Toy Safety Certification Denied + Product image rejected
I spun this off of the other thread because now we’ve got a different issue going on.
I had a request for Safety certification for 4 ASINs. 2 were LEGOs and 2 were Breyer horses. I got the 2 LEGO certs from their website, and the 2 Breyer horse certificates from my Breyer sales rep. All items we sell are purchased wholesale straight from the manufacturer, 100% above board.
I’ve only gotten 1 email reply back from my submissions (other than the auto-acknowledged “it might take us awhile to process because we’re overloaded with emails”…
It is as follows:
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Thank you for your document submission but please be informed that currently we are not accepting Certificates, but only Test Reports that comply with the concerned standards. Ok so they want the actual lab sheet, this should be interesting as the lab that Breyer uses is in China, which will probably be their next reason for rejection
In order to review your submissions without further delay please resubmit into this case the missing documents:
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A testing report confirming that your product was successfully tested to the standards listed below by a CPSC-approved laboratory:
i) ASTM F963-16 / ASTM F963-17
ii) The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) -
Please be informed that we can only accept genuine images. Therefore, kindly take clear photo of the product and product packaging clearly displaying:
i) Manufacturer name
ii) Manufacturer address
iii) Warning label (as applicable)
Also we noticed that the product packaging images provided by you does not match with the images of ASINs in the detail page. Therefore, kindly provide the right product package image to proceed further with the review.
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I have several of these in stock. The item itself is identical. I have 2 different package varients (differing only in the placement of the choking warning on the face of the otherwise identical package. Looking on Amazon, there is yet a 3rd variant with a slightly different placement of the choking warning. OMG this is insane, the item is 100% authentic, I have an invoice from Reeves (Breyer) showing it was purchased from them, so what is the issue?
I can probably get the actual lab results for these 2 Breyer items. Not sure on the LEGO ones. But if the placement of the choking warning on my 2 items is different, how am I going to deal with that?
PS All 4 of these items are sold direct to consumer via Amazon FBA, by Amazon. I have invoices from the manufacturers showing that all these items were purchased legitimatey. This is insane. Either they’re trying to reduce the competition here by making us jump through impossible hoops, or ??
I actually deleted all 4 ASINs on Monday, as they hadn’t approved them in time and I didn’t want to get penalized. I don’t even care about these 4 items at this point, but don’t want my account shut off. I’ll try to get the lab results and see if I can appease them on the photographs. Can I just tell them “I don’t want to sell this item any more, please close this case?”
Ugh. I’ll try to post pics when I get to the store…
71 replies
Seller_nstkdGWZl0SW0
With LEGO they have different packaging based upon where it was sold. These differences might matter for the item and ensuring the testing is done for American versions. I suspect after reading this, Amazon is cracking down on people buying internationally and listing under American listings.
If the packaging varies from the listing, you may be required to have the listing cleaved.
I would get the captive catalog and feeds people on the phone and see if they can give you some insight.
Seller_EPJQ1xQmX18hq
This whole process doesn’t seem very well thought out. They are clearly using this process to eliminate counterfeits, retail arbs and any unauthorized sellers. Meanwhile, legit sellers are caught up in the dragnet. I spoke with my account rep at a toy company and she said they were flooded with requests from Amazon sellers trying to obtain the correct documentation.
This feels as if Amazon is going on a fishing expedition at the wrong time of year, with little idea what these documents actually look like. As the original poster said, sometime the manufacturer changes the box design or placement of labels and those little details seem to confuse the army of people Amazon must have hired to flip through all these documents and photos. I bet the vast majority of people reviewing this documentation have never seen it before.
Amazon really needs to vet its sellers and listings more carefully upfront. If I had to provide safety certifications, invoices and any business documentation first, before uploading a listing, Amazon would solve 90% of its problems. Now that the horse is out of the barn, they are running around trying to corral the wild beasts.
The end result of all of this will be a reduced number of listings and discouraged legit sellers.
Seller_oHZY4JYt1nrm5
I hope you do not have to wait for an official reply until after Christmas.
That should be your primary consideration when dealing with Amazon.
Gross incompetence is secondary with Amazon.
Now I know why sellers shut down.
Seller_mgUpZ4SvgN1q3
I sent Susan a message to see if she can assist.
Seller_VK3wD5xzJYa9l
ASTM F963-16 / ASTM F963-17
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
These 2 tests did not start until April 30, 2017
I got one on this lego LEGO Juniors Fire Patrol Suitcase 10740 B01KJENV48 and pulled the form from lego’s web site. They rejected that form so I contacted lego and they had the updated one to show ASTM F963-16.
I replied with that form and also pointed out that AMazon sells this lego and should also have this information.
As you can guess they rejected it again.
If they are going to reject these safety forms that are legit from 1 seller you think it would trigger them to either request it from every seller listed or they should shut down that asin. This could be the demise of half the toy catalog.
Seller_tKDQPHx6oqxCy
@CHaoZZ
Hello
I’ve sent in the Lego certificates at first and then images as well. Looking at the previous reply that it was rejected anyway again I may be in the same boat. Can you post the message they sent when they rejected the second time? I already deleted the items to be complaint but how do I reply to close the case out?
Seller_tKDQPHx6oqxCy
@CHaoZZ
How did you reply? If you don’t the case remains as action required? I’m not sure what your message from Amazon is asking for about reinstatement in the US? Do they want us provide actual lab tests when they are already tested? Thank you
Seller_3N7yVnTXPzLkL
Amazon usually treats the latest version of a product as if it was the sole version.
If your packaging is an earlier version of the product, it may not have as @CHaoZZ suggests met all of the current standards.
You may be an honorable seller, do everything by the book, and still have product that Amazon considers unsafe.And having the correct picture is the only way Amazon knows your product is the one which has met the safety standard.
In a world dominated by bureaucracies charged with protecting the consumer, life is really complicated for even a small retailer.
We do not need to debate the merits and drawbacks to regulation on this forum.
