Amazon Wants Proof Of Purchase From Sellers

Aiming to fight counterfeit products on its website, eCommerce giant Amazon is now putting sellers through a more rigorous vetting process before listing their products online.

According to a report, Amazon is now requiring sellers to pay a fee, which can be as high as $1,500, and provide purchase invoices from a handful of manufacturers and distributors before being able to sell the products on its website. Some of the brands that sellers need to show proof of purchase from include Nike and Lego. The move is designed to create a roadblock for sellers who are hawking counterfeit goods. Its also aimed at stopping sellers that buy the goods they sell on Amazon from secondary markets.

The report noted that, as of Aug. 22, any new Amazon marketplace sellers that list products from select brands have to pay the fee. What’s more, they need to provide three purchase invoices from the manufacturer and distributor, as well as a letter from the manufacturer authorizing the seller to sell its products. Some of the other brands that have suffered from counterfeits include Funko, Hasbro, Hewlett Packard and Samsung.

The move comes as some retailers are taking counterfeit goods on Amazon into their own hands. Earlier this year, CNBC reported Birkenstock USA CEO David Kahan circulated a memo internally and to its retail partners that said it will be pulling its supply of products from Amazon on Jan. 1. This comes in response to what Kahan and Birkenstock claim are rampant counterfeit sandals listed for sale on the site, and despite working with Amazon to try and get a lid on the problem, Birkenstock is instead putting its open-toed foot down.

“The Amazon marketplace, which operates as an ‘open market,’ creates an environment where we experience unacceptable business practices, which we believe jeopardize our brand,” Kahan reportedly wrote in the note.“Policing this activity internally and in partnership with Amazon.com has proven impossible.”