This article applies to selling in: United States

Selling cell phones and cell phone accessories

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Amazon limits the types of cell phone and cell phone accessories products sellers can list to help ensure that customers are able to buy with confidence from all sellers on Amazon.

The requirements for selling these products reflect customer concern for product quality, product branding, and consumer safety. Adherence to import and export restrictions is also important for ensuring that customers can purchase authentic, high-quality cell phones and cell phone accessories.

Sellers must meet the requirements below in order to list in the Cell Phones & Accessories category.

General requirements

New cell phones and cell phone accessories must be listed using the manufacturer's Universal Product Code (UPC).

Product quality

All new, U.S.-sourced cell phones must be warranted by the manufacturer. International versions should clearly state on the title "No-Warranty," because not all manufacturers will honor warranty for a non-U.S. version.
Certified refurbished cell phones must be warranted by the manufacturer or re-manufacturer.
Sellers must disclose the warranty type for each cell phone they list, indicating whether it is a manufacturer's warranty or their own warranty.
Unlocked cell phones cannot have carrier branding on any phone component.
All parts must be original, and sellers must not alter or reassemble phones to remove logos.
Internationally-sourced, manufacturer-unlocked cell phones must be supplied with a U.S. charger.
International versions should include step by step instructions in English on how to change language settings and, if needed, instructions on how to set up voice and data connections with compatible U.S. carriers.
All products must meet North America product safety standards. For more information, see the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

All listing data and images must be suitable for all ages and appropriate for our global community. Listing data and images may not depict or contain nudity or pornographic, obscene, or offensive content. For more information, see Offensive Products and Prohibited Content.
Sellers must follow Amazon listing standards for any product sold on Amazon:
- Sellers must agree to appropriately and accurately classify their products.
- Sellers must submit product titles, feature bullets, and product descriptions that are clearly written and assist the customer in understanding the product.
For more information, see Listing Quality.
All product listing data must meet our Cell Phones & Accessories-specific standards:
- Listings must comply with our Cell Phones & Cell Phone Accessories listing policies.
- Sellers must have reviewed the product page style guidelines for The Consumer Electronics Store and the Cell Phones & Accessories subcategory classifications and agree to provide the required information when submitting listing data.
- Detail pages for products in the original manufacturer packaging (factory sealed and un-opened) should not specify the packaging.
All products in non-retail packaging (bulk items individually packaged, generic or carrier packaging) require a separate detail page and the type of non-retail packaging must be specified.
All product listings must meet Amazon's site-wide image standards:
- Sellers must certify that they have reviewed the image guidelines published on www.amazon.com/images and that all images they upload will conform to the guidelines.
- Sellers are responsible for the quality of all images they upload, even if the seller has obtained the images from an outside source.
All products must be sold as listed:
- Customers must be able to complete all aspects of ordering and purchasing a product using only the Amazon website.
- We do not allow custom listings that require buyers to communicate with sellers before or after the purchase in order to receive the product they want.

Unlocked cell phones

Approved unlocked cell phone types

U.S.-sourced, manufacturer-unlocked, OEM cell phones (such as Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson):
- Must be factory sealed in un-opened, original retail packaging.
Internationally-sourced, manufacturer-unlocked cell phones (such as Samsung, LG, and HTC):
- Must be supplied with U.S. charger. Best practice is to place both the product, in its original factory sealed box, and the U.S. adapter into a larger shipping box.
- If the default language is not English, provide step-by-step instructions on how to change language settings rather than breaking the factory seal and manually changing the language prior to shipping the product.
- If the default settings do not support all compatible U.S. carriers, provide step-by-step instructions on how to change voice and data settings for each compatible U.S. carrier.

Restrictions

Unlocked cell phones (U.S. or international) must not contain:
- Carrier logos anywhere on the phone.
- Carrier logos in the software.
- Carrier logos in the documentation (instruction manual, setup guide, CD-ROM).
- Carrier logos on the box
Altered or reassembled phones:
- All parts of the phone must be original. Sellers may not switch the battery door, keypads, or covers to remove carrier branding.

Carrier branded cell phones

Approved carrier-branded cell phone types

Carrier-branded phones (U.S. only, including, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint) must contain a U.S. charger and may contain:
- Applicable carrier logos on the phone.
- Applicable carrier logos in the software.
- Applicable carrier logos in the documentation (instruction manual, setup guide, CD-ROM).
- Applicable carrier logos on the box.
Before shipping a used or certified refurbished cell phone to a buyer, you must do the following:
- Cancel the existing account associated with the phone.
- Remove the SIM card from the phone, if any.
- Clear the phone's memory and restore the default settings.

Altered or reassembled phones

All parts of the phone must be original. Sellers may not switch the battery door, keypads, or covers in order to remove carrier branding

Prepaid cell phones

Approved prepaid cell phone types

U.S.-sourced prepaid cell phones (such as Boost Mobile, Tracfone, and Virgin Mobile):

Must be factory sealed in un-opened, original retail packaging.

Retail packaging

Retail packaging means products are packaged in the original (not carrier-branded) manufacturer packaging and meet the following requirements:

Must be factory sealed and unopened.
Must have a manufacturer-owned UPC on the box.
Must adhere to Amazon product detail page requirements:
- All retail packaging items require a separate, stand-alone detail page.
- Products that are retail packaged must list the packaging type in the title (for example, "Motorola H12 Bluetooth Headset [Retail Packaging]").

Non-retail packaging

Non-retail packaging means products are not packaged in the original manufacturer's retail packaging. These types of products must meet the following requirements:

For bulk items that are individually packaged:
- Must have a manufacturer-owned UPC to be listed on Amazon.
- Must include required accessories for operation, such as a charger and USB cable.
For carrier packaged products that generally come in carrier retail packaging:
- Joint carrier/manufacturer branded packaging (for example, Jawbone/Verizon):
  - Does not contain a manufacturer-owned UPC, but must have a UPC.
  - Includes required accessories for operation, such as a charger and USB cable.
Amazon product detail page requirements:
- All non-retail packaging requires a separate detail page.
- All non-retail packaging requires either "[Non-Retail Packaging]" or "[Carrier Packaging]" in the title. For example:
  - Motorola H12 Bluetooth Headset [Non-Retail Packaging]
  - Motorola H12 Bluetooth Headset [Carrier Packaging]
  Note: We recommend including the carrier name in title. For example, "Motorola H12 Bluetooth Headset [Verizon Packaging]."
- If packaging type does not appear in the title, it is assumed that the product is retail packaged.

See also category style guide for Consumer Electronics.

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