Frank, who asked that we not use his real name out of fear of retribution from Amazon and his suppliers, said that's the day Amazon told him his account had been suspended for selling stolen goods.įrank said Amazon didn't tell him which of his legions of products were allegedly stolen or offer any details that could help him track down the offenders. On March 14, his thriving three-year-old Amazon business came to a screeching halt. With so much competition in the marketplace, he viewed it as safer to sell products consumers know and trust rather than promoting an unfamiliar brand. Two years ago, an Amazon seller - we'll call him Frank - shifted from selling home goods under his own brand to running a wholesale business. A review of their invoices, communications with suppliers and other documentation revealed a convoluted web of wholesale and liquidation companies that frequently overlapped, and advertised similar products, including espresso machines from Breville, Keurig coffee makers, Levoit humidifiers, LG computer monitors, Shark mops and vacuums, and Ninja appliances. Each provided us with the names of their suppliers.
Those merchants say Amazon has little interest in offering them second chances or much of an opportunity to defend themselves.ĬNBC spoke with six sellers who were recently suspended. While sellers can get suspended for any number of behaviors, from promoting unsafe or expired goods to providing bad customer experience and using inaccurate product descriptions, no allegation is harder to overcome than being labeled a seller of stolen items. Amazon's recent crackdown serves as acknowledgment by the company that criminals are attempting to use the site as an outlet for illicitly obtained products. Retailers, lawmakers and trade groups have repeatedly called attention to the growth of organized retail crime, saying that online marketplaces have contributed to the problem. Over the past decade, the rapid growth of the marketplace has fueled a parallel boom in counterfeiters and spammers trying to game the system, pushing Amazon to ramp up enforcement. It's such a dominant force in e-commerce that it's often the primary or even sole source of revenue for third-party sellers. To try to get reinstated and save their million-dollar business from potential collapse, they've taken it upon themselves to discover if they unsuspectingly bought stolen goods from one of the many wholesalers, closeout businesses and distributors that supply their Amazon inventory.Īmazon's marketplace of independent sellers accounts for over 60% of goods sold on the platform. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or LowerĪmazon has provided limited evidence to back up its claims, sellers said, leaving them scrambling to find the problematic merchandise.
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