Amazon Just killed a ton of Toy Listings

#1

I know that like me, many of the toy sellers got notifications to provide documentation for product safety. We deal with some direct from manufacture items i.e. Funko however we also sell some older toys (new in box of course) which we have been out of production for 10-15 years so it was impossible to get any data for these. Anyone find this insane that Amazon would purge their toy listings!

This is ultimately hurting the a part of my business as we can no longer use the Amazon platform for anything other than direct from manufacture items.
Any moderators want to explain why this is? You (amazon) is killing a vital segment of the toy and collectable category on the platform.

#2

First, you need to understand that US Child Safety laws are very strict.
That said, laws continually change, and current selling product may be affected. In that spirit, Amazon is required by law to remove any products containing a make-up of chemicals that the US government finds harmful to kids.
Without prior notification - not required by Amazon - they must close out prohibited products from their shelves.
Also, going on right now, there are certain Brand Owners that have been taking a stand against Amazon selling their products.

Neither of these reasons have anything to do with Amazon themselves. They must abide by US laws, as well as the requests of Brand Owners.
Do not blame Amazon.

#4

They have been removing puzzles too, since they are in the toy category. I could see a puzzle that is targeting children, but these are music puzzles for bands that no child would have ever heard of.

#6

It appears Amazon is taking stricter interpretation of liability exposure for these issues compared to other selling forums. I’ve seen hundreds of our items closed over the past month, too. We also primarily deal with out-production NOS toys. Somewhat ironically, Amazon actually specifically recruited us as a seller for space /sci fit themed collectibles more than 10 years ago. I’m not sure how we came to their attention, but we were contacted on the basis of our established reputation in that area. Between safety code issues and the intellectual property complications of documenting licenses for items produced 30-40 years ago, we may be largely moving off Amazon for many areas as well. We are an approved vendor at official Lucasfilm Star Wars conventions, but I haven’t figured out how to get that translated over for Amazon use.

#7

Thanks for some valuable input to this thread! We wondered as well how convention items can be listed to Amazon as well; being most items are not made for retail distro (lack of SKU). We are a WWE Mattel vendor, wrestling figures and items being one of our specialties so new releases is never an issue. Older items that we carry that were released prior to our agreement are harder to figure out. Items that are no longer in license are hard to figure out direction on as well. I.e. Jakks Pacific had the WWE license prior and reaching out to them have been met with a stonewall. There is unlikely any vendors with paperwork for the Jakks line. It’s an unfortunate turn of events with Amazon as this hurts these aspects of the category.

#8

Amazon has wiped out many older toy listings in this initiative and apparently is not displeased with the result.

In my case, these toys have been leftovers offered on Amazon since they were in production, and if I was not so lazy, I would have cleaned them out before this time.

#9

I did supply a letter from the manufacturer authorizing me to sell the products in question.

#10

The manufacturer and the Brand Owner may not always be one in the same.

#11

Experiencing the same and I’m a small seller.

#12

The U.S. brand owner is the one who gave me the letter from the UK manufacturer.

#13

For the toys they are removing I highly doubt that. Funko is a brand they are attacking as well, and Amazon does have access to Funko anything they need.

Removing toys that were made for kids in the beginning, within the last 10 years or so, is a little absurd.

I will be removing at least 200 listings, with multiples in the skus, ebay will enjoy these very valuable items sold there.

Its time to rethink strategy and move some away from Amazon.

Its extremely time consuming to try and take care of anything on Amazon, and daily its something new.

The problem is, no one at seller support will help get anything resolved, and the forum mods are about as helpful as them as well.

It would be different if you could actually get some help from Amazon, where listings will not fix, on the seller side.

#14

This current toy purge has nothing to do with counterfeits or invoices.

#16

@MuskyFishing You are correct, however even having the documentation won’t help if it’s an older listing that has missing or incorrect data.

We sell primarily in the Toys & Games category. We’ve lost over 250 listings due to compliance issues caused by catalog page errors. These have proven all but impossible to clean up.

Essentially, the problem with a lot of Toys listings is that years ago somebody created a detail page that had Minimum Recommended Age incorrect. Then essentially abandoned the listing after starting or completing the brand registry process. We are now the current authorized seller in the USA, we actually have compliance documents that match the actual recommended age of the product, or the listings should be exempt because the product is designed for adults, but the age is set too low. However, because the listing has incorrect data we cannot get it corrected. Last year we had some success, but now it appears that the process is almost entirely automated and we are unable.

Our only choice seems to be to coordinate with the manufacturer, and re-release the entire product lines with new UPCs. This will take a year, and cost tens of thousands of dollars - even though we are the approved Amazon seller, and have the testing documents (or the product are for an older age group). This will cost us about $600,000 in sales in 2021.

As an authorized Amazon reseller for many brands, we have successfully submitted documents for many products also. However, the inability to solve what seems like it should be a simple problem has been costly and frustrating. We are fortunate that we have other outlets.

Mick

#17

Yes I have and all of the toys were sold retail at one time in the USA so therefore had to pass all of these safety tests in ordered for them to be sold. If they are still new in the box then they are new and the only issue I find is that certain items came with pre installed batteries that naturally after 5 to 10 years expire and can leak. But that is a a different issue altogether and easily avoided, and a smart seller lists the toys as such. Amazon also needs to expand the Collectible section for more proper options when listing. The Amazon catalog also is loaded with tons of misinformation which is also causing this issue but when you try to change things and offer proof the “bots” deny you over and over. As far as a comment about Brand Registry and what have you that is also another issue and amazon is mistaken with that many times also and fixing those issues and take many months and sometimes still not properly resolved. I feel your and right now I put my account basically on hold as I am not happy either but not much you can do.

#18

We’re finding that most of the old Funko listings that have been killed off (as well as many other toy listings that have been killed off these past few weeks) were created incorrectly (usually with the wrong Brand or Manufacturer, or having brand info incorrectly placed in the Title, etc.) SO many sellers have no clue how to properly format a new listing (both way back when as well as now), so now the bots are cleaning house on tons of poorly crafted listings.

The uphill battle (which isn’t even worth fighting on many of these older items) is that every item has to be submitted through a Support ticket, with document/photo submissions, etc - and is better dealt with through a live conversation ticket than through a text-based ticket. Which isn’t worth the time in most cases.

Add to that Funko does not allow listing of any condition other than new, so it makes their older stuff extra tricky (and usually dead end.)

#19

I don’t think Amazon (or any of the sellers on this forum who do not sell NOS toys) understand the market for these items at all. These Mattel and Funko and other main brand toys and board games have passed all child safety tests at production and there is no reason not to consider them safe now. They are a large and functioning part of the toy market, not (as Lake states) tired old things that no one wants anymore. In fact, on many of these items the prices have been on the rise over the years.

The problem: Amazon has requested current CPC documentation where none exists and, frankly, there is no motivation for manufacturers who have discontinued an item to go through the certification process again. So asking each and every seller of NOS toys and games to come up with these documents is not functional. It never would have happened. Was Amazon exhibiting a lack of knowledge? Poor management skills? Or just looking for a backhanded way to eliminate a segment of the Amazon retail offerings?

One solution: Each of these toy and game packages prominently displays, in print, notice of their ASTM and other product safety certifications. Why can’t Amazon accept photos of the packaging showing the UPC, ASTM certification, and product identity as proof of CPC?

#20

yes, the same thing happened to me. I basically sell books but had acquired some toys all , new,
including a few large beanies. I just deleted all my toys etc. There are a lot of well versed sellers in this forum so am sure they will be able to help you. Am wondering if I should also delete the few kits I have up.

#21

I have had a couple hundred items in the Toys and Video Games Categories removed in the last few months. A lot of valuable stuff that I will simply (ugh time consuming) move over to eBay. I’ve been here for over a decade - you have to be adaptable to survive in this business, but this is the biggest change I’ve encountered so far.

#22

I think I had a sold out “funko” listing removed. I sold some Mighty Beans like 7-9 years ago.

Currently, I have a “suspected” trademark violation on this item.

B00005QDPZ

[Potential Trademark Misuse ] (Star Wars)

I dunno, Amazon might want to contact Nintendo and tell them that their licensed GameCube game is violating a trademark.

gamec
gamec.jpg795Ă—1024 180 KB

#23

Amazon has kicked off all my toys asking for documentation. Some of them I gave them the bill of sale for proof I purchased them and most were through Amazon or from funko itself and was denied. Even my cards were taken down and most were vintage so I don’t have the bills from the 70’s.