New Seller Community
Brand Approval - Invoices vs Receipts and Retail vs Distributor
I'm just VERY confused after a couple of ungating declines and hoping someone can offer some advice. My specific decline message, the general one given for a few different products I purchased, then thought would be able to be resold, was:
"-- You have provided a unacceptable document. We are unable to accept retail receipts, online order confirmations, packing slips, sales orders, pro-forma invoices, or sales quotes for approval. Provide an invoice from a manufacturer, distributor, or your supplier reflecting the itemized list of goods purchased."
Now, the definition of "sales invoice" (literally), is "A sales invoice is an accounting document that a business sends to a customer to request payment. It's a legally binding agreement between the buyer and seller, especially for large purchases.". So, how is an online order confirmation with delivery confirmation not exactly that? The order was from Walmart, but is the issue that they're not considered a distributor?
I guess, to keep from rambling on too much, my question is either,
A) Is Walmart not recognized as a reputable distributor in Amazon's eyes? If not, who is?
and/or B) Is an order confirmation not, in fact, the same thing as a sales invoice? If not, why?
I'm just trying to wrap my head around the process so I can gauge what exactly it is that is going to be expected in order to be able to sell on here. Anyone with any knowledge or personal experience with this situation, I would definitely appreciate any advice. I tried to reach out to seller services, but they not only don't assist with the applications, they have no contact information for me to speak to anyone who does. Apparantly, the only way to communicate with them is via the application notes when you try to reapply.
Note; If this happens to be perused by anyone on the AMZ team, the case numbers I'm referring to are 14720012101 and 14709092281.
Seller_Hi7wbO2Kbo6bl
Seller_KYeoDb7wA2WMt
Yikes!
No -- Walmart is not an acceptable supplier.
You must not have gone through Seller University ? Especially on sourcing?
You need to buy wholesale, not retail. And, for many brands you need a letter of authorization from the brand. When you contact a brand for permission to sell, you find who their authorized distributors are.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
@Seller_Hi7wbO2Kbo6bl types faster than I do but she is 100% correct!
Since you appear to be brand new, I will expand and give you my freshman, Amazon Rookie lecture. Please read it.
You are confusing AMAZON allowing you to list (or at least "ungate") an item or category and actually being APPROVED to sell a product. AMAZON is only interested in FEES. They will allow a chimpanzee to list if it means they collect $$$$$.
You really need to go study Seller U instead of TikTok and YouTube before your account gets kicked to the curb permanently.
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
Since you don't appear to have done that PLEASE pay attention to the following:
Here are the NEW rules for selling on the ‘new and improved’ Amazon. Only you can tell us if you meet the requirements. If they are rejecting your "invoices" my guess is that you do not.
The first question is -- Are you authorized IN WRITING by the BRAND to sell their items on Amazon? That means from the BRAND, not some random wholesale source that can NOT authorize anything – they only SELL.
More and more brands have provided a "whitelist" of their approved sellers and if YOU are NOT on the list you will be stopped in your tracks and probably hit with an IP violation.
The second (and probably more important) question is -- Where are you sourcing your products? Are you buying direct from the brand or through an AUTHORIZED wholesale source?
Have you verified with the BRAND that your distributor IS an authorized wholesale distributor for ALL of their products. Some wholesalers are only allowed to distribute portions of a product line.
NOTE – FOR 'GATED' CATEGORIES' DOING RA IS NOT PERMITTED ON AMAZON. PERIOD. If you have to 'apply to sell' you WILL need an INVOICE from an AUTHORIZED distributor and not a receipt.
As to your questions (which should be answered above, but if you missed the answers:
" Is Walmart not recognized as a reputable distributor in Amazon's eyes? If not, who is?"
NO, they are NOT and never will be a legitimate wholesale distributor. They are a RETAIL SELLER and they give you a RECEIPT.
If they were a legitimate wholesale distributor they would REQUIRE your tax exempt number for purchases. You DO have one, don't you? If not you will never buy from any legitimate wholesale sources -- PERIOD!
"Is an order confirmation not, in fact, the same thing as a sales invoice? If not, why?"
NO! Because the SOURCE is NOT a legitimate wholesale distributor that is authorized to sell WHOLESALE by the brands.
Pay attention to getting an LOA from the BRAND that says you are approved to sell ON AMAZON. Ask the BRAND who they have as AUTHORIZED wholesale distributors.
Without doing those two steps you can consider yourself LUCKY that Amazon has rejected your listings so far. If they had allowed you to list you would already be suspended permanently.
SELLER U NOW!
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
VACATION MODE NOW!
CR_Amazon
@Seller_KYeoDb7wA2WMt
Hello there. My name is CR and wanted to hop in here to only provide some additional resources to bookmark and review.
You have already received great advice and information above from experienced sellers @Seller_Hi7wbO2Kbo6bland @Seller_kIukTwdhvntApabove (THANK YOU both!). The two below videos are important to review and digest pertaining to your question above.
Responsible Sourcing documentation request requirements
Seller University has a wealth of knowledge and many new sellers review and re-watch the content several times before beginning selling - there is a lot to absorb!
CR_Amazon
