What Can Amazon Do to Protect Their 3rd Party Sellers Against Customer Fraud?WHAT CAN AMAZON DO FOR PROTECTING THERE 3RD PARTY SELLERS WITH CUSTUMER FRAUD
I am writing to express my extreme frustration with the growing issue of customer fraud on Amazon and the lack of effective protections for third-party sellers like myself. It has reached a point where we are losing money repeatedly, and it seems that Amazon is not doing enough to address these concerns.
s sellers, we file safety claims with evidence, send emails to customers gently suggesting there might have been a mistake on their end, and yet Amazon simply refunds the customers without investigating thoroughly. Customers are increasingly dishonest when returning items, claiming false reasons for the return, or sending back products that are not even ours. The level of dishonesty is appalling.
Many of these customers are clearly taking advantage of Amazon's generous return policy, knowing that they can lie and get their money back without consequence. Often, they mismeasured items, misrepresent their condition, or simply abuse the system for free returns. Unfortunately, we as sellers are the ones left to bear the brunt of these fraudulent returns.
What is most concerning is that Amazon seems to consistently side with the customer, issuing refunds without properly investigating the return. This leaves us vulnerable to significant financial loss with little recourse. I firmly believe that Amazon should take stronger steps to protect sellers, such as:
Requesting pictures of the returned items and packaging to ensure that returns are legitimate and that customers are not falsely claiming damages.
Implementing stricter return policies for customers who repeatedly abuse the system, including limiting returns in cases of fraud.
Better communication and investigation of claims, so sellers aren’t forced to simply absorb the losses when customers lie or misrepresent returns.
It feels as though Amazon is turning a blind eye to the fact that a significant percentage of customers (in my estimation, 49%) are taking advantage of this system, and it is ultimately hurting small businesses and sellers like us. We need more protection and accountability in these situations.
I hope that Amazon will take immediate action to address this growing issue and help protect the sellers who contribute to the platform’s success. Our livelihoods depend on fair treatment, and the current system is leaving us vulnerable to fraud and financial loss.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing how Amazon plans to support its third-party sellers in dealing with these types of issues.
What Can Amazon Do to Protect Their 3rd Party Sellers Against Customer Fraud?WHAT CAN AMAZON DO FOR PROTECTING THERE 3RD PARTY SELLERS WITH CUSTUMER FRAUD
I am writing to express my extreme frustration with the growing issue of customer fraud on Amazon and the lack of effective protections for third-party sellers like myself. It has reached a point where we are losing money repeatedly, and it seems that Amazon is not doing enough to address these concerns.
s sellers, we file safety claims with evidence, send emails to customers gently suggesting there might have been a mistake on their end, and yet Amazon simply refunds the customers without investigating thoroughly. Customers are increasingly dishonest when returning items, claiming false reasons for the return, or sending back products that are not even ours. The level of dishonesty is appalling.
Many of these customers are clearly taking advantage of Amazon's generous return policy, knowing that they can lie and get their money back without consequence. Often, they mismeasured items, misrepresent their condition, or simply abuse the system for free returns. Unfortunately, we as sellers are the ones left to bear the brunt of these fraudulent returns.
What is most concerning is that Amazon seems to consistently side with the customer, issuing refunds without properly investigating the return. This leaves us vulnerable to significant financial loss with little recourse. I firmly believe that Amazon should take stronger steps to protect sellers, such as:
Requesting pictures of the returned items and packaging to ensure that returns are legitimate and that customers are not falsely claiming damages.
Implementing stricter return policies for customers who repeatedly abuse the system, including limiting returns in cases of fraud.
Better communication and investigation of claims, so sellers aren’t forced to simply absorb the losses when customers lie or misrepresent returns.
It feels as though Amazon is turning a blind eye to the fact that a significant percentage of customers (in my estimation, 49%) are taking advantage of this system, and it is ultimately hurting small businesses and sellers like us. We need more protection and accountability in these situations.
I hope that Amazon will take immediate action to address this growing issue and help protect the sellers who contribute to the platform’s success. Our livelihoods depend on fair treatment, and the current system is leaving us vulnerable to fraud and financial loss.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to hearing how Amazon plans to support its third-party sellers in dealing with these types of issues.
53 replies
Seller_x7biyiAcVku3t
i think your actually entitled to contact the police as it becomes a clear case of mail fraud, then contact amazon give them the case number and ask them for contact details so the police can contact them to find out who has committed the fraud, someone working for amazon or the customer. also could be a good item to start videoing the packages being wrapped as this proves on your end that the correct goods have been sealed.
Seller_jTX9wdL1Ned8U
We're getting killed by fraud too. If you're using FBA as a shipment method then they are about to hit you on the new Reimbursement Tool they are rolling out as well. This is going to hurt 3P sellers, even more than they already are, because they estimate the manufacturer's raw costs and will not account for your purchase price. They also are comparing it to imported knock-offs to ensure even in the event of reimbursement they cut their costs in half.
Seller_hLH0bAcCwYcos
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/ef8a4afe-d801-4cf8-be34-7a507205cab3
Couldn't agree with you more my friend! this forum says it all. I literally poured hours of thought into this. Listed nearly a dozen reasons that would be beneficial to 3rd P Sellers, AND Amazon, to let us block fraudulent customers such as the ones you are referencing above. So far 324 gave it a like expressing their own thoughts on the matter. So far, Amazon is saying nothing. Crickets chirping. And the fraud goes on. Amazon is the only third-party seller I have ever dealt with in 21 years of business that doesn't let sellers block crooked customers. I have one lady who has ordered the same product, 13 times, and returned it all 13 times, usually Factory sealed in mint condition, and keeps ordering more. Cost me $600 in returns, Plus over $100 in return fees. And she just keeps on doing it. I have sold over 200 sets and only had 3 returns from other 200+ customers. Yet she's returned all 13 orders. She has notifications turned off, so there are zero way to communicate with her to ask her to please stop destroying my small business. She represents more returns than all my returns for the last 200 customers combined. She keeps it nearly 30 days, returns it, then orders another. All at my expense. She has done this 13 TIMES!!! I reported her every time. It's customer fraud. Gross customer abuse of Amazon Return Policy. Amazon has done nothing. Any other website I would have blocked her after the 2nd time she ordered it and returned it again. Amazon, we are powerless thanks to your lack of policy on this matter. Blocking customers is a simple effective way to end this now. God knows we would not block a customer if they are good in generating revenue for us and Amazon. For some reason, they just won't do it.
And they're eating all the seller reimbursements on these fraudulent returns where customers swap them out with junk. Because make no mistake, when some customer steals a product and swaps it with trash, you CAN request a reimbursement, which is a pain in the butt. But Amazon will reimburse you for fraud, most of the time. It's a pain in the butt because it takes us an hour to build a case to prove the fraud and take all the pictures. Fraudulent returns destroy our small businesses on here. And it's hurting Amazon because they're giving up 5x their commission when they reimburse fraudulent returns. But you have to do that if you don't want to go out of business . Frankly, I would just rather stop the fraud and block the Crooked customers then continue to go through spending hours to prove that the customer committed fraud to get reimbursed. Stopping the fraud is much simpler and cheaper. Blocking customers would end all of this. It would save Amazon and third party Sellers from heartbreaking tens of millions of dollars of fraudulent returns. Returns that are bankrupting sellers.. If you agree, like @Seller_yYYORLQZ5LPLZ post, and click on my link above with the list of reasons why we should be allowed to block fraudulent customers on here and give it a like as well. Perhaps if it gets to 500 likes Amazon might batt an eyebrow.
Seller_BbwBUvxrKBMhw
There is a section. To report these types of buyers, that then allowed Amazon to track them.
Seller_P1UYj6KufhMD3
Sell on Ebay at least they have integrityWhy would you continue to sell on Amz when they are staffed by STU
I ship on time, using Amz shipping service and the US Postal/UPS fails to scan the package, loses the package for over a month, then they deliver it late.
I have NO Tracking, NO recourse and the (Mod Edit: removed language) AT AMZ REFUSE THE CLAIM.
I lost cost of shipping, lost cost of merchandise and NO Guarantee.
k (Mod Edit: removed language)
Seller_7WVJctILMqzwU
I have dealt personally with Hundreds of fraudulent customers, here was the worst one.
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums/discussions/t/257eef76-f50e-482f-8572-3573a078f68f?postId=257eef76-f50e-482f-8572-3573a078f68f
Seller_pE0IHdimoLHXf
People are losing thousands of dollars unfairly and there are many victims. It seems that there is still no control mechanism on this issue.
I watched a video where the brand owner spends thousands of dollars on advertising and gets their listing to the top, but then someone comes along, buys the products, makes a fake complaint and the listing is shut down. By the time Amazon reviews the documentation and approves it, a week has gone by, all the ad spend is wasted and the listing owner is back at the bottom of the search results.
In the end, the person became frustrated and eventually stopped selling on Amazon. This is one example; buying products, deliberately spoiling them and returning them is another, or buying and not paying and leaving the seller in limbo. The list goes on and on. But the ultimate reality is that the platform needs to take sharp and decisive action on such issues. Otherwise, this will create a snowball effect, and while it may not be felt immediately, it will definitely have negative repercussions in the future.
So the most logical approach is to set up a prevention system and buyers will act accordingly. Of course there will always be negative minds who will find loopholes and vulnerabilities, but this is a war and we are not the ones fighting it, because we are not the ones in charge. Therefore, I really feel sorry for the bad actors and sellers who lost their money due to the platform's inability to set up an effective mechanism.
Seller_ENBrTBTSn3PDq
Yes Indeed! Making more money there also. I will soon be transitioning back to ebay WHERE I FIRST BEGAN. I never thought I would be forced to go back but my sales are 4X what I make here. And to think..... I used to lose sleep over whether my account would somehow get deactivated.
As for scams, I cringe every time I get a buyer-seller message. It's outrageous and Amazon does nothing to protect us as their policies don't always work.
Seller_naWWmUHbpnx6X
Amazon needs a block customer to protect sellers. Period. Rather than multiple people getting robbed over and Over. Stop the fraud at the beginning.
Seller_NML17JHpY2CUu
use track.westnet.ca for your orders, even if you do not ship with WestNet Express, the site archives Canada Post tracking information for ever, in addition it provides more data than the Canada Post website. Even delivery photos.
Seller_8mX8maqH2zGI9
Now imagine how bad it’ll be when you only get back “manufacturing cost” on your products when customers or Amazon steal them. At least the few times making the effort to be reimbursed now pays for itself, but not next month. Welcome to the SUCK
