Our Amazon business sure makes it easy for us to be successful. It’s an easy process to find and replenish profitable products.
But, there can be hazards.
One of our students had the ultimate in hazards happen. Amazon suspended them. And after spending a month working with Seller Support, got the “you’re-finished-don’t-call-again” email.
This seems to be the end. Perhaps.
But, the lesson is from how it happened.
Remember that our primary success task is to find and source profitable products. This is a simple, just not very easy job.
It’s simple because you just do research.
It’s not easy because that research takes time, energy, and dedication to working at it until you have success. There are many miles of trails with hundreds of sub-trails branching off, with most ending at the dead-end of hours of work.
That’s OK, because the prize is worth the effort.
Here’s what’s not OK — thinking you’ve found that brand-name deal of the century, only to find that you’ve found a counterfeit without knowing it.
Many are the reputable importer companies that you can find with seemingly thousands of really cool and wondrous deals.
Beware!
If it has a brand name on it, and being imported, it might be a counterfeit.
Now, the importer might not even know it, Most of the goods we consume here in the USA are made overseas. So, most brands can come here through importing.
However, the brand owner might not recognize those products as their own. It might come out of the very same factories, but if the owner did not authorize the production run, it’s a counterfeit.
What to do?
If you’re interested in a particular brand name, then contact that company and ask to buy direct, or to buy from their authorized distributors. They will either sell to you, direct you to a distributor, or not. If not, then don’t try an end-run with sketchy importers or “wholesalers” you find on the internet.
Just walk on and find another.
Remember, Freedom By Amazon is a prize worthy of the work it requires to find those products.
What happens if you run afoul of Amazon?
Absolutely answer every email, follow all their directions, apologize, pull all the offending products, specify a plan on how you will never do it again, pray, and keep working at it. Keep up a great attitude. Convey your horror at inadvertently sending counterfeit products. Show how customer-centric you are. Don’t plead. Don’t make excuses, or deflect blame. Be professional.
You might avoid that suspension after all.
If you don’t?
I don’t have a ready answer, but it isn’t the end of the world. There are other venues besides Amazon. You will just have to keep your chin up and find them, work them, and be a success over there.
John L