The Amazon.com will strictly investigate price gouging, and violators may be blocked!

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world, consumer demand for epidemic prevention and control related products such as masks, disinfectants, and test kits is also rising. Some sellers with ulterior motives have taken the opportunity to raise product prices in order to gain higher profits. Recently, Amazon.com announced that it will strictly investigate price gouging, and sellers with serious circumstances may be banned.

“ Corresponding to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, we have observed an increase in incidents of price gouging in Amazon stores, particularly on COVID-19 related products,” Amazon said in its announcement. “As you know, our Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy protects customers from unfair, excessive, and misleading prices, and failure to comply with this policy may trigger offer removal or account suspension. ”

Amazon’s price gouging prevention systems will adapt to changes in local laws to provide a consistent experience for customers, and Amazon will continue to adjust the requirements of its price gouging prevention systems to account for increases in goods, shipping, and labor costs.

Sellers can review and restore product listings that may or have been deactivated under the Fair Pricing Policy by visiting the Pricing Health page.

In response to this announcement, some sellers expressed their approval of Amazon's policy. They believe that in natural disasters or other emergencies, when necessities may be in short supply, the government or the platform has the right to control the price of products, which is also a protection of consumer rights.

But there are also a large number of sellers who believe that Amazon’s strict control over product prices harms their rights.

Seller A : I have had a ton of product listings removed due to “ potentially high pricing errors. ” I don’t know if Amazon is acting with malicious intent, but their algorithm is terrible.

Seller B: This has to be a joke! I’ve had some listings deactivated because of pricing even though my prices were already below Amazon’s fulfillment prices.

Seller C : Amazon’s system for marking “ potentially high prices ” is extremely flawed. I have a product that sells for only $ 1 , but it was also marked as a “ potentially high price ” by Amazon and was deactivated …

In short, Amazon has begun to strictly check product pricing, and sellers should conduct self-inspections in a timely manner according to Amazon's relevant policies to avoid affecting subsequent operations.

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