6,000 accounts blocked! Amazon is opening up applications for mask sales again. What is it trying to do?

Last week, a group of sellers selling masks and other epidemic prevention supplies gathered at Amazon’s Shenzhen office to request the unblocking of their accounts, revealing the tip of the iceberg of undercurrents in the epidemic prevention supplies category.

Although the supervision is becoming more and more strict, there is a shortage of masks in overseas markets now. For sellers whose products and procedures are compliant, Amazon has no reason to stop them from selling. Recently, Amazon Japan has opened applications for mask sales again.

On May 11, Amazon Japan issued an email notification titled "Application for sales of masks":

The email content is as follows:

As early as March 15, Amazon Japan tightened the review of the mask category and closed the original review path, requiring sellers to apply separately and provide additional relevant qualifications before they can sell.

Now that it’s reopened, do ordinary sellers have a chance?

Don’t make a decision in a hurry. Take a closer look at Amazon’s announcement. There is a lot of information hidden behind this plain sentence.

Amazon specifically emphasizes the principle of fair pricing , which means that your price cannot be too high? However, with logistics and manufacturing costs soaring, the final selling price will definitely increase. So the question is: how much increase will meet Amazon's fair pricing principle?

Therefore, many sellers cannot judge this degree accurately, and may step on Amazon's red line at any time, resulting in the removal of products from shelves or even closure of stores. Besides, it is not easy to find a factory with complete qualifications. Therefore, at this point, the editor does not recommend small and medium-sized sellers to enter the mask category.

Don’t believe it? Take a look at Amazon’s recent closure of its store.

On May 12, it was reported that Amazon's regional managers in Italy and Spain pointed out that American multinational companies were forced to make major operational changes before the epidemic.

Regarding the controversy over price increases for various protective equipment, such as masks or gloves, Spain country manager Marseglia said they are doing everything possible to detect and punish suppliers who engage in price fraud during the pandemic.

"We have zero tolerance for these practices, especially for masks and other protective equipment. Currently, about 6,000 sellers' stores have been blocked !"

In addition, 500,000 products on Amazon have been marked as unreasonable price increases by the algorithm and may be subject to further processing at any time!

After the United States closed its doors, Europe followed suit. Therefore, even if Amazon Japan has now opened applications for mask sales, sellers should still enter the market with caution. It is likely that they will fatten up the sellers before killing them, just like the US site did before. After all, my brother-in-law likes to settle scores later.