Amazon has issued another new regulation, and it will take effect immediately!
The new regulations have a wide range of impact, a large number of sellers are in a panic, do not know how to deal with it, some people are suspicious of this regulation, and call it crazy! It is certain that the affected sellers, if they do not provide relevant information as required by the platform, a large number of listings will face the risk of being taken off the shelves.
Amazon issued new regulations on button batteries, and a large number of sellers were affected
Yesterday, a large number of Seller Panels received compliance requests from Amazon, mainly selling products involving button batteries. According to Amazon's requirements, products containing button batteries need to submit relevant documentation, otherwise the link will be removed.
The compliance requests that sellers receive stem from a new Amazon rule. Recently, Amazon released new requirements for consumer products with button batteries, which are effective immediately.
The new requirements mention that if a seller sells a product with a coin cell battery, the following documents will need to be provided to ensure compliance.
1. Certificate of compliance with Underwriters Laboratories 4200A (UL4200A) provided by a ISO17025 approved laboratory;
2. General certificate of conformity to UL4200A.
Amazon also mentions that previously Reese's law only applied to the coin cell or coin battery itself. For safety reasons, this law now applies to batteries and all consumer products containing batteries.
Based on the feedback, there are many sellers who have received compliance requests. Some sellers said that all calculator products are marked as meeting compliance requirements, and there are also many sellers who sell watch products that have been tricked.
The new regulations have a wide range of impacts, with some sellers being flagged with more than 80, while others with more than 30 or 40.
One seller exclaimed, "Crazy! We have dozens of products affected, but we don't know anything about compliance, and when I contact the factory, they don't know either!" Another seller also said: "It's crazy, there are too many SKUs in the store, how can we make sure that every product is certified?"
"I received a notice today, but I don't understand what to do with FBA's inventory now?"
An industry insider shared that consumer goods containing button batteries include but are not limited to: clocks, calculators, cameras, flameless candles, flash clothing, shoes and boots, holiday decorations, keychain flashlights, music greeting cards, remote controls, etc.
For the products that are marked this time, Amazon has a limited time to require the submission of materials, and it is foreseeable that the listing of many sellers will be affected.
"Many of our listings have been flagged, 45 so far, and all of them have been sent out by Amazon in the last 24 hours. These listings will need to provide compliance documents, packaging images, and lab test results by April 22 (next Monday) or May 15-16 (one month from now).
We have contacted the manufacturers and asked them to provide the required documents, pictures and lab reports, but they are unable to provide them. We are unable to repackage all of our products within this time frame and ensure that the requirements are met. This can take anywhere from a few months to a year due to ISO lab testing of more than 45 individual products.
Based on this, such efforts simply do not make sense. Now we only have 1 week to a month, so most listings will inevitably be deleted. A seller introduced.
Another seller also said that 30 listings were flagged and now they don't know what to do, so they can only contact some laboratory departments to do testing, but all related tests will take a long time.
Sellers who receive compliance requirements are required to provide information by the platform at different times, some deadlines are in April, and some are in May or June, which may be related to the sale of products. One of the sellers, who has a deadline of June, said that there are almost two months left before the affected products may be removed.
The new rules are suspicious, and some other products have been affected
It is worth noting that there are also some products that do not involve coin cell batteries or coin batteries that are also affected.
One seller bluntly said: "This is crazy! Amazon bots have flagged products that use a lot of 9v batteries, not button batteries or coin battery products." When arguing with Amazon support, they refused to appeal and asked for compliance documentation that did not apply to the product. ”
Many sellers are skeptical of Amazon's new regulations, including some watch sellers.
A seller who sells adult watches questioned: "We are selling adult watches, and it is impossible for children to open the watch and touch the battery. To open the back cover, it takes a strong adult to do it with a screwdriver or other sharp tool, because the back cover is pressed with a special machine and most adult males cannot open it.
Battery compartments that use screws or similar fasteners must be opened by screws or fasteners, or can only be opened at a professional service center. In this case, how do we appeal the watch? Could it be that Amazon is going to ban all watches from the shelves?"
The same situation was encountered by another watch seller, who tried to appeal to Amazon with these arguments, but was denied.
A colleague who sells watches laments, "Where the hell did we get the lab documentation for Casio watches? It's common sense that all watches are fixed from the back, but Amazon bots are marking it all." Ridiculous!"
Compliance requests require action
The new regulations, which take effect immediately, have made many sellers anxious, and if they do not provide valid compliance documents, the link will be deleted by Amazon. Because it is a matter of link survival, everyone has consulted peers on how to operate, whether anyone has successfully solved the problem, etc.
Sellers who have received compliance requests submit materials in the background and find that they need to do a GCC certificate + UL4200A report, in which the report must reflect:
a) Safety battery compartment test: The product must have a child-resistant battery compartment to prevent young children from touching it.
b) Warning labels: The packaging and the product itself must carry a clear warning about the potential choking hazard and the risks associated with battery ingestion.
According to Amazon's new regulations, experienced sellers analyze that if they receive a compliance request, they need to take action.
1. If the product has a button battery: you need to submit a GCC certificate (a statement document indicating that it has passed the UL 4200A standard test), a product packaging drawing with a barcode (there should be a warning label, dangerous accidental ingestion, etc.), and a UL 4200A experimental test report approved by the ISO17025 (including product pictures, proving that it is the same as the listed product, you can find an organization to do it);
2. If the product does not have a button battery: check the Listing to modify the sensitive words, and then file an appeal, stating the use of your product and materials, and have clearly informed consumers that it does not contain button batteries, and you do not need to provide documents to prove it, and you can generally pass.
Under the new rules, a large number of sellers are passive, and the best solution to avoid the impact is to submit information within a limited time as required.