Toy listed as a PESTICIDE! SS can't seem to grasp it is miscategorized!

#1

I am just at my wits end dealing with the morons of Seller Support. They have miscategorized a group of toys as pesticides. I have provided all the evidence they need to see that someone put it in the wrong category, probably so they could sell it without competition, but they just can’t grasp it. They have one ASIN correct, but these, all listed by Ippys Hobbies are listed as pesticides:


https://www.amazon.com/HEXBUG-Hexbug-Fire-Ant-Green/dp/B004C23AW


These have zero to do with pesticides, but I can’t seem to get them to understand and fix it. They just keep telling me that it is a pesticide. How in the world these got cross listed in Toys & Pesticides is beyond me!

#2

Some words in the listing have triggered a bot.

Seller support has no ability to override the bot.

If you are in the USA, take the pesticide online course and pass the test. It is the path of least resistance.

If you are not in the USA, either give up or try to sanitize your listing so the bot does not detect whatever it found.

Then you will have an uphill fight

#3

We had the same issue. A few of our listed had the term “molded”. This was the reply from Brand Registry.

I see that you have used the word ‘‘molded’’ in the product description and bullet points for the ASINs. Please note that words like molded, antimicrobial, antifungal, antibacterial, or other pesticidal claim (for example, products marketed to disinfect, repel insects, remove allergens, or prevent bacteria, bugs, pest, Insect repellents, Mosquito control, Protecting pets from fleas and ticks, Antimicrobials, Biopesticides, Rodenticides, Soil fumigants etc can lead to pesticide restrictions making your listings inactive.

We removed the term and had to wait 24 hrs then reuploaded and listing is active.

#4

SS can’t read or speak English very well or at all. There is very little they grasp.

Take the test as @Lake noted.

#5

But seller support does not have the ability to overrule the bot, and they do not know exactly what the bot checks. They are in an untenable position and have become totally focused on getting sellers to do whatever it takes to avoid this bot, the suspected ip violation bot and who knows what other bots.

The problem is Amazon management or lack there of, and significant bad publicity for their failures in properly policing this site.

#6

I’m not seeing that Product Classification on these Vendor Program-created PDPs that you’ve linked here; all of them that I find to be active Catalog Listings (the Blue version, ASIN B004C23AW, yields a dreaded dog page) are categorized in the same Browse Tree Node: Toys & Games›Learning & Education›Science Kits & Toys - which is of course how they should be classified in Amazon’s Browse Tree structure.

There is nothing existent on any of the currently-available Vendor-created PDPs that could possibly run afoul of FIFRA’s requirements, and each live ASIN’s Offer-Listing page sports Offers from multiple sellers.

I am unable to find a cached version of B004C23AW, so it is possible that there is something that the FIFRA-compliance Amabot detected in your Offer upon that particular Catalog Listing ASIN that is not in compliance - but I strongly suspect, from the available evidence (I’d have to examine your applicable CLRs, or your MWS API query results for applicable reports, to know for sure) that SeSu is yet again incorrect (no surprise, sadly) in telling you that these are goods requiring Selling Application Approval for the Pesticides and Pesticide Device Sub-category (like the FIFRA-compliance Amabot itself - and many another automated mechanism that Amazon employs - SSRs tend to be poorly-targeted - “bug” alone could well be all that ill-trained, off-shored, & out-sourced SSRs are basing such an assertion upon).

I agree with our friends Lake & GenGood’s take upon this situation: at this point, it’s time to act like an electron, and follow the path of least resistance in gaining approval to make Offers in the P & PD Sub-category by passing the Seller University test.

If that does not suffice to restore your Offers upon these Catalog Listing ASINs, please let me know - having had some little experience in successfully jumping through the P & PD hoops, I may be able to offer further advice.

#7

I would love to see a Congressional hearing wherein Jeff Bezos has to explain why it was nearly impossible for a seller of these little hexbug robot toys cannot get unclassified as “pesticides”… and after he tries to explain the exchanges from Seller Support is read out loud to the public.

I am praying this happens before the day I die. lol.

#8

Same way we got hit with it. We were selling a stuffed bug.

Bots rule Amazon and they can’t be wrong. Just suck it up and do the training, there is no arguing with Amazon.

#9

The problem with the bot theory is that they have one of these, the red one (no link above, that red one is for the random color option), without the pesticide nonsense…

The problem with the bot theory is that they have one of these, the red one, without the pesticide nonsense…

So what is this test of of which you speak? I am not sure what to search for so I can figure that out. I did a little googling, but didn’t come up with anything specific.

#10

If you look, the only one with truly multiple sellers is the last one, which may be folks who smarted up and took the test, which I need to figure out where that is. The others have multiple offers by 1 company and I think one other has a 2nd company which is a surplus store and probably already sold bug spray and such.

But, yeah, I need to figure out what this test is now. Not something I’ve needed to deal with.

#11

Amazon bots could easily miss a listing, or have an error while scanning a listing and not find the match.

There is a reason why many theories voiced here seem flawed, the Amazon system is non-deterministic.

#12

Yep, I’ve found 4 out of 5 of the SS flesh bots finally figured out what I meant and sent it to catalog team. That should take till February. The 5th told me that because it wasn’t in my inventory that they could not address it. Ugh. Found the test. I usually ignore everything past Request Approval and didn’t see it. I’ll do that too. Looks like even that can take weeks to get approved after… thanks all.

#13

This is just Bezos being petulant - he is upset that he got slapped for illegally selling illegal pesticides. So inside of doing proper due dilligence. They did it in a way that will annoy the sellers and increase animosity towards environment safety regulations. Its Libertarian 101 - Break It and Blame the Govt.

#14

Isn’t it fascinatingly-disturbing that the Libertarians find impetus via the late Alinsky’s Prime Credo?

#15

The Tea Party is a fan also.
Kudos on bring up someone I have NEVER heard of until now, and I have a huge library of subversive and seditious literature.

#16

Agreed - yet another disturbingly-fascinating piece of evidence that folks are increasingly-drawn nowadaze to embracing Chaos, rather than the long-prevalent tendency to favor Order, as a result of dissatisfaction with the hitherto-prevailing trends of post-WWI Western Society.

Ol’ Saul has gone home, now, but his legacy lives on - a fact which is especially evident in your Golden State’s governance over the last 75 years.

#17

The whole pesticide designation likely resides in the fact your toy is a FIRE ANT and the Brand is HexBUG. The fact that these are not living, breathing biting insects is beyond the Bots limited programming parameters. Unless you remove those “pesky” critters from titles and descriptions, the only option is to take the test.

I know…it’s mind boggling and frustrating and infuriating and many others words I dare not mention.

#18

Yes, the same thing happen to me when I tried to list household sponges! You are not alone. I couldn’t fix it and didn’t list it. Go fixture!

#19

Yes, I’m sure Fire Ant is the trigger. There have been a lot of Hexbug products for years, and this is the first time this has happened, that I am aware of, anyway. So, I MAY be making some headway. I got this response, finally (after reopening the case 4 times) for one of them:

"Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support,

From your email, I understand that you wish remove the pesticide suppress listing for ASIN: B01CJ5FKGM.

I am glad to inform you that, we have checked and reinstate the ASIN by remove the pesticide suppress listing., It will take 1-2 business days to reflect on detail page."

I’ll believe it when I see it, though.

#20

I agree, my friend. Since these Catalog Listings were created by a member of the Vendor Program, it’s unlikely that you will ever enjoy a level of Detail Page Control sufficient to make changes to the Product Title (which would be self-defeating, in any case) - but I sincerely believe that you will avoid future problems of this illogical nature should you gain Selling Application Approval to make Offers in the P & PD Sub-category by passing the test.