I believe that it’s the intent that matters (and that can ultimately be up to a court to determine)
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Well that is what arbitration is for. The problem is most people wont put their money where their mouth is when trying to sell other peoples stuff they don’t have the rights to. I assert more grey market trash sellers are affected far more than legitimate product sellers.
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Thank you for everyone for the insights in helping this rookie.
I do not see any transparency code for this $5, 3M Scotch scissors from online images. “Unsuitable” is the keyword. I will reach out to the distributor on the possibility of having wrong units in one of the 2 shipments. Also, I will ask the distributor to print out supply chain docs, proof of delivery, redact prices, and scan as pdf. I am not holding my breath on getting an LOA from 3M.
However, selling 1/252 units seems odd. Sold on 11/21/23 and deactivated 12/7/23. My inventory view still shows 252 items. 15 available and 237 reserved. Unsuitable inventory suppose to be disposed. Is there a way to see anyone filing a counterfeit report?
It looks like wholesale reselling is very risky. I would need LOA for ALL brands I sell, just as a CYA.
Looks like I got the kiss of death after my 2nd appeal.
Dear seller,
We received your submission but we are unable to reactivate your account. Upon review of your account, we confirmed that your Amazon seller account has been used to engage in deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity that harms our customers, other selling partners, and our store. Additionally, the impacted inventory that is listed at the end of the notification may be disposed in accordance with the “Unsuitable Inventory Investigations Policy”. Our policy can be found here: Server Busy.
Why is this happening?
Your Amazon seller account has been deactivated in accordance with section 3 of Amazon Business Solutions Agreement.
You can also visit the “Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct” Amazon policy:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/G1801
if this was a counterfeit report it would show up in your email and performance notifications
It may depend on the brand I guess. One thing I would always recommend is for the seller to inspect items before shipping.
Also, I see Scotch is the brand and 3m is the manufacturer, does the invoice say scotch? or just 3m?
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Scotch is on the invoice
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Hello @PriceKnight and welcome to SellersAskSellers! I’m sorry that you had to find us while you’re in these circumstances.
You have submitted all the documents that you can, and things do sound like they turn now on whether 3M will issue you an LOA, and if they do, whether Amazon will accept it retroactively.
Just to clarify for other readers, your situation highlights the fact that even purchasing products from authorized distributors does not necessarily convey permission from the brand to resell the products on Amazon, or provide authentication to do so. @GGX point about 3M requiring resellers to have Transparency codes might indeed be at play here because “Amazon detected counterfeit in one of the two shipments” doesn’t make much sense otherwise.
Maybe. It depends on Amazon’s response. And you might need to involve a lawyer and/or consider arbitration.
If I were in your shoes, I would request immediate removal now for all inventory, if you still can. Usually when Amazon deactivates an account for counterfeit products or suspected “illegal activity,” they seize all inventory. 
And I am not positive that Amazon will follow through on your funds, either, to be honest.
Yes, it’s possible. Have you scoured your account for any clues?
Very possibly.
I wish I had better information for you, but perhaps some other SellersAskSellers members will be able to offer specific insight soon.
@PriceKnight I just saw you posted an update while I was typing.
This is a code that you or your supplier will have needed to provide on each unit package, specifically for Amazon resale. If 3M uses the Transparency program, then they supply their authorized Amazon resellers with the code, who then apply to code themselves.
I don’t think that Transparency-coded stock can be commingled, though.
It might have been a test buy from a brand protection service or a competitor, to suss out possible unauthorized sales.
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It is certainly one key word.
As to “I will reach out to the distributor on the possibility of having wrong units in one of the 2 shipments.”
it is unlikely.
You probably have TWO factors involved with Amazon.
From Amazon with one section emphasized –
Unsuitable Units, including but not limited to as a result of fraudulent or illegal activity such as the sale of counterfeit products or illegal goods, the violation of Amazon’s anti-counterfeit policy, or submitting forged documents to Amazon, we may dispose of any such inventory immediately, in accordance with the FBA Service Terms.
The reason I put the anti-counterfeit policy in bold is due to this thread which probably is directly related to your situation –
From @Atlas_amazon
For your sourcing, you mention acquiring product directly from the brand, do they also provide to you a letter of authorization? This document would need to explicitly state you have permission to list the product on the platform. *A seen in our anti-counterfeit policy, inauthentic product can be product that has not been given explicit authorization to be listed on the platform.
If you have any additional details to share or questions regarding how to proceed, continue to refer here for support.
Best,
Atlas
The anti-counterfeit policy can be found here:
It may be that 3M/Scotch has not given permission to list the item DESPITE Amazon actively selling them.
Very little makes sense when they start doing these restrictions.
Another thing I want to point out after looking at the ASIN.
Given that this is a $6 product, you must’ve been getting this at a rock bottom price in order to make money after considering all the fees involved, a price that’s at least comparable with Amazon’s 3M direct price. I don’t know your relationship with this supplier, but one of the reasons they gave such a good price might be because they screwed you and sold you defective or used merchandise (or straight up cheated you and sent Amazon empty bags). There’s no way to know for sure since they sent it directly to FBA. There’s no way to find out without spending 5 figures on arbitration because Amazon won’t tell you what the problem is and has likely already seized that inventory.
If you can (inventory’s not yet seized), do a removal order for at least 1 unit of that inventory to see what comes back.
Generally authorized distributors for big brands are reputable companies, but there’s always exceptions.
I checked and there’s no transparency codes required for this item, so the best explanation is something was sent to Amazon that was bad enough to trigger billy to press the fraud button.
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I got it for 1.3 each. It was one of my first purchase to test out FBA. 50 cent profit on 1 sale. The distributor had given me packing list from 3M to their warehouse with proper dates and quantity which I submitted to Amazon on my 3rd appeal. I am concern about my existing inventory, other branded products that will not be returned. Of course, my funds as well. I could share this supplier name if needed. 3M has confirmed with me that they are authorized distributor. I did 1 return request on another product and it was cancelled in their system.