California legislation de-fanged, gives no relief to Amazon sellers
As predicted, the California legislation will not make Seller Performance any friendlier
Also as predicted, the California legislature’s AB-1790 has been watered down to a point that it means almost nothing. The most recent version of the bill strikes out the few provisions that I truly believed would have a positive impact for sellers. At the same time, it’s clear that someone (an Amazon lobbyist?) explained “risk management” to the legislature, as there are now provisos to protect every step of the investigation and enforcement processes in Seller Performance.
Striking out the good
One provision originally in the bill said it would “prohibit a marketplace from destroying products in its possession that are the property of a marketplace seller without offering the marketplace seller a reasonable opportunity to retrieve the marketplace seller’s property.”
Embracing risk management
In other words, Amazon doesn’t have to tell you anything. And the word “specific” was removed. So your suspension notice will be generic, just like they always have been.
What does it all mean?
Just as the changes to the BSA made very little positive difference to Amazons sellers, the California legislation will have little to no positive effects. The only question I have at this point is what it means for those sellers whose accounts are frauded. Let me explain. Sometimes, Amazon designates an account as “frauded” because Amazon suspects one of a wide range of fraudulent activities has occurred. This can be anything from money laundering to buying/selling fake gift cards to violating laws about overseas ownership, and more.
In these rare cases, the account is closed with no notice whatsoever. The seller cannot login, and there is no appeals process in place. Sometimes, we can get these accounts reinstated if the fraud designation was made in error (yes, it happens – twice in the last month at Riverbend, in fact!). But it is an extremely tough uphill battle.
Under the new legislation, Amazon would have to provided frauded California sellers with a reason for their account’s deactivation. Don’t be surprised if this provision disappears down the memory hole by the time the next version of the bill is considered.
Have more concerns about the California legislation? Riverbend Consulting navigates online retail. Get your Amazon account reinstated, sell with confidence, and increase your bottom line. Contact us.
Author
Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (21 and 15) who do most of the heavy lifting.