Lying buyer got item removed
I should start by stating that I have never and will never sell counterfeit goods. A “difficult” customer contacted me over a month after he had received his item to say his item was either defective or counterfeit. I assured him that it certainly wasn’t counterfeit and that he could check the authenticity on the manufacturer’s website, but if the item was defective, he could return it and if tested as defective, then he would get a full refund. Next news is I get an email from Amazon saying they have removed my listing and any further infractions would mean my account being deactivated. I sent the appeals team a wealth of proof of the product’s authenticity, including contact details of my supplier and manufacturer, who would be happy to back me up that the products came from their factory.
Then today I received an email saying that my evidence was insufficient, adding “Your listings for the below item(s) will remain inactive. If we receive more complaints about your listings, we may deactivate your Amazon seller account.” I am absolutely sickened by this. This was one of my most popular items, of which I have sold thousands without a single complaint. The box has an anti-counterfeit checker on it! The buyer knew very well that it was not fake, yet Amazon are so quick to take his side that they will not even look at my evidence properly. I don’t know what to do now. Will I be able to make a new listing for the same product, or will that lead to the loss of my account?
Since the start of the pandemic, business has been very tough, but Amazon seem determined to make it worse. I won’t go into further detail, but this is just the latest in a string of things Amazon have done to make making a profit as difficult as possible!
29 replies
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
Amazon are pretty tough in insisting what kind of information should be contained within an invoice - though to be fair a legitimate invoice would have that info.
Did they say what about your evidence wasn’t enough?
Seller_JvIi7qQwsJOvK
Hello @Stevie_D,
Thanks for posting your concern. That’s certainly not an experience we want you to have.
When an ASIN is taken down for inauthenticity, it will be done only when there are proper evidences. You have mentioned about one particular buyer but there could be other buyers who might have felt the same.
The Seller performance team validates your product reviews, negative feedback, A-to-Z guarantee claims, your communication with buyers, any returns, and any buyer complaints that are directly sent to Amazon’s customer service team before taking any such decision.
This is not recommended as it may lead to account deactivation stating that you are trying to evade the action rather than addressing it.
To properly appeal this, an authorization letter would be required from your supplier which states they are authorized to sell the brand in question as they couldn’t be verified through the invoices.
As mentioned by @Demel, the supplier can be verified through additional documents.
If for some reason the authorization letter gets rejected, this will be a viable option.
I’d suggest that you work with your supplier and send the authorization letter for now as that is requested by seller performance team.
If there is any other additional information requested, post the email you receive so that I or sellers on forum can help you.
Regards,
Ruth.
Seller_xUKHc5xSYJmI4
I have read this issues many sellers face when being accused selling counterfeit goods which is usually instigated by a competitor who decide to damage seller credibility. Usually providing an invoice which matches your inventory clears the matter up but usually takes time to resolve.
We have similar issue at the moment where groups of people play mind games online writing fake reviews, returning products which did not meet the specification because they did not read the product description and now claiming they are receiving not what they ordered also not received claims. We now log any fraudulent activity on the on National Fraud Intelligence systems having registered. Law enforcement agencies UK and overseas share this information to combat internet crime. We have a Zero tolerance against organised crime or fraudulent activity.
Seller_n33KwLeg9XOvi
Sellers seem to be guilty until they can prove they’re innocent. Vaping will always be a tough category. At least only one listing was removed - and not your entire Inventory / Account.
DO NOT DO THIS
Seller_yvjNuhbLzO9WN
Do not be surprised to see Amazon re-activate the same listing and put themselves as sellers on there since you gave them your source.
So many sellers experiencing the exact same issue.
Seller_Pz2ZNt8IUu39T
I had the exact same thing, 1 buyer complains its counterfeit when it’s not. I purchase directly from the manufacturer and had my invoices refused by Amazon too. In the end I had to ask the manufacturer to provide me with a official headed letter stating that I purchase the product from them directly, am licensed to sell it by them, and - most ridiculously - that I had agreed not to tamper with the product in any way.
Took 3 weeks but did get re-instated. Funny thing is whilst this was going on others were selling on the listing. I expect I was the victim of a competitor making bogus claims, but there is simply no way to prove this to Amazon so they will always get away with it. Like most other things on Amazon it’s a complete load of bullcrap and is just part of being on this massively hypocritical platform.
Once you bend over for them nicely and provide them with some special documents, they’ll re-instate the listing I’m sure
Seller_NNu6N2cxhkmYu
Yeah I’ve had a similar problem, customer claimed I had sold a secondhand item as new! we manufacture all our own product from raw material, every item is new, new box, new barcode, new instructions, supplied with a new battery…it’s ******* new right!
customer was unable to provide proof of any problem, didn’t want a return but did take a discount… go figure? amazon though, deactivated the item and would not accept invoices for raw material as proof, they insist on an invoice for the item! so it’s still deactivated.
my question is who’s running the asylum?
Seller_ciCPlj8jygtdi
I obtained further evidence from the supplier, which I duly passed on to Amazon. This included an invoice with full address of supplier, details of goods, details of when purchased and my name and address. They also sent me certificate of Authorization from the manufacturer, stating that they are authorized to sell the product. Guess what? It’s not enough for Amazon! They sent me this email:
" We received your submission but do not have enough information to reactivate your listings at this time. We cannot accept commercial invoices unless they show proof of products purchased and include the supplier information.
Please send the following information for the items listed at the end of this email:
— Supplier information (name, phone number, address, website)
– Buyer information (name, phone number, address, website)
– Item descriptions (for ease of our review, you may highlight or circle the ASIN(s) under review)
– Item quantities
– Invoice date (must be issued in the last 365 days and before15/07/2020
You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible. For ease of our review, you may highlight or circle the ASIN(s) under review."
This is literally exactly what I have just sent them! The Chinese supplier has been very helpful in trying to help me resolve this, but it is frankly embarassing to have to go back to them and say that their invoices and other proof are not good enough. It is obvious to a buffoon that I am telling the truth and that my products are genuine. What is wrong with these robots at Amazon? I have now asked the supplier for a letter of authorization, but I do not believe for one minute that this will be accepted either.
This is the damage that a single spiteful buyer or unscrupulous competitior can do to your business. A single lie and you are no longer able to sell your most popular product. It is heartbreaking and disheartening to be treated in this way when you have done absolutely nothing wrong.
