Selling Lego on Amazon.com

[cladner]

After they rejected the perfectly acceptable certificates and asked for photos (yeah right) , I decided to not mess around and sold off and/recalled the remaining stock of items which I didn't feel like selling off below market (for which there are always alternate listings)..

In order to close the case out and put the issue to bed (for now hopefully),  I responded to the followup denial email with the message posted below.

 

Hello -

I have reviewed the list of ASIN again.

I currently have none of the listed ASIN in stock on amazon and have no remaining stock to sell.

Since I no longer have stock, I have deleted the ASIN listing from my store's inventory.

I would request my application to sell these ASIN be withdrawn or closed.

Thanks for your help,
 

 

 

This morning they responded that they were complying with my request and the case was closed, so i'm hoping this is it for the asin dementors.

 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2018 by cladner

[chinothegeeko]

After they rejected the perfectly acceptable certificates and asked for photos (yeah right) , I decided to not mess around and sold off and/recalled the remaining stock of items which I didn't feel like selling off below market (for which there are always alternate listings)..
In order to close the case out and put the issue to bed (for now hopefully),  I responded to the followup denial email with the message posted below.
 
Hello -

I have reviewed the list of ASIN again.

I currently have none of the listed ASIN in stock on amazon and have no remaining stock to sell.

Since I no longer have stock, I have deleted the ASIN listing from my store's inventory.

I would request my application to sell these ASIN be withdrawn or closed.

Thanks for your help,
   
 
This morning they responded that they were complying with my request and the case was closed, so i'm hoping this is it for the asin dementors.
 
 
 

Thank you for sharing. Still waiting on my denial reply.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[legorunner]

I'm recalling the 6 affected sets and closing mylistings as well. Like others reported, CS said last night that this would be sufficient and they have closed my case. 

Quick question: one of my sets is still wandering around in FC Transfer Limbo from my most recent shipment (I sent in 2 of that set, one is available for sale and the other is in limbo). Since I can't recall that set yet, do I risk anything by closing that listing while its still in FC Transfer? I've never had to recall any inventory beyond customer returns. Thanks!

[ISO8T0]

I really don't understand why they are requiring these certifications from 3PS. The products we are selling are already approved to be sold in the US and Amazon should be no exception.

Perhaps Amazon could share an example of a certificate they are using to sell the same brand?

Most of the ASIN's I received requests on (8 total) aren't in stock anyway and I may take the same route as you mentioned @cladner.

 

[cladner]

7 minutes ago, legorunner said:

I'm recalling the 6 affected sets and closing mylistings as well. Like others reported, CS said last night that this would be sufficient and they have closed my case. 

Quick question: one of my sets is still wandering around in FC Transfer Limbo from my most recent shipment (I sent in 2 of that set, one is available for sale and the other is in limbo). Since I can't recall that set yet, do I risk anything by closing that listing while its still in FC Transfer? I've never had to recall any inventory beyond customer returns. Thanks!

if you delete the listing  it will just show up in stranded inventory and then you can recall it from there.  i had same issue.

so annoying.  once we get further along into selling season i will resend some items to alternate listings if they are still up at that point.

 

Edited October 30, 2018 by cladner

[brickology101]

The unknown now is whether Amazon will issue as new wave of those safety report requests. I still find it strange that I can sell a lego set that others now have to recall because they cannot deliver the safety report that nobody can realistically deliver anyway. This is really what bothers me about this all thing. Different sellers received the same request for a safety report on different sets. There does not seem to be any logic to it at this time.

[cobrakai]

7 minutes ago, brickology101 said:

The unknown now is whether Amazon will issue as new wave of those safety report requests. I still find it strange that I can sell a lego set that others now have to recall because they cannot deliver the safety report that nobody can realistically deliver anyway. This is really what bothers me about this all thing. Different sellers received the same request for a safety report on different sets. There does not seem to be any logic to it at this time.

I was wondering about this also.  These are the sets I got requests on:

B01J8W5MTE  Lego Joker Lowrider  70906
B01KIEP8UO  Lego 10735 Junior Police
B01KIEP8UY  Lego 10734 Junior Demolition
B01KJENN8C  Lego 31063 Beachside Vacation
B01KJEOBJ2  Lego 31065 Park Street Townhouse
B01KJEOCZA  Lego 10747 Andrea Stephanie holiday
B01KOL5I1A  Lego 10823 Duplo Batwing
B01L0VXFRW  Lego 70622 Desert lightning
B01N3U7H3B  Lego 41185 Elves rescue goblin village
 

[jbacunn]

9 minutes ago, cobrakai said:

I was wondering about this also.  These are the sets I got requests on:

B01J8W5MTE  Lego Joker Lowrider  70906
B01KIEP8UO  Lego 10735 Junior Police
B01KIEP8UY  Lego 10734 Junior Demolition
B01KJENN8C  Lego 31063 Beachside Vacation
B01KJEOBJ2  Lego 31065 Park Street Townhouse
B01KJEOCZA  Lego 10747 Andrea Stephanie holiday
B01KOL5I1A  Lego 10823 Duplo Batwing
B01L0VXFRW  Lego 70622 Desert lightning
B01N3U7H3B  Lego 41185 Elves rescue goblin village
 

All of the listings people have mentioned so far have the word toy in the title. I think whoever noticed this first was right. Has anyone gotten a notice that did not include the word "toy" in the title of the listing?  This would not explain why some didn't get the notices. I had 3-4  active listings with the word "toy" in the title but I didn't receive any notices.  

Edited October 30, 2018 by jbacunn

[xeeeej]

Just now, jbacunn said:

All of the listings people have mentioned so far have the word toy in the title. I think whoever noticed this first was right. Has anyone gotten a notice that did not include the word "toy" in the title of the listing?  This would not explain why some didn't get the notices. I had 3-4  active listings with the word "toy" in the description but I didn't receive any notices.  

I have some "toy" listings, but haven't gotten notices on them yet.  I've put in requests to update the Title on all of them, and had a few fixed so far.  Fingers crossed.

[chrisynd]

1 minute ago, jbacunn said:

All of the listings people have mentioned so far have the word toy in the title. I think whoever noticed this first was right. Has anyone gotten a notice that did not include the word "toy" in the title of the listing?  This would not explain why some didn't get the notices. I had 3-4  active listings with the word "toy" in the title but I didn't receive any notices.  

It's a subset of listings with "Toy" in the title. Not all listings with it. I have active listings for a lot more "Toy" titled ASINs than the list I received.

[exciter1]

2 minutes ago, jbacunn said:

All of the listings people have mentioned so far have the word toy in the title. I think whoever noticed this first was right. Has anyone gotten a notice that did not include the word "toy" in the title of the listing?  This would not explain why some didn't get the notices. I had 3-4  active listings with the word "toy" in the description but I didn't receive any notices.  

I have other listings that still have Toy in the title also, but wasn't notified for those.  I had 11 total ASINs I had to  provide info for. I'm still waiting on the final email.

[jbacunn]

30 minutes ago, exciter1 said:

I have other listings that still have Toy in the title also, but wasn't notified for those.  I had 11 total ASINs I had to  provide info for. I'm still waiting on the final email.

The only explanation is that there is no explanation. 

[Ed Mack]

May I suggest someone starting a list of sets that seem to be causing these issues.  People can then add to it and figure out what is going on...

[cladner]

one cannot blame sellers and paranoid overthinkers  who have been tagged with this request for being reticent about proclaiming what set they are now stuck with as they try to sell their stock over the next 30 day window without triggering mass reseller dumping of stock and resulting price drop.

 

I will say that I have several sets for sale that others have been tagged with requests for that I somehow was not tagged with request for.

for example I am selling juniors demolition site and did not get certificate request.  i did get a request for juniors cinderella carriage which i was sold out of anyway.

upshot is to cull your listings of items you don't planning on selling anytime soon.

it seems like they are targeting sets for younger kids. 

i think having the word "toy" in the title is meaningless.  pretty much all listings have this word.

 

 

Edited October 30, 2018 by cladner

[chrisynd]

17 minutes ago, cladner said:

one cannot blame sellers and paranoid overthinkers  who have been tagged with this request for being reticent about proclaiming what set they are now stuck with as they try to sell their stock over the next 30 day window without triggering mass reseller dumping of stock and resulting price drop.

 

 

45 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

May I suggest someone starting a list of sets that seem to be causing these issues.  People can then add to it and figure out what is going on...

 

As Cladner said, that's the only reason I haven't posted exactly which ASINs I'm dealing with. Sorry, I'm working to dump the stock because it's just not worth potentially being on the "bad" list for Amazon this close to the holiday season. Rather sell those ASINs at a minor gain or minor loss and be done with it (for now). 

The posts on the Amazon seller forum suggest that this could be the start of more ASIN product safety notices to come, that some people have received suspension warnings if they don't provide the safety documents, or that it's all entirely a mistake and that Amazon (mistakenly) thinks we're manufacturers who should provide original test results (instead of retailers). Basically, no one knows what the heck is going on with this.

Edited October 30, 2018 by chrisynd

[Ed Mack]

3 minutes ago, chrisynd said:

 

 

As Cladner said, that's the only reason I haven't posted exactly which ASINs I'm dealing with. Sorry, I'm working to dump the stock because it's just not worth potentially being on the "bad" list for Amazon this close to the holiday season. Rather sell those ASINs at a minor gain or minor loss and be done with it (for now). 

The posts on the Amazon seller forum suggest that this could be the start of more ASIN product safety notices to come, that some people have received suspension warnings if they don't provide the safety documents, or that it's all entirely a mistake and that Amazon (mistakenly) thinks we're manufacturers who should provide original test results (instead of retailers). Basically, no one knows what the heck is going on with this.

As an outsider looking in, I would say that Amazon is looking to thin the herd.  If you go through the hoops, they might let you stay.  But many will go because they just don't want to deal with the BS.  

[chrisynd]

3 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

As an outsider looking in, I would say that Amazon is looking to thin the herd.  If you go through the hoops, they might let you stay.  But many will go because they just don't want to deal with the BS.  

This is my last year/holiday season. It's not worth the stress. Refunds, customers, shipping, logistics, LEGO producing remakes, etc -- all that I can deal with even when it sucks. Amazon being a giant question mark always teetering on a potential suspension out of the blue is too much. I don't want to have the day where Amazon says I can no longer sell and must remove a few semi-trucks worth of inventory ASAP. And you know it'd happen a month before Christmas.

Edited October 30, 2018 by chrisynd

[legorunner]

This has certainly made me rethink purchasing anything new right now until we see how this all plays out. I also sell on BL and eBay so I feel pretty good about my "post Amazon" strategy if/when I get booted from Amazon due to something like counterfeit complaints; however, If this is a large scale "thinning" of the Amazon crowd all at once, I worry about the health of the other markets. I know, I'll save the rest of it for the bubble thread... I bought some sets for personal build this weekend during the current Target gift card promo, but I"m sitting out buying for investment for now...

[Ed Mack]

2 minutes ago, chrisynd said:

This is my last year/holiday season. It's not worth the stress. Refunds, customers, shipping, logistics, -- all that I can deal with even when it sucks. Amazon being a giant question mark always teetering on a potential suspension out of the blue is too much. I don't want to have the day where Amazon says I can no longer sell and must remove a few semi-trucks worth of inventory ASAP. And you know it'd happen a month before Christmas.

They are moving the goal posts it would seem.  Basically, they are scaring people into submission.  Either do it perfectly or not at all.  It's obvious they could care less about many small to mid sized resellers.  They want fewer and bigger stores that have the capability to process sales and returns quickly, consistently and competently.   

[chrisynd]

6 minutes ago, legorunner said:

This has certainly made me rethink purchasing anything new right now until we see how this all plays out. I also sell on BL and eBay so I feel pretty good about my "post Amazon" strategy if/when I get booted from Amazon due to something like counterfeit complaints; however, If this is a large scale "thinning" of the Amazon crowd all at once, I worry about the health of the other markets. I know, I'll save the rest of it for the bubble thread... I bought some sets for personal build this weekend during the current Target gift card promo, but I"m sitting out buying for investment for now...

If you're at a volume that you can handle it yourself on BL and eBay, I wouldn't be too worried. Generally, the LEGO reseller market seems to have taken a bit of a dive in the past year or two since "peak" LEGO sometime around the "better than gold" stuff a while back. I've probably had the highest margins this year (and that's not because of aging stock). If you're happy to sit on inventory a while, diversify your sets, and enjoy self fulfilling on eBay/BL/here, I think you're just fine.

And as a reminder, the Toy Safety requests covers way more than just LEGO - Amazon has been requesting them for a variety of Toy brands. We're just on a LEGO forum.

4 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

They are moving the goal posts it would seem.  Basically, they are scaring people into submission.  Either do it perfectly or not at all.  It's obvious they could care less about many small to mid sized resellers.  They want fewer and bigger stores that have the capability to process sales and returns quickly, consistently and competently.   

Amazon has been moving the goal posts for a long while. They have a larger "supply" of sellers than there seems to be demand for them, so I think they're probably happy to occasionally thin things out a bit through various means. So far as your last sentence: I think most folks move pretty quickly to FBA which means we aren't directly handling sales/returns/customer service - that's on Amazon. I know I couldn't come close to self-fulfilling my daily order volume without setting a dedicated shipping space and a full time job for it.

[Ed Mack]

5 minutes ago, legorunner said:

This has certainly made me rethink purchasing anything new right now until we see how this all plays out. I also sell on BL and eBay so I feel pretty good about my "post Amazon" strategy if/when I get booted from Amazon due to something like counterfeit complaints; however, If this is a large scale "thinning" of the Amazon crowd all at once, I worry about the health of the other markets. I know, I'll save the rest of it for the bubble thread... I bought some sets for personal build this weekend during the current Target gift card promo, but I"m sitting out buying for investment for now...

It's not just the LEGO market that will be affected by this sort of behavior.  

 

3 minutes ago, chrisynd said:

If you're at a volume that you can handle it yourself on BL and eBay, I wouldn't be too worried. Generally, the LEGO reseller market seems to have taken a bit of a dive in the past year or two since "peak" LEGO sometime around the "better than gold" stuff a while back. I've probably had the highest margins this year (and that's not because of aging stock). If you're happy to sit on inventory a while, diversify your sets, and enjoy self fulfilling on eBay/BL/here, I think you're just fine.

And as a reminder, the Toy Safety requests covers way more than just LEGO - Amazon has been requesting them for a variety of Toy brands. We're just on a LEGO forum.

Amazon has been moving the goal posts for a long while. They have a larger "supply" of sellers than there seems to be demand for them, so I think they're probably happy to occasionally thin things out a bit through various means. So far as your last sentence: I think most folks move pretty quickly to FBA which means we aren't directly handling sales/returns/customer service - that's on Amazon. I know I couldn't come close to self-fulfilling my daily order volume without setting a dedicated shipping space and a full time job for it.

Which makes it more confusing as to why they are giving you a hard time.  They are making money off of you reselling products multiple ways.  

[asharerin]

6 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

They are moving the goal posts it would seem.  Basically, they are scaring people into submission.  Either do it perfectly or not at all.  It's obvious they could care less about many small to mid sized resellers.  They want fewer and bigger stores that have the capability to process sales and returns quickly, consistently and competently.   

Given that Lego was just one brand out of hundreds that they are pulling this stunt on I am guessing they are trying to make life very difficult for all of those sellers who scooped up toys r us clearance and who would normally scalp toys at high prices during the holiday season. I am sure Amazon procured most of the toys r us volume and feel confident that they alone can supply most of the hot toys at the lowest price or even at a loss to drive traffic. Many are going to lose their shirts on toys this shopping season. The hard gating of most of the hot toys and asking for test reports and not certificates of compliance is all good evidence. It would not surprise me in the least if all of these items become ungated and no testing required after February.

You are right they have maxed out their warehouses and market growth so now they get to raise fees and cull sellers they do not particularly want. Unfortunately Lego is a huge problem as alot of buyers file false counterfeit claims to get refunds and a free set. I would expect more and more restrictions on the Lego brand. Going to be a tough road ahead if that is your main brand and Amazon is your main selling platform.

[Ed Mack]

3 minutes ago, asharerin said:

Given that Lego was just one brand out of hundreds that they are pulling this stunt on I am guessing they are trying to make life very difficult for all of those sellers who scooped up toys r us clearance and who would normally scalp toys at high prices during the holiday season. I am sure Amazon procured most of the toys r us volume and feel confident that they alone can supply most of the hot toys at the lowest price or even at a loss to drive traffic. Many are going to lose their shirts on toys this shopping season. The hard gating of most of the hot toys and asking for test reports and not certificates of compliance is all good evidence. It would not surprise me in the least if all of these items become ungated and no testing required after February.

You are right they have maxed out their warehouses and market growth so now they get to raise fees and cull sellers they do not particularly want. Unfortunately Lego is a huge problem as alot of buyers file false counterfeit claims to get refunds and a free set. I would expect more and more restrictions on the Lego brand. Going to be a tough road ahead if that is your main brand and Amazon is your main selling platform.

Makes sense...Especially on new toys and sets.  Amazon knows that LEGO products are probably one of their highest volume "reseller" brands.  That being said, if you can survive this year, next year might be a reseller's market.  

[Mark Twain]

1 minute ago, asharerin said:

Given that Lego was just one brand out of hundreds that they are pulling this stunt on I am guessing they are trying to make life very difficult for all of those sellers who scooped up toys r us clearance and who would normally scalp toys at high prices during the holiday season. I am sure Amazon procured most of the toys r us volume and feel confident that they alone can supply most of the hot toys at the lowest price or even at a loss to drive traffic. Many are going to lose their shirts on toys this shopping season. The hard gating of most of the hot toys and asking for test reports and not certificates of compliance is all good evidence. It would not surprise me in the least if all of these items become ungated and no testing required after February.

You are right they have maxed out their warehouses and market growth so now they get to raise fees and cull sellers they do not particularly want. Unfortunately Lego is a huge problem as alot of buyers file false counterfeit claims to get refunds and a free set. I would expect more and more restrictions on the Lego brand. Going to be a tough road ahead if that is your main brand and Amazon is your main selling platform.

I think you're right-- Amazon is flexing is monopoly-sized muscle and running people off. I will say that the hard gate for new sellers in toys came down in May of this year (had to have a CPC). I doubt they'll lift it after applying a new one (actual test reports) to existing sellers with accounts in good standing. This seems like a progression on their part, one that will only tighten with more restrictions. 

A good chunk of my business was selling bulk to FBA folks . . . in fact, my clearance buying strategy this past round at WM was only to focus on buying sets in when I could get them in bulk, ignoring other deals, so this sucks for those of us outside of Amazon, too. 

[Phil B]

And in the meanwhile it has been 3 months and they still haven't managed to fix the listing for 75153 AT-ST ... Received a celebratory email yesterday claiming it was fixed, but it wasn't, so back we go to more weeks of "please be patient" status update emails....