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Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf

Don't you just love waking up to inauthentic claims submitted by scammy "customers"...?

So… I just got some new inventory (name brand) and the first shipment finally reached the warehouse and the product started selling only a couple days ago.

Yesterday, I get a message from a customer who has purchased it in the last couple days and most likely literally just received the package…. And she claims that the product she received is fake and that she wants a refund. She adds a photo of another product from the same brand that is half used. So, your basic variety of aggressive extortion tactics.

I report her through messaging. I report her through the violation reporting tool. I also open a case to investigate this order and I explain that this customer is engaging in fraud and violating returns and refunds policies… All I get back is “ please don’t worry and submit a report”

Today… I wake up to 2 emails… one saying that they looked into my violation report and took appropriate action and the second email states that my listing has been taken down due to inauthentic claim. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤬

So the appropriate action they took regarding a scammer extorting refunds is to take down my inventory as inauthentic… 👍🏻🤬🤬

Theres literally nothing else I could’ve done to make it more clear and to prevent this from going into the sacrificial monkey dance of wasted time of proving the inauthentic claim is bogus.

2.9K views
62 replies
Tags:Account Health, Deactivated, Materially different products, Product authenticity, Seller Support
602
Reply
user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
Most helpful replyThis reply was marked most helpful by the original poster.

Listing has now been reinstated… thanks for playing

192
0 replies
user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9

Do you have authorization from said brand to sell in a marketplace as a 3rd party seller? Did Amazon ask you to provide an invoice?

528
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9
If you have the necessary paperwork, then there should be no issue.
View post
Post edited

Exactly, Shoot Amazon the invoices from the brand and thats that.

Sure any customer can make any claim. But facts are facts. If your business is tier 1 from the brand then Amazon knows the customer has made an error.

I had this issue with a product that the brand updated the packaging.

Packaging changed, in came the inauthentic claims. Shot Amazon the invoices, no problemo.

184
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
we have to do this sacrificial dance now
View post

LOL, funny way to put it. But yeah these systems are not fun and even less intuitive. Like most things corperate they dont make sense or respond to reason well. For best results use anecdotal experiance and apply corperate lingo.

91
user profile
Seller_W1w4IAbSKp9ki

the bots are terrible when customers use the word fake or similar verbiage

I feel your pain!!

160
user profile
Seller_je04tHHzYyuNB

are you using FBA or are you fulfilling yourself? If FBA, it is possible when others are also selling the same item that your customer received a product from commingled inventory at an Amazon warehouse closest to this customer. In that manner a customer can order from you, Amazon ships to customer from the closest warehouse that has that item. If you have commingled inventory, this is the single easiest way people order the real thing and get a fake item shipped. are you able to determine if the customer received inventory from your batch or a commingled batch?

31
user profile
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
the point of the post was that there’s no way to avoid having your inventory taken down and then having to go through the redundant waste of time they call a reinstatement process even when it’s as obvious as day that this was a scam.
View post

Of COURSE there is no way to avoid this; Amazon does not want to incur legal liability for counterfeit products. Once they have ANY reason (even if it appears scammy) to suspect something is fake, they are LEGALLY BOUND to not facilitate further sales of that product.

I'm sure your product is fine; but imagine if your product was a counterfeit child seat, and Amazon allowed it to be sold even after a complaint. The parents who bought one after that point and lost their child in an accident due to improper car seat would have a legitimate lawsuit.

Or imagine if it were fake "Eclipse Glasses" which, if used to look at the sun, would not give any sense of pain, but still result in permanent eye damage? Again, if Amazon sold these after having ANY reason to suspect they were fake, they could be held legally accountable.

I'll point out that these are not hypothetical cases; these are both real examples of counterfeit items.

So send your "necessary paperwork" and move on. (assuming that your "necessary paperwork" that you keep mentioning instead of directly answering simple questions is what is really required; like others, I have my doubts)

65
user profile
Seller_C4e4p8xKlBt76

I understand how you must feel the same thing happened to me and I had to lose that listing. I spent several months sending the invoices to Mazon and nothing, I never got a response

61
user profile
Seller_24FzucbyGtgZS

Happened to us as well. We responded to Amazon that we needed permission to sell this product in the first place. And our purchasing volume (case of 100 or more, and for this product 4 cases of 250) so our invoicing will not reflect Amazon draconian 365-day demand.

We got back several rejections (obviously NOT U.S. based - the names were a dead give-away). So we simply ignored it and ignored the "warning" that our account was at risk of deactivation.

Amazon actually called us twice during the 6-months the "violation" stayed on our account "advising" us that even after the 6-month period action could be taken. I countered the rep's statements with facts and of course they had no clue what I was talking about. But they also admitting they could do nothing except advise up to submit a plan of action. We told them absolutely NOT, since we did not do anything wrong and Amazon should get rid of lying customers.

Finally we advised the rep that should Amazon actually suspend or deactivate our account the first thing our attorney will do is file for arbitration. Then we will revoke Amazon's permission to sell our brand name and trademarked items.

This was in January, the "violation" fell off in February and now we are at the end of March - nothing. Our account health is back in the green zone.

Moral of the story - do NOT put all of your eggs into Amazon's basket (we only list 400 of our 20,000 items on Amazon - the rest are listed complete on other platforms and on our own website).

p.s. - Amazon even once denied us permission for us sell our own branded items which we manufacture at our factory in New Jersey.

Just got a bot message that the above contains "personal data". Where (other than Amazon publishing our name)?

90
user profile
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX

I imagine it happens to 100 sellers every day. It did happen to us this week also. Buyer was sent a new, factory sealed product from our retail store. They opened it, switched the new product with their old damaged one, and a return of No Longer Wanted or Needed was opened the same day they received it. Lucky for us, the buyer is in the same state as we are located. The return will be handled differently.

90
user profile
Seller_hDPfpzny5LFi7

That is frustrating, I sell a lot of higher end knives and I get that sometimes and the bot suspends my listing and asks for invoices. So I provide the appropriate invoices and I always get reinstated on the listing, but I loose about 3 days of sales, which on some items is 20 plus sales.

50
user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf

Don't you just love waking up to inauthentic claims submitted by scammy "customers"...?

So… I just got some new inventory (name brand) and the first shipment finally reached the warehouse and the product started selling only a couple days ago.

Yesterday, I get a message from a customer who has purchased it in the last couple days and most likely literally just received the package…. And she claims that the product she received is fake and that she wants a refund. She adds a photo of another product from the same brand that is half used. So, your basic variety of aggressive extortion tactics.

I report her through messaging. I report her through the violation reporting tool. I also open a case to investigate this order and I explain that this customer is engaging in fraud and violating returns and refunds policies… All I get back is “ please don’t worry and submit a report”

Today… I wake up to 2 emails… one saying that they looked into my violation report and took appropriate action and the second email states that my listing has been taken down due to inauthentic claim. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤬

So the appropriate action they took regarding a scammer extorting refunds is to take down my inventory as inauthentic… 👍🏻🤬🤬

Theres literally nothing else I could’ve done to make it more clear and to prevent this from going into the sacrificial monkey dance of wasted time of proving the inauthentic claim is bogus.

2.9K views
62 replies
Tags:Account Health, Deactivated, Materially different products, Product authenticity, Seller Support
602
Reply
user profile

Don't you just love waking up to inauthentic claims submitted by scammy "customers"...?

by Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf

So… I just got some new inventory (name brand) and the first shipment finally reached the warehouse and the product started selling only a couple days ago.

Yesterday, I get a message from a customer who has purchased it in the last couple days and most likely literally just received the package…. And she claims that the product she received is fake and that she wants a refund. She adds a photo of another product from the same brand that is half used. So, your basic variety of aggressive extortion tactics.

I report her through messaging. I report her through the violation reporting tool. I also open a case to investigate this order and I explain that this customer is engaging in fraud and violating returns and refunds policies… All I get back is “ please don’t worry and submit a report”

Today… I wake up to 2 emails… one saying that they looked into my violation report and took appropriate action and the second email states that my listing has been taken down due to inauthentic claim. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤬

So the appropriate action they took regarding a scammer extorting refunds is to take down my inventory as inauthentic… 👍🏻🤬🤬

Theres literally nothing else I could’ve done to make it more clear and to prevent this from going into the sacrificial monkey dance of wasted time of proving the inauthentic claim is bogus.

Tags:Account Health, Deactivated, Materially different products, Product authenticity, Seller Support
602
2.9K views
62 replies
Reply
user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
Most helpful replyThis reply was marked most helpful by the original poster.

Listing has now been reinstated… thanks for playing

192
user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
Most helpful replyThis reply was marked most helpful by the original poster.

Listing has now been reinstated… thanks for playing

192
user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
Most helpful replyThis reply was marked most helpful by the original poster.

Listing has now been reinstated… thanks for playing

192
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user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9

Do you have authorization from said brand to sell in a marketplace as a 3rd party seller? Did Amazon ask you to provide an invoice?

528
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9
If you have the necessary paperwork, then there should be no issue.
View post
Post edited

Exactly, Shoot Amazon the invoices from the brand and thats that.

Sure any customer can make any claim. But facts are facts. If your business is tier 1 from the brand then Amazon knows the customer has made an error.

I had this issue with a product that the brand updated the packaging.

Packaging changed, in came the inauthentic claims. Shot Amazon the invoices, no problemo.

184
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
we have to do this sacrificial dance now
View post

LOL, funny way to put it. But yeah these systems are not fun and even less intuitive. Like most things corperate they dont make sense or respond to reason well. For best results use anecdotal experiance and apply corperate lingo.

91
user profile
Seller_W1w4IAbSKp9ki

the bots are terrible when customers use the word fake or similar verbiage

I feel your pain!!

160
user profile
Seller_je04tHHzYyuNB

are you using FBA or are you fulfilling yourself? If FBA, it is possible when others are also selling the same item that your customer received a product from commingled inventory at an Amazon warehouse closest to this customer. In that manner a customer can order from you, Amazon ships to customer from the closest warehouse that has that item. If you have commingled inventory, this is the single easiest way people order the real thing and get a fake item shipped. are you able to determine if the customer received inventory from your batch or a commingled batch?

31
user profile
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
the point of the post was that there’s no way to avoid having your inventory taken down and then having to go through the redundant waste of time they call a reinstatement process even when it’s as obvious as day that this was a scam.
View post

Of COURSE there is no way to avoid this; Amazon does not want to incur legal liability for counterfeit products. Once they have ANY reason (even if it appears scammy) to suspect something is fake, they are LEGALLY BOUND to not facilitate further sales of that product.

I'm sure your product is fine; but imagine if your product was a counterfeit child seat, and Amazon allowed it to be sold even after a complaint. The parents who bought one after that point and lost their child in an accident due to improper car seat would have a legitimate lawsuit.

Or imagine if it were fake "Eclipse Glasses" which, if used to look at the sun, would not give any sense of pain, but still result in permanent eye damage? Again, if Amazon sold these after having ANY reason to suspect they were fake, they could be held legally accountable.

I'll point out that these are not hypothetical cases; these are both real examples of counterfeit items.

So send your "necessary paperwork" and move on. (assuming that your "necessary paperwork" that you keep mentioning instead of directly answering simple questions is what is really required; like others, I have my doubts)

65
user profile
Seller_C4e4p8xKlBt76

I understand how you must feel the same thing happened to me and I had to lose that listing. I spent several months sending the invoices to Mazon and nothing, I never got a response

61
user profile
Seller_24FzucbyGtgZS

Happened to us as well. We responded to Amazon that we needed permission to sell this product in the first place. And our purchasing volume (case of 100 or more, and for this product 4 cases of 250) so our invoicing will not reflect Amazon draconian 365-day demand.

We got back several rejections (obviously NOT U.S. based - the names were a dead give-away). So we simply ignored it and ignored the "warning" that our account was at risk of deactivation.

Amazon actually called us twice during the 6-months the "violation" stayed on our account "advising" us that even after the 6-month period action could be taken. I countered the rep's statements with facts and of course they had no clue what I was talking about. But they also admitting they could do nothing except advise up to submit a plan of action. We told them absolutely NOT, since we did not do anything wrong and Amazon should get rid of lying customers.

Finally we advised the rep that should Amazon actually suspend or deactivate our account the first thing our attorney will do is file for arbitration. Then we will revoke Amazon's permission to sell our brand name and trademarked items.

This was in January, the "violation" fell off in February and now we are at the end of March - nothing. Our account health is back in the green zone.

Moral of the story - do NOT put all of your eggs into Amazon's basket (we only list 400 of our 20,000 items on Amazon - the rest are listed complete on other platforms and on our own website).

p.s. - Amazon even once denied us permission for us sell our own branded items which we manufacture at our factory in New Jersey.

Just got a bot message that the above contains "personal data". Where (other than Amazon publishing our name)?

90
user profile
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX

I imagine it happens to 100 sellers every day. It did happen to us this week also. Buyer was sent a new, factory sealed product from our retail store. They opened it, switched the new product with their old damaged one, and a return of No Longer Wanted or Needed was opened the same day they received it. Lucky for us, the buyer is in the same state as we are located. The return will be handled differently.

90
user profile
Seller_hDPfpzny5LFi7

That is frustrating, I sell a lot of higher end knives and I get that sometimes and the bot suspends my listing and asks for invoices. So I provide the appropriate invoices and I always get reinstated on the listing, but I loose about 3 days of sales, which on some items is 20 plus sales.

50
user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9

Do you have authorization from said brand to sell in a marketplace as a 3rd party seller? Did Amazon ask you to provide an invoice?

528
user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9

Do you have authorization from said brand to sell in a marketplace as a 3rd party seller? Did Amazon ask you to provide an invoice?

528
Reply
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9
If you have the necessary paperwork, then there should be no issue.
View post
Post edited

Exactly, Shoot Amazon the invoices from the brand and thats that.

Sure any customer can make any claim. But facts are facts. If your business is tier 1 from the brand then Amazon knows the customer has made an error.

I had this issue with a product that the brand updated the packaging.

Packaging changed, in came the inauthentic claims. Shot Amazon the invoices, no problemo.

184
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_OvL8C4BJWiuS9
If you have the necessary paperwork, then there should be no issue.
View post
Post edited

Exactly, Shoot Amazon the invoices from the brand and thats that.

Sure any customer can make any claim. But facts are facts. If your business is tier 1 from the brand then Amazon knows the customer has made an error.

I had this issue with a product that the brand updated the packaging.

Packaging changed, in came the inauthentic claims. Shot Amazon the invoices, no problemo.

184
Reply
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
we have to do this sacrificial dance now
View post

LOL, funny way to put it. But yeah these systems are not fun and even less intuitive. Like most things corperate they dont make sense or respond to reason well. For best results use anecdotal experiance and apply corperate lingo.

91
user profile
Seller_Qbd0RsfZFEZBY

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
we have to do this sacrificial dance now
View post

LOL, funny way to put it. But yeah these systems are not fun and even less intuitive. Like most things corperate they dont make sense or respond to reason well. For best results use anecdotal experiance and apply corperate lingo.

91
Reply
user profile
Seller_W1w4IAbSKp9ki

the bots are terrible when customers use the word fake or similar verbiage

I feel your pain!!

160
user profile
Seller_W1w4IAbSKp9ki

the bots are terrible when customers use the word fake or similar verbiage

I feel your pain!!

160
Reply
user profile
Seller_je04tHHzYyuNB

are you using FBA or are you fulfilling yourself? If FBA, it is possible when others are also selling the same item that your customer received a product from commingled inventory at an Amazon warehouse closest to this customer. In that manner a customer can order from you, Amazon ships to customer from the closest warehouse that has that item. If you have commingled inventory, this is the single easiest way people order the real thing and get a fake item shipped. are you able to determine if the customer received inventory from your batch or a commingled batch?

31
user profile
Seller_je04tHHzYyuNB

are you using FBA or are you fulfilling yourself? If FBA, it is possible when others are also selling the same item that your customer received a product from commingled inventory at an Amazon warehouse closest to this customer. In that manner a customer can order from you, Amazon ships to customer from the closest warehouse that has that item. If you have commingled inventory, this is the single easiest way people order the real thing and get a fake item shipped. are you able to determine if the customer received inventory from your batch or a commingled batch?

31
Reply
user profile
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
the point of the post was that there’s no way to avoid having your inventory taken down and then having to go through the redundant waste of time they call a reinstatement process even when it’s as obvious as day that this was a scam.
View post

Of COURSE there is no way to avoid this; Amazon does not want to incur legal liability for counterfeit products. Once they have ANY reason (even if it appears scammy) to suspect something is fake, they are LEGALLY BOUND to not facilitate further sales of that product.

I'm sure your product is fine; but imagine if your product was a counterfeit child seat, and Amazon allowed it to be sold even after a complaint. The parents who bought one after that point and lost their child in an accident due to improper car seat would have a legitimate lawsuit.

Or imagine if it were fake "Eclipse Glasses" which, if used to look at the sun, would not give any sense of pain, but still result in permanent eye damage? Again, if Amazon sold these after having ANY reason to suspect they were fake, they could be held legally accountable.

I'll point out that these are not hypothetical cases; these are both real examples of counterfeit items.

So send your "necessary paperwork" and move on. (assuming that your "necessary paperwork" that you keep mentioning instead of directly answering simple questions is what is really required; like others, I have my doubts)

65
user profile
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw

user profile
Seller_rMfC1OWAKWYWf
the point of the post was that there’s no way to avoid having your inventory taken down and then having to go through the redundant waste of time they call a reinstatement process even when it’s as obvious as day that this was a scam.
View post

Of COURSE there is no way to avoid this; Amazon does not want to incur legal liability for counterfeit products. Once they have ANY reason (even if it appears scammy) to suspect something is fake, they are LEGALLY BOUND to not facilitate further sales of that product.

I'm sure your product is fine; but imagine if your product was a counterfeit child seat, and Amazon allowed it to be sold even after a complaint. The parents who bought one after that point and lost their child in an accident due to improper car seat would have a legitimate lawsuit.

Or imagine if it were fake "Eclipse Glasses" which, if used to look at the sun, would not give any sense of pain, but still result in permanent eye damage? Again, if Amazon sold these after having ANY reason to suspect they were fake, they could be held legally accountable.

I'll point out that these are not hypothetical cases; these are both real examples of counterfeit items.

So send your "necessary paperwork" and move on. (assuming that your "necessary paperwork" that you keep mentioning instead of directly answering simple questions is what is really required; like others, I have my doubts)

65
Reply
user profile
Seller_C4e4p8xKlBt76

I understand how you must feel the same thing happened to me and I had to lose that listing. I spent several months sending the invoices to Mazon and nothing, I never got a response

61
user profile
Seller_C4e4p8xKlBt76

I understand how you must feel the same thing happened to me and I had to lose that listing. I spent several months sending the invoices to Mazon and nothing, I never got a response

61
Reply
user profile
Seller_24FzucbyGtgZS

Happened to us as well. We responded to Amazon that we needed permission to sell this product in the first place. And our purchasing volume (case of 100 or more, and for this product 4 cases of 250) so our invoicing will not reflect Amazon draconian 365-day demand.

We got back several rejections (obviously NOT U.S. based - the names were a dead give-away). So we simply ignored it and ignored the "warning" that our account was at risk of deactivation.

Amazon actually called us twice during the 6-months the "violation" stayed on our account "advising" us that even after the 6-month period action could be taken. I countered the rep's statements with facts and of course they had no clue what I was talking about. But they also admitting they could do nothing except advise up to submit a plan of action. We told them absolutely NOT, since we did not do anything wrong and Amazon should get rid of lying customers.

Finally we advised the rep that should Amazon actually suspend or deactivate our account the first thing our attorney will do is file for arbitration. Then we will revoke Amazon's permission to sell our brand name and trademarked items.

This was in January, the "violation" fell off in February and now we are at the end of March - nothing. Our account health is back in the green zone.

Moral of the story - do NOT put all of your eggs into Amazon's basket (we only list 400 of our 20,000 items on Amazon - the rest are listed complete on other platforms and on our own website).

p.s. - Amazon even once denied us permission for us sell our own branded items which we manufacture at our factory in New Jersey.

Just got a bot message that the above contains "personal data". Where (other than Amazon publishing our name)?

90
user profile
Seller_24FzucbyGtgZS

Happened to us as well. We responded to Amazon that we needed permission to sell this product in the first place. And our purchasing volume (case of 100 or more, and for this product 4 cases of 250) so our invoicing will not reflect Amazon draconian 365-day demand.

We got back several rejections (obviously NOT U.S. based - the names were a dead give-away). So we simply ignored it and ignored the "warning" that our account was at risk of deactivation.

Amazon actually called us twice during the 6-months the "violation" stayed on our account "advising" us that even after the 6-month period action could be taken. I countered the rep's statements with facts and of course they had no clue what I was talking about. But they also admitting they could do nothing except advise up to submit a plan of action. We told them absolutely NOT, since we did not do anything wrong and Amazon should get rid of lying customers.

Finally we advised the rep that should Amazon actually suspend or deactivate our account the first thing our attorney will do is file for arbitration. Then we will revoke Amazon's permission to sell our brand name and trademarked items.

This was in January, the "violation" fell off in February and now we are at the end of March - nothing. Our account health is back in the green zone.

Moral of the story - do NOT put all of your eggs into Amazon's basket (we only list 400 of our 20,000 items on Amazon - the rest are listed complete on other platforms and on our own website).

p.s. - Amazon even once denied us permission for us sell our own branded items which we manufacture at our factory in New Jersey.

Just got a bot message that the above contains "personal data". Where (other than Amazon publishing our name)?

90
Reply
user profile
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX

I imagine it happens to 100 sellers every day. It did happen to us this week also. Buyer was sent a new, factory sealed product from our retail store. They opened it, switched the new product with their old damaged one, and a return of No Longer Wanted or Needed was opened the same day they received it. Lucky for us, the buyer is in the same state as we are located. The return will be handled differently.

90
user profile
Seller_CW0P5hgbsiqWX

I imagine it happens to 100 sellers every day. It did happen to us this week also. Buyer was sent a new, factory sealed product from our retail store. They opened it, switched the new product with their old damaged one, and a return of No Longer Wanted or Needed was opened the same day they received it. Lucky for us, the buyer is in the same state as we are located. The return will be handled differently.

90
Reply
user profile
Seller_hDPfpzny5LFi7

That is frustrating, I sell a lot of higher end knives and I get that sometimes and the bot suspends my listing and asks for invoices. So I provide the appropriate invoices and I always get reinstated on the listing, but I loose about 3 days of sales, which on some items is 20 plus sales.

50
user profile
Seller_hDPfpzny5LFi7

That is frustrating, I sell a lot of higher end knives and I get that sometimes and the bot suspends my listing and asks for invoices. So I provide the appropriate invoices and I always get reinstated on the listing, but I loose about 3 days of sales, which on some items is 20 plus sales.

50
Reply

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