Withholding Payment for Abusive Listing / Update to CA Sales Tax / New NCX Rate

Hello All,

1) If you purposely abuse the Amazon system with variation abuse, by creating listings that you know are restricted on Amazon (i.e. E-cigs) or any such types of abuse – aside from suspension, Amazon can withhold your money permanently, and you will have no recourse as your causing Amazon substantial damage when this happens.

2) New and interesting: “This product has been identified as a weighted blanket that makes prohibited medical marketing claims. Products that make such claims may not be legally marketed without prior FDA review and approval. Amazon policy prohibits the listing or sale of all products that have not been cleared or approved by the FDA for over-the-counter use.”

3) Inventory ahead can manage all aspects of your online-selling business including accounting. Their software can streamline purchasing from suppliers; receiving it at your warehouse (multiple warehouses supported right out of the box); sending to Amazon; managing ads; calculating your actual profits. Sign Up  (sponsored)

4) New! “Your offer of XX has been closed because the negative customer experience (NCX) rate on recent orders—returns, refunds, customer service contacts or one-star product reviews—is considerably higher than for similar products. Click on either of the links below (or copy and paste the link into a browser) for more details, including the NCX rate and recent customer comments.”

5) New language: “Hello, We have removed your selling privileges, canceled your listings, and placed a temporary hold on funds in your seller account. Any new selling accounts you open will be closed. We took these actions because you have listed products in an evasive manner, provided misleading catalog information, or created duplicate listings for the same products to circumvent the adult flag. Sellers on Amazon are not allowed to circumvent our policy on listing adult products.”

6) New Language and very unusual. Likely unique circumstances: “You have listed items that are not allowed to sell by the manufacturer, you may not sell these items on Amazon.com. We removed one or more of your listings:”

7) Some sellers received this offer at no additional fee:  “You are eligible to participate in a pilot program to explore the benefits of a single shipment destination for your oversize products. If you take part, you’ll be asked when creating a shipment plan to send your small oversize, medium oversize, or large oversize items to one receive center, rather than to multiple destinations. This option would be simpler, more efficient, and more cost-effective for your business…”

8) “California Treasurer Urges Governor to Halt Tax Department’s Unlawful Pursuit of Back Sales Taxes from Small Amazon E-commerce Businesses” (HT OMG)

9) Helium 10 6-part weekly workshop will begin next week on April 4th. Sign up for the free, training webinar starring Kevin King, and Manny Coats.

10) New!!! “Hello, We are contacting you because you may have misused the best seller rank feature on our site. Sellers on Amazon.com are not allowed to:

— Solicit or accept fake or fraudulent orders
— Place orders for their own products
— Compensate buyers for purchasing their products (including claim codes)
— Make claims about a product’s bestseller rank on the product detail page”

Good Shabbos – Ed Rosenberg – ASGTG – The Voice of the Seller