amazon took 10 listings down in the last day
These are secondhand products all vinyl records but from the same record label 'Philips' yet this brand no-longer releases music.
amazon took 10 listings down in the last day
These are secondhand products all vinyl records but from the same record label 'Philips' yet this brand no-longer releases music.
20 replies
Seller_mxez2L8QjE6WW
It's not just vinyl. We sell used books (therefore, like records etc. able to be sold on the secondary marked without restrictions), and have one book removed. An auction catalogue from 2000, from Philips the auction house. But we can request approval .... but I need a purchase invoice for 100 unit dated after March 2025. Not easy.
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
I had 70 CD and vinyl listings removed overnight.
It seems anything on the Sony and Philips labels (even 60 year old vinyl LPs!) are being suppressed until we can show them those totally impossible invoices dated in the last six months... :(
The worry here is that Sony also own CBS and numerous other labels and these are also being removed. Used PC and video games from Microsoft and Sony are being targeted too. I guess DVDs will be next.
At this rate there will be no used media available apart from that offered by megasellers like magpie and webuy
It's disgusting the way Amazon goes about this stuff.
Requesting current invoices for long out-of-print CDs and vinyl is as absurd as it is insulting
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
Incidentally, it seems very few media sellers still post on the forum these days.
A few years ago this would have been all over the forums.
If Amazon persist with this it is the end of used media here...ebay will be seeing an influx of new sellers.
Are there any mods about to give advice or send feedback to the powers that be?
Seller_5BmbL9wJF7d3W
Unfortunately Amazon treat used items exactly the same as new items which is why they ask for approval even though it is not necessary. I sell vinyl and CDs and his has been going on for about 10 years now and has never been addressed depite being brought up in the forums many times recently. It is probably because everything is automated the bots don't recognise the difference. Poor programming too. Amazon are so frustrating to deal with and it is almost impossible to get things like this sorted.
Manny_Amazon
Hello @Seller_JIfFwmpEsbJPI,
Thanks for posting your inquiry. I understand that you're running into issues with listing vinyl records due to approval requirements. I definitely understand the frustration. Amazon requires approval to sell in many categories, brands, and products and in some instances restrictions and policies change. As the Amazon catalog grows, we continuously make new determinations on which products should be restricted, which is based on a number of factors. Amazon does this to ensure authenticity and customer satisfaction.
For this reason, you may be required to gain approval to sell certain products. In most situations, a direct invoice from the manufacturer or brand is required. If you do not have access to an invoice I would recommend getting in touch with the manufacturer or brand directly and request written approval to sell those products. A letter of authorisation (LOA) can be a valuable addition to your appeal in these situations if you’re sourcing directly from the brand or their manufacturer.
Regards,
- Manny
Seller_5BmbL9wJF7d3W
Hi Manny, this does not apply to second hand vinyl where there are no restrictions for reselling in the UK. Also, how are we supposed to get invoices for records that were released in the 50s, 60s & 70s. This has been discussed on the forums many times for vinyl and books.
There is a good discussion about this here: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/seller-forums/discussions/t/a28c1eb4-cf84-4eff-986e-1991749a6efc?postId=6258d2e3-1b10-4462-9f47-666e964275e8
Seller_eNZvhCInu7PK6
What a stupid reply. Imagine our letter to Sony. "Dear Sony, may I have approval to sell an old CBS cd of Wagner for £4.99 please? I have had it for 40 years and now it is time to let it go"
What a laugh.
Off to Ebay we all go......
Seller_JIfFwmpEsbJPI
These are SECOND HAND items not available from manufacturer & I'm also an individual seller so cannot sell items obtained from brands & manufacturers anyway
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
Fair enough if you are talking about NEW products but the issue here is that USED CDs and vinyl discs are being suppressed even though it is impossible to obtain current invoices for used, vintage and OOP media.
If this is taken to its logical conclusion, there will be no used media listed on Amazon.
If Amazon intends to stop used and collectable items being sold here, I thnk they should tell sellers before we invest any more time and money into listing more stock.
Seller_AlYpsVHv0gj21
As the Amazon catalog grows, we continuously make new determinations on which products should be restricted, which is based on a number of factors. Amazon does this to ensure authenticity and customer satisfaction.
I realise that you are reading this from a script and it's probably not your personal opinion -- but what an absurd comment you have made!!
It might help if you could tell us what these "number of factors" are.
You might also tell us how these ridiculous measures help with "customer satisfaction"
You might also be able to tell us how to contact a book or record publisher who went out of business 50 years ago.
Yesterday I edited about 100 of my book listings. 11 of them said that I needed "approval" even though they had already been listed for some time. Perhaps you could explain where I can find the time to contact 11 non existent publishers.
I am certain that you ,personally, are doing your best to help sellers but you must understand that this issue has been going on for a number of years. It has been brought up on this forum many times and absolutely NOTHING has been done about it. No real reasons for this policy has ever been given to sellers
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
Hi.
Do you know if Amazon is likely to reverse the suppression of USED legacy Philips and Sony products? That has happened in the past after the automatic deletion system was (presumably) tweaked.
Sony in particualr owns the rights to thousands of long deleted and unavailable CDs and vinyl records on defunct labels like Columbia Records &c.
All this will do at the moment is force legitimate book and media sellers to transfer their attention towards ebay and other platforms.
is that what Amazon wants ?
As a long-standing seller with 100% positive feedback I am not exactly happy about these seemingly random suppressions, especially when I see other (mostly big) sellers with really bad feedback still offering the same ASINs in USED condition.
Seller_eNZvhCInu7PK6
You make an important point. How is it that some sellers like Music Magpie etc etc are able to acrry on selling second hand Philips and CBS cds etc when the rest of us have been kicked off Amazon
Also, Recently I noticed that some Vinyl Labels are listed as Dolce & Gabbana which means you can't list those LPs etc at all.
Amazon clearly want rid of old time second hand sellers - so like you say, it pushes us all onto Ebay.
"Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do"
Manny_Amazon
Hello @Seller_JIfFwmpEsbJPIand all Sellers in this thread,
I understand the frustration surfaced around this topic, and have forwarded this feedback to our partner team. If you have a case ID that is related to this, please share it so I can note it with the team on my end.
Regards,
- Manny
Seller_RAXEWLxQ2dbmN
I find opening cases about gating issues with seller help never gets anything resolved.
My concern is not really about a specific ASIN but is about a site-wide problem with Amazon's algorithms potentially confusing book publishers with other 'brands' with the same names.
