[Crew Review] No data protection for sellers

Seller-Centric Amazon: A Myth

Amazon knew

Amazon apparently has a policy that requires its employees to respect sellers’ data. But when asked by Congress, Bezos said he couldn’t guarantee this has not been violated.

The European Commission has already announced in 2020 that it is looking into antitrust violations committed by the Everything Store. The body is concerned about how Amazon uses third-party sellers’ data in order to benefit its own retail business.

Recently, an internal audit was uncovered by Politico, showing how around 4,700 Amazon employees working in the company’s sales division had access to sensitive seller data.

So Amazon knew.

But then again, we aren’t surprised at all. No matter how many times they say 3P sellers are their partners, the company still treats them as competitors. They aren’t above copying products and selling them for lower prices.

From the get-go, Uncle Jeff wanted his company to be the most customer-centric in the world. This is evident in his growth strategy. In his last letter to shareholders as CEO, he said he wanted Amazon to be the “Best Employer and Earth’s Safest Place to Work.”

So Amazon wants the best for its customers and its employees.

But what about sellers? How can we fully trust someone with antitrust issues?

An FBM sellers exodus?

The Refund at First Scan (RFS) for seller-fulfilled returns is far from love at first sight.

Here’s what you need to know about this new program:

• It’s mandatory for FBM sellers.
• It allows customers to receive a refund after just scanning the Amazon prepaid return label.
• Refunds will be eligible for SAFE-T reimbursements for returns that are damaged or different.

This comes less than a month after Amazon announced the Free Placements Offer, which makes it mandatory for FBM sellers to either refund the customer or process the replacement even before they get to see the returned item.

The concern is understandable. These programs can be a hotspot for customer fraud.

The post already has almost 300 comments just a day into the announcement. According to some sellers, they are thinking about packing up and setting up shop somewhere else.

Some say they’ll focus on Shopify or eBay. And now that it welcomes more sellers, Walmart is also an option. 

Loomis v. Amazon

Once upon a time, a hoverboard purchased through Amazon exploded. Now, Jeff’s team might be considering rewriting the rules.

Kisha Loomis bought a hoverboard for her son in December 2015. A week later, it exploded while it was charging, and she suffered burns while trying to get it out of the house.

Amazon used its usual defense: it didn’t manufacture or distribute the product. The trial court bought this excuse, but it was later overturned by the California Court of Appeal.

The higher court ruled that Amazon should be held strictly liable for defects of products sold by its 3P sellers. Bolger v. Amazon had a similar ruling, but the difference was that in Loomis, the 3P seller did not use FBA.

There are already a handful of lawsuits regarding Amazon’s liability as an online marketplace. Experts are saying the company might be announcing something soon that will prevent this from happening again.

We’re expecting stricter regulations and better quality control procedures.

Sellers are spending more on ads

Amazon’s ad business is going so well that it has eaten into Google’s market share. A study by Jungle Scout revealed seller behavior that led to the company’s success.

After analyzing 560,000 ad campaigns and 3,500 brands, agencies, and 3P sellers, it was revealed that

• Majority of brands opt to advertise their products on Amazon
• One in three is going to increase ad spend this year

With Amazon ads becoming more desirable to sellers, we might see an increase in PPC costs. But we don’t want that to eat more into our profits.

There are other ways of sending customers to your Amazon listings, ones that require less ka-ching. Actually, we already have systems in place for this.

If you can spare an hour on May 19 at 10 AM (PST), join us in a public webinar so we can show you how.

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