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▲ Video account focuses on cross-border navigation The Amazon account blocking trend has been going on for more than a few months, but the storm is far from over. For the cross-border circle, this is undoubtedly a long-lasting and far-reaching storm. In the process of defending their rights and filing complaints, Chinese sellers have also started a silent game with Amazon. Recently, there has been new progress in the case of Chinese sellers being banned. Chinese sellers file class-action lawsuit against Amazon It is learned that according to foreign media reports, based on the latest lawsuit filed on September 13, several Chinese companies have filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California over the account blocking incident. The lawsuit shows that the Chinese company is seeking to "recover funds illegally and improperly withheld by Amazon" and that the class action lawsuit is intended to prevent any funds that legally and properly belong to thousands of Amazon sellers and merchants from being further "embezzled and misused." It is reported that the complaint filed by the sellers is 28 pages long, and the companies involved in this lawsuit include Sopownic, Slaouwo, Deyixun, Cstech, Recoo Direct, Angelbliss and Tudi. ▲ The picture comes from the Internet Amazon has not yet responded to the joint complaint filed by Chinese sellers. According to previous reports, Chinese sellers had already planned to sue Amazon collectively and seek official assistance, but the plan was forced to be suspended because the jointly initiated lawsuit and the corporate demands failed to reach an agreement. At the same time, the official also stated that it will remain neutral in the account blocking incident, and said that if the seller cannot prove that he has not violated the Amazon platform rules, it will not be able to support the seller’s request to take legal action against Amazon. Although the sellers’ appeal process is full of obstacles, due to the huge losses of funds, goods, etc. caused by blocked accounts, sellers have been actively seeking solutions and appeal channels. Until this month, they officially filed a lawsuit against Amazon. Do the sellers have any chance of winning? What is the focus of this lawsuit? It is learned that in the past five months, a total of about 3,000 Chinese seller accounts have been banned. In addition to multiple manipulations of reviews, these accounts are also involved in a number of gray industries, including illegal bribery and fraud. Most of the sellers who were blocked did so because they violated Amazon’s positive review policy, which resulted in several accounts being blocked, account funds being frozen, and large amounts of goods being stranded overseas, causing incalculable losses. As for the reason for the account being blocked, the Chinese sellers countered that Amazon is responsible for FBA logistics, so it is aware of the behavior of these sellers offering discounts to customers who leave positive reviews. ▲ The picture comes from the Internet However, according to Amazon's terms, Amazon does not allow sellers to file class action lawsuits, and dispute resolution matters can only be established on an individual basis. “Although Amazon has the right to suspend sellers’ store operations, it has no right to hold their goods and funds, which will cause further damage to sellers,” said Yang, a lawyer at Shenzhen Daxin Law Firm. Obviously, the focus of this lawsuit is whether Amazon has the right to withhold sellers' funds , which is also the biggest controversy in this account suspension incident. Amazon issued a policy in 2016 that prohibited "rewards for positive reviews," and the sellers did not deny that they had violated the policy. Their focus was that Amazon withheld "hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars" from their accounts. In Amazon's public response to the account suspension incident, it specifically mentioned the seller's appeal process and follow-up issues. Amazon provided an appeal opportunity for the Chinese seller accounts involved. For accounts that failed to successfully appeal or did not appeal, the funds will be temporarily frozen for 90 days. However, Amazon also specifically mentioned the purpose of this frozen fund. They will be used to cover the seller's refund, return and compensation costs, as well as other unpaid fees. But Amazon's Service Business Solutions Agreement also makes it clear that if a company violates the policy, Amazon reserves the "sole discretion" to permanently withhold funds. Under Amazon's numerous constraints and policy restrictions, the road for sellers to successfully defend their rights is still long and difficult. Do you think sellers can recover funds frozen by Amazon? Feel free to discuss in the comments section~
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