Is Retail Arbitrage Legal?

What is Retail Arbitrage?

Buying the products from local retailers and reselling them in another marketplace at a higher price is the simplest explanation for retail arbitrage. In general, you provide your products from local retail stores at a discount, usually in bulk which makes it suitable for markup, and then sell them through online marketplaces for a profit.

Still, if you buy your products from an online shop and resell them to another online marketplace, it is also known as retail arbitrage.

If you are interested to know more about this topic, see the Retail Arbitrage article.

Is Retail Arbitrage Allowed on Amazon?

Technically, the act of reselling items on Amazon or retail arbitrage as a whole is not illegal. But some users claim that they suspend after doing retail arbitrage. The only reason for this problem is that they didn’t follow Amazon regulations.

When you register as a seller on Amazon, an agreement is shown to you. The sellers often accept this agreement very quickly without reading the regulations. However, the most important factor in starting every business is researching its rules; otherwise, you may encounter severe problems in the future.

Know More: Is Online Arbitrage Legal in 2023?

What Will Get You Banned in Amazon?

Misleading the customers is taken very seriously by Amazon. The flood of buyer complaints undoubtedly causes you to get suspended when the customers receive an item they don’t expect. The mission of Amazon is to give customers a consistent and clear buying experience. The main factors that get banned your account are:

Amazon’s Seller Code of Conduct

Amazon expects that you as a seller must give accurate information to both the buyers on the marketplace and Amazon. So to identify yourself, you require a business name.

Category, Product, and Listing Restrictions

Because of Amazon’s own policies or legal or regulatory restrictions, it is impossible to sell some products on Amazon. Besides, you need Amazon’s approval in certain product categories because the regulations for gated categories are different for each product, like collectible coins, fine art, jewelry, and so on.

Product Detail Page Rules

The description of a specific product in view on Amazon’s site is a web page known as a product detail page(PDP). The details that customers usually may want to know before making a purchase display there include color, price, photo, size, reviews, shipping information, and other relevant information. Amazon has rules for each part that you should follow.

ASIN Creation Policy

Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) is a ten-digit alphanumeric code that identifies products on Amazon. When you create a new product in Amazon’s catalog, this unique number will be assigned.

General guidelines apply to all product categories, like new, renewed, rental, used-like new or open box, used-acceptable. Some categories have specific condition guidelines.

How to Avoid Getting Suspended on Amazon ?

It would be best to avoid the below mistakes because they are why your Amazon selling account would be getting banned.

• Listing used items as new ones

Amazon only allows certain products categories to be listed as “used.” It is illegal on Amazon to sell used products as new.

• Listing products for selling under a specific category or brand that you are not allowed

Before listing a product, you should carefully review the help pages of restricted products.

• Have slow speed of shipping on Amazon fulfilled by merchant (FBM)orders.

Customers would have a different experience with FBM compared to Amazon FBA, especially if they have a damaged item delivered or a return request.

• Violate the Amazon regulations intentionally to increase your selling.

If you do so, Amazon will remove your listing and suspend your account.

• Circumvent any Amazon policies on purpose.

Your activity on Amazon should comply with Amazon policies. Otherwise, it can result in suspension from using Amazon tools, cancellation listings, reports, or removing the selling privileges.

• You reported by buyers as inauthentic who don’t have a proper paper trail for the products.

You must follow specific guidelines to ensure an ideal and safe experience for customers.

Final Thought

First of all, we define what Retail Arbitrage is. Then you will understand that Retail Arbitrage is not illegal in Amazon. Afterward, you will get familiar with the items that cause you to get banned on Amazon. And finally, we offer you some tips that help you avoid suspension on Amazon.

Are there any questions in your mind that we didn’t answer? Comment it for us to give you the answer & if you wanna know more about retail arbitrage and other related topics, follow OABeans blog.