Many categories are affected! Amazon removes a large number of products with electrical connections

On Amazon's US and Canadian sites, a large number of powered products have been removed from shelves due to lithium battery issues. Flashlights and headlamps are among the hardest hit. According to sellers, about 50% of long flashlights have been removed from shelves. Among the removed products, there are many top products in the category, including popular old products that have been on the shelves for three or four years and have accumulated tens of thousands of reviews.

Lithium batteries are widely used in electrical products, and some 3C products have also been caught in the vortex. Yesterday, the electric toothbrush category on Meiya.com was shaken. Among the top 50 BSR best-selling lists in the category, the link pages of 10 products showed "currently unavailable for sale", which attracted the attention of sellers.

Because Amazon is implementing restrictions on the listing of [lithium-ion batteries], the removal of most products seems irreversible. A few sellers have restored their links after submitting information, but most sellers' appeals have been rejected. Amazon also reminded sellers that they can no longer sell these products, and the related listings will also be deleted. Amazon does not accept applications to sell these products. Some sellers received store closure reminders after repeated appeals.

Amazon removes a large number of products with electrical components

At the end of January, Amazon seller Wang Chuan contacted Yinen.com and said that several of his links had been removed from the shelves one after another and wanted to seek help.

"My product is a flashlight equipped with an 18650 lithium battery. On the 22nd, the product suddenly became a failure. The case was opened and the backend prompt said it was a product safety issue, but there was no detailed description. There was no complaint entry in the backend or in the email, and the product was directly removed after 30 days. Some of my colleagues have also encountered such a situation. The three-year-old link was gone, and the policy was that TVs/stereos cannot sell cylindrical lithium batteries." Wang Chuan said that the situation is becoming serious.

This week, there has been a surge in feedback about products being removed from shelves due to lithium batteries. In multiple seller groups, people have asked whether products have been removed from shelves due to containing 18650 lithium batteries; while other sellers have turned their links to products with batteries into fakes, and they are unaware that they have stepped on a landmine of batteries.

Currently, the products that have been removed from the shelves are mainly concentrated in the Canadian and American sites:

——"The American site, which makes flashlights, did not receive any warning letters or emails, and most of the links were directly removed from the shelves."

——"I was also affected. I was on the US station doing radio, and several links were dead. I did not receive any warning letters or emails."

——"Many links on our Canadian site have gone down! I asked customer service and they said they couldn't restore them. They didn't even ask for information. Now I'm worried about the US site."

——"Three products with 18650 lithium batteries suddenly went dark on the front page. I contacted Amazon and they said they banned them from sale."

——"My battery is not a 18650 cylindrical lithium-ion battery, but two links were also removed. The customer service replied that 'UL is still required even if it is a misjudgment.'"

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Flashlights and other products were the first to be affected by Amazon's rectification. Wang Chuan said that the products removed from the shelves include flashlights, headlamps, camping lanterns, and related products using 18650 and 26650 batteries. "Flashlights are the hardest hit, and basically 50% of long flashlights have been removed from the shelves."

Yesterday morning, the editor searched for "18650" on Amazon US and got more than 6,000 search results, mainly flashlights, headlamps, 18650 battery chargers, etc., and many of the product titles contain the word "18650". Among these results, many products are still on sale, but some flashlights, headlamps and other product pages with "18650" in the title have been displayed as "unavailable for sale". Some of them have been on the shelves for three or four years and have accumulated tens of thousands of reviews. They rank high in the sub-category.

There are many products that use lithium batteries. In addition to flashlights, headlamps and other hard-hit areas, some 3C products are also affected.

According to Wang Chuan, since yesterday, the products of the top sellers in the BSR of the electric toothbrush category have also been removed from the shelves . The editor checked the best-selling list of electric toothbrushes (Ultrasonic Toothbrushes) on Amazon's US site and found that 10 product links in the top 50 have been displayed as "unavailable for sale". The electric toothbrush category, which had just been swept up in the previous account suspension wave, has once again ushered in some turmoil.

The unsaleable listings include the No. 1 electric toothbrush, which mentions " lithium-ion battery " in its product description. Currently, this product has accumulated nearly 60,000 ratings, with a score of 4.6 stars. Judging from the dense time of leaving reviews, this is a rare hot-selling product.

When the products were removed from the shelves, most sellers did not receive any relevant emails or warning letters. Wang Chuan opened a case for consultation and received the following response:

Amazon said it has implemented listing restrictions for lithium battery types , including RCR123, RCR123A, and rechargeable 18650 batteries. Sellers can no longer sell these products, related links will be deleted, and Amazon will not accept applications to sell these products.

In the relevant regulations of the North American site, Amazon listed examples of prohibited sales of TV /audio products, including "cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (models: 14500, 16340, 18650, 20700, 21700 and 26650), and all products containing batteries of this model, even if the battery is not built into the product."

After the platform began to rectify this wave, many sellers faced the situation of several links being removed from the shelves, and the related salable inventory became unsalable. "I directly posted half of the links, and asked the customer service, but they said that even with the UL certificate, it is not necessarily possible to appeal, as this is a category of batteries that are prohibited from sale. It's a mess, and I cleaned it up during the Chinese New Year. The impact is huge." A seller was worried.

After the product was removed from the shelves, Amazon's statements were mixed. Some customer service representatives directly stated that the product could not be restored, while another case responded that UL certification was required. However, after the seller provided it as required, Amazon stated that it would not accept 18650 cylindrical rechargeable lithium battery products.

The seller's appeal was rejected and the seller continued to sell the product or was shut down.

An operator said that after the company's products were removed from the shelves, colleagues submitted product pictures, UL2056 reports, DOC compliance declarations and UN38.3 reports to restore the links, but some products failed to be restored after submitting the same information. Some sellers provided NRTL-UL certification according to customer service instructions, but also failed to pass the review.

Sellers are still trying to appeal. On the Canadian site, a seller's reverse charging product was removed from the shelves as a power bank. After several attempts, he successfully solved the problem and shared his solution with his peers:

1. Delete all the related keywords such as 18650, mAh, lithium battery, etc.
2. If there are any battery models such as 18650 mentioned in the picture, please delete the picture or replace it with another one.
3. Complaint information:
(1) English instruction manual
(2) Product six-sided diagram (PDF)
(3) UL2056 report
(4)DOC Compliance Statement
(5) UN38.3 report and MSDS report

This plan was praised by many sellers. Wang Chuan also prepared the complaint materials with reference to this plan. His products were removed from the US and Canadian sites, so he skipped the "DOC Declaration of Conformity" applicable to the EU .

A friend of Wang Chuan sells camping lanterns on the US site, and his products were also removed during this rectification. He submitted the above information in full, but was rejected. Amazon replied that due to safety issues, the ASIN provided could not be approved. Amazon is implementing restrictions on the listing of [lithium-ion batteries]. Then the same sentence: Sellers can no longer sell these products, the relevant listings will be deleted, and Amazon will not accept applications to sell these products.

Many sellers on the Canadian site were affected in this incident. When one seller appealed again, the email replied that "Amazon is implementing listing restrictions for lithium-ion batteries," but with an additional sentence - " Please note that continuing to try to list these products will result in the removal of your sales privileges . " Wang Chuan called this a "store closure threat."

(Reply email from the Canadian site after the second appeal)

One seller analyzed that the battery model "18650" in the copy would trigger the removal of the product, and suggested changing it to a rechargeable battery and deleting the battery detail picture in the photo set. However, links that have triggered review and removal are basically irreversible.

Wang Chuan said he didn't know how other people appealed, but no one in his seller group had successfully appealed. "This type of lithium battery product does not accept appeals. After the listing is removed from the shelves, the related inventory is forcibly removed. Amazon gives you 30 days, and within these 30 days, you must remove the related removed products."

Seeing a large number of similar products being taken off the shelves, sellers whose products are still on sale are also starting to get uneasy. They are worried that they will be scanned by the system, so how to prevent it before it happens has become the current focus.

Some sellers suggest that ASINs that have not been removed should upload relevant information about lithium batteries in a timely manner, but Amazon is already rectifying the situation, and it is not known whether submitting information now will have any protective effect. In addition, many sellers are worried that if they proactively submit certification reports and complete information before being caught by Amazon, it may attract Amazon's attention, which would be a self-incrimination.

Sellers question whether Amazon's policy is reasonable

A large number of 18650 lithium battery-related products were removed from the shelves, and sellers suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Many sellers expressed their concerns about Amazon's sudden rectification, and also raised some doubts.

One seller wondered: "By doing this, does Amazon mean that all 18650-related products are not allowed to be sold? There are so many products, so are all kinds of small fans not allowed to be sold?" Another seller bluntly said: "It is ridiculous to directly ban the sale of all cylindrical lithium batteries. This will affect a wide range of people."

According to insiders, there are too many products involving 18650 lithium batteries. Many products sold on Amazon, such as e-cigarette equipment, mini fans, decorative lights, camping lights, etc., are related products, and sellers in many categories will be affected. Basically, all products with built-in batteries use lithium batteries, so it is unreasonable for Amazon to do this.

As the seller mentioned, there are indeed many sellers selling products related to 18650 lithium batteries. Many well-known top sellers in the industry also sell products in related categories. As we all know, many Shenzhen sellers started with 3C products, and many 3C products use 18650 lithium batteries as power sources. A considerable number of sellers did not conduct certification that meets the platform requirements before listing their products, so if Amazon continues to conduct strict inspections, many sellers will suffer heavy losses.

Going further, if this wave of products is completely removed from the shelves and the links are no longer restored, it will be a big blow to sellers with large inventory.

Wang Chuan introduced that, at present, Amazon’s current wave of rectification has a great impact on sellers.

First, it has a great impact on the relevant sellers. For example, the seller’s three-year-old links were suddenly removed from the shelves. It is difficult to maintain links now. The links that have been cultivated with great difficulty are suddenly gone, which is a big loss. In addition, the inventory of some products is quite large.

Second, sellers of related products that have not yet been removed from the shelves will be very scared, as they worry that the products will be removed from the shelves at any time. If a seller has a new product that is related to lithium batteries, then the seller will be very worried before putting it on the shelves, and whether the new product can be put on the shelves is also a question.

The third is the more far-reaching impact. The subsequent trend of this matter is still unknown. As a seller, we can only take one step at a time. Because there are no clear regulations, it is difficult for us to make a judgment. To put it bluntly, we have to wait and see what happens first, and look at Amazon's policies.

As far as Amazon's policies are concerned, this is not the first time that the platform has rectified 18650 lithium battery products.

As early as 2018, some domestic sellers received email reminders from Amazon, prohibiting the sale of 18650 lithium batteries.

According to foreign media reports, there were many safety issues caused by lithium batteries before 2018. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there were 49 high-energy-density battery recalls between 2012 and 2017, involving more than 4 million devices, including mobile phones, scooters, power tools and laptops.

After Amazon's email alert in 2018, some lithium battery products continued to appear on the Amazon platform. One product review read: "This product may explode!" and was accompanied by pictures of burnt chargers and burnt floors. However, the product was still on sale in January 2019.

In March 2019, when the media contacted Amazon to ask why lithium-ion batteries could still be purchased on its website, a spokeswoman told the media that "18650 batteries are indeed banned and she will ask her team to investigate." Three days later, almost all related products disappeared. Amazon then said in a statement: "The products with problems on the platform have been removed." In April 2019, more 18650 battery products appeared on the Amazon platform.

Lithium battery products were banned from sale on Amazon, but later they were miraculously restored. To avoid accidents, Amazon has been conducting strict inspections on electric products before listing them, and they can only be sold normally if they meet relevant certification requirements.

However, some sellers on the platform do not comply with Amazon's platform rules and do not certify 18650 lithium battery-related products before putting them on sale . As a result, there have been repeated cases of such products being removed from the shelves in recent years.

Some commentators believe that, in general, policy enforcement and policy formulation are completely different things on Amazon. An Amazon spokesperson said that the platform invests a lot of resources to ensure that the products sold on its website are authentic, and the company ensures that more than 99% of the products viewed by customers on Amazon have never received complaints about counterfeit products.

Behind the strict investigation, product "injury" incidents occur frequently

This time, Amazon strictly inspected 18650 battery-related products and removed a large number of links, which may be related to a warning issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

On January 8, 2021, the CPSC warned consumers not to buy or use bulk 18650 lithium polymer batteries. These batteries are manufactured as industrial components of battery packs and should not be separated and sold to consumers. But now, they are separated, repackaged, and sold on the Internet as new consumable batteries.

Rechargeable lithium batteries that are not installed in a device or are not part of a complete battery ( "loose batteries") are potentially dangerous to consumers when handling, transporting, storing, charging, or powering a device. Specifically, these batteries may have exposed metal positive and negative terminals that may short-circuit when they come into contact with metal objects (such as keys or coins in your pocket). Once short-circuited, loose batteries can overheat and cause thermal runaway, igniting the internal materials of the battery and forcibly expelling the burning contents, resulting in fire, explosion, casualties, etc.

In addition, loose batteries may also experience thermal runaway when consumers use incompatible chargers to charge the batteries. Unfortunately, more and more small electronic products, such as e-cigarettes, portable fans, headlights, and some toys, are using loose 18650 batteries as power sources. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is working with e-commerce sites, including eBay, to remove listings that sell these loose battery products.

CPSC is responsible for protecting the public from unnecessary risks of injury and death from the use of noncompliant products, which cost the U.S. more than $1 trillion in death, injury, and property damage each year.

In the warning issued by CPSC, it was clearly mentioned that there are many products using bulk 18650 batteries, and it will cooperate with e-commerce platforms to delete the listings of these products. Then a number of Amazon sellers had their 18650 battery-related products removed from the shelves.

The problem of unreasonable injuries or deaths caused by the use of thousands of consumer products mentioned by the CPSC has occurred frequently in the United States in recent years, and some of these products were purchased through e-commerce platforms such as Amazon.

In 2019, Jabricia Pratt, an Oklahoma mother, bought a replacement iPhone battery on Amazon. The battery exploded in the car, her car was burned, and the phone battery melted on the seat. After the incident, Pratt tried to contact LeeVee, the seller of the mobile phone battery that caused her car to explode, and she found that the product had been removed from the shelves. Pratt also contacted Amazon, which said that it was not responsible for things provided by third-party sellers.

There is also a foreign media report that Nicholas Jones of New York bought a replacement battery for an HP laptop from Amazon. A few days later, the lithium-ion battery in his laptop suddenly caught fire, and then the sofa at home caught fire. Later, Jones was treated for first-degree chemical burns, and his computer and hardwood floors were destroyed in the fire. Jones tried to contact the seller online and alert Amazon to the problem, but he said Amazon didn't seem to care about the problem.

There have been many similar cases in recent years, and foreign media have also reported on them. Some foreign media reported that safety accidents such as fires and explosions of some non-compliant products on Amazon have occurred repeatedly. These inferior products have destroyed buyers' houses or cars, and even threatened personal safety.

After each incident, the platform will conduct a strict inspection of third-party sellers involved in related categories.

Ultimately, Amazon's removal of 18650 battery-related products is closely related to safety issues. As a seller, you must conduct compliance certification when selling related products, be responsible for the safety of others, and add a layer of protection for your product links to avoid losses when the platform is rectified.

Amazon

Removed

Electrical products