Got an email from crocs
So i mostly sell mexican candies on my store and recently got ungated from crocs to sell em and they sent me an email saying im not an authorized seller even tho i got ungated and accused me of selling fake crocs but i buy all my crocs from discount stores (THEY ARE LEGIT NOT OFFBRAND) should i be worried?
Got an email from crocs
So i mostly sell mexican candies on my store and recently got ungated from crocs to sell em and they sent me an email saying im not an authorized seller even tho i got ungated and accused me of selling fake crocs but i buy all my crocs from discount stores (THEY ARE LEGIT NOT OFFBRAND) should i be worried?
2 replies
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
"they sent me an email saying im not an authorized seller even tho i got ungated..."
You are confusing AMAZON allowing you to list (or at least "ungate") an item or category and actually being APPROVED to sell a product. Amazon might ungate you for a CATEGORY, but there can be 100's of brands in the category and they ALL have their own restrictions.
AMAZON is only interested in FEES. They will allow a chimpanzee to list if it means they collect $$$$$.
Additionally, brands that you COULD sell yesterday may be restricted today or next week. Amazon is a moving target to deal with.
DO YOU have an LOA from the brand allowing you to sell on here?
NO, you do not or Crocs would know that you are an authorized seller!
If you did have an LOA that specifically says you can sell on Amazon you MIGHT survive listing items, but you don't.
More and more brands are providing a "whitelist" of their approved sellers and if YOU are NOT on the list you will be stopped in your tracks and probably hit with an IP violation.
DID YOU source from AUTHORIZED wholesale sources that your rep at the brand says are OK? You DO have a sales rep at the brand, don't you?
AND, you answered this by buying from RETAIL STORES!
"and accused me of selling fake crocs but i buy all my crocs from discount stores (THEY ARE LEGIT NOT OFFBRAND)..."
You have no chain of custody, no proof of authenticity, and if you sold these as NEW you have committed fraud since there is no protection available from the brand for defective items.
"should i be worried?"
YES because you are likely to lose your account AND if you have any merchandise at Amazon for FBA you will most likely lose that and all the money in your account from any sales you have made already.
In case you do NOT have a suspension letter on the way --
HINT #1 -- VACATION MODE -- NOW!
HINT #2 -- SELLER U -- NOW!
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
HINT #3 -- Start writing your "please help with my Section 3 suspension' letter NOW. It will save you time when you get it.
For any rookies out there reading this, it is a near perfect example of how to get suspended on Amazon.
BEFORE even trying to start selling, ask yourself these questions --
DO YOU have an LOA from the brand allowing you to sell on here?
DID YOU source from AUTHORIZED wholesale sources that your rep at the brand says are OK.
NOTE that you need verification from the brand that the source is legitimate and authorized, NOT from one of those gray market sellers touted on TikTok and YouTube as having "thousands of brands and products" and assure you that they are authorized.
If you have watched any YouTube or TikTok videos FORGET everything you saw there.
Spend hours/days on Seller U and read the Forum to see all the really creative ways rookies find to get suspended by ignoring the advice above!
https://sell.amazon.com/learn
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
Well, since they are the ONLY ones who can designated you as an "authorized seller", they would know. Be thankful that they are pretty chill, and contacting you directly, rather than through Amazon.
I suggest you Google "How common are fake Crocs"; you might be surprised at the result. And while discount stores do sometimes get things like Crocs, they also will (from time to time) handle items of dubious origin. You really have no way of knowing with 100% certainty that your Crocs are genuine.
And even if they are, a retail receipt is inadequate to prove authenticity, especially since it's from a non-authorized seller of Crocs.
A bit, but probably not too much. Since Crocs was pretty nice by contacting you directly, Amazon is not yet involved. Delete all of your listings (don't just zero out inventory, fully remove any listings), and perhaps apologize to Crocs; then NEVER attempt to sell them online again, and you have a good chance of getting away with it. But you can be pretty confident that if you do not fully remove your listings, Crocs' next step will be to contact Amazon; at that point, you will have nothing to fall back on, and your Amazon account will be toast, and you'll never sell here again.
