ac352e7e78c5&modLanguage=English&contentType=VIDEO&category=TUTORIAL&videoPlayer=youtube
Seller_JRoDg3Kmefru3
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh calm yourself down. You don't even fully know the issue. It's getting resolved as we speak.
Seller_JRoDg3Kmefru3
I opened a case in regards to FBM Returns.
Start with email support. That way you can add attachments.
I added in my ungate email, the case ID behind the ungate, the invoices used to ungate with, then my seller health page to show these refunds had 0 metrics dings and weren't even showing as refunds.
Then showed my transaction view page where I searched up the item in question that was all force returned at the same time on Oct 19th.
As well as my inability to file a Safe-T Claim since they were not being viewed as FBM orders.
And all orders that were effected by this.
After that, have them reach out and sift through every useless agent until one wants to actually help instead of spew lies.
The one that helps should exhaust all efforts to resolve and need to escalate the case from there.
Seller_oOzJBmGMIiDjH
Let me know if you get this resolved. I've been waiting for a response for 3 days now.
Seller_oOzJBmGMIiDjH
I am not OP and I know the difference. I am not the one who said the second part you're quoting. What's with all the anger in here?
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
" I am not the one who said the second part you're quoting. "
You are correct. That happened because you dropped into the middle of the posts on this thread. The new NOT improved Forum makes it impossible to keep track of who said what.
It doesn't appear that you have started a thread of your own about the issues you are facing, so start one now to try and find answers.
" I've been waiting for a response for 3 days now."
EVERYTHING is backed up due to all the suspensions for people that simply can't be bothered to read any rules as well as other changes that they have made regarding ‘generic’ product rules.
Amazon time is not anything close to what the rest of the world recognizes as a time frame. That (insert a number) of hours used so often by Amazon can be anywhere from three days to three weeks or even longer.
Honestly if anything less than two to three weeks is 'too long' you are going to have a very stressful AND disappointing time on Amazon.
They are well known for making a snail look fast.
Sit back, relax, and study Seller U so your next message is not “please help with my Section 3 suspension”.
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
"What's with all the anger in here?"
It's frustration having to do with the dozens of posts every day by sellers that have been suspended for NOT studying Seller U and NOT reading the Forum and being suspended as a result. Even a LITTLE time spent here would have a shown them how to avoid a suspension.
Seller_52pUzzgnsLDGs
Read the responses already posted, Larry. You don't need an update, just follow the rules.
SEAmod
@Seller_JRoDg3Kmefru3
Thank you for posting and participating in the seller forums. I am referencing the policy for anti-counterfeiting.
Here are two excerpts from the policy.
- We work with manufacturers, rights holders, content owners, vendors, and sellers to improve the ways we detect and prevent inauthentic products from reaching our customers. As a result, we remove suspect listings based on our own review of products. We also work with rights holders and law enforcement worldwide to take and support legal action against sellers and suppliers that knowingly violate this policy and harm our customers. In addition to criminal fines and imprisonment, sellers and suppliers of inauthentic products may face civil penalties including the loss of any amounts received from the sale of inauthentic products, the damage or harm sustained by the rights holders, statutory and other damages, and attorney’s fees.
- Maintain and Provide Inventory Records. Amazon may request that you provide documentation (such as invoices) showing the authenticity of your products or your authorization to list them for sale. You may remove pricing information from these documents, but providing documents that have been edited in any other way or that are misleading is a violation of this policy and will lead to enforcement against your account.
Seller_OVaHKNw9M8Ya0
I asked for my remaining inventory to be returned to me, Out of 1,000 in sales this last couple of weeks, over $800 went to fees...Who can make money this way, this is on top of them losing thousands of dollars in the inventory I sent them to FBA. I'm done with these crooks, as soon as I get the rest of my inventory back; I'm shutting down this seller account, I'll stay with ebay...slower to sell but at least ebay does not steal my inventory and they don't keep so much in various fees...
Seller_aUbEyzlSSnsDJ
I am pretty sure If you sold them as used like new this would not have happened. You violated policy section 3 I think. You eat the loss.
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY
If you paid tax on it you didnt get an invoice.
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
Not gonna happen. As spelled out in the ToS that you agreed to when you signed up. Besides, absent a court order, now that Amazon no longer has "plausible deniability" to suspect that your items are fake, they are not going to put themselves in the position of Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods.
You need to prove WITH INVOICES that your items are legit before Amazon will release them.
