Effective June 30, 2025, we’ll implement a new, dedicated stolen goods policy that reinforces our commitment to combat the sale of stolen goods to help protect customers.
To comply with new government regulations, we’re required to create this as a standalone policy, but this new policy is consistent with our existing efforts to investigate and prevent the sale of stolen goods. This new policy is also consistent with sellers’ existing requirements not to engage in illegal activities.
The sale of stolen goods is illegal. To comply with the policy, you should continue to ensure the legitimacy of your supply chain as described in our existing policies, such as the Responsible Sourcing documentation request requirements.
As a reminder, the sale of stolen goods may result in removal of listings, immediate loss of selling privileges, ineligibility for fund disbursement, disposal of inventory in our fulfillment centers at your expense, and other legal consequences.
“Stolen goods” means products Amazon thinks came from shady or unauthorized sources even if you bought them legally. If your supplier isn’t brand-approved or the paperwork doesn’t check out, your listings can be removed or your whole account can be suspended under this new policy. Seen it happen to sellers before it’s getting stricter now.
When we do OA, we need to check whether the retail websites are actually authorized by the brand or not - because even though they provide invoices, we can’t be sure if they’re officially authorized sellers.
LOA is your best defense when it comes to branded products. It’s not just about brand approval anymore, under this new stolen goods policy, Amazon is going deeper into supply chain validation.
Then what should we even sell on Amazon if they’re not going to spare anything in any case? Is it no longer safe to sell without authenticity documents?
It’s so confusing whether Amazon allows things or not. What I’ve gathered is that everything is fine until one day it’s suddenly not, and then it’s game over.
Amazon is becoming stricter day by day, and no one really knows why. There are no buyer complaints, yet problems keep arising. It feels like Amazon is tired of third-party sellers and just wants to sell everything itself with its own network and partners.
On Amazon, a “branded item” typically refers to any product that carries a recognizable brand name, meaning it’s associated with a specific manufacturer or company name that owns or licenses the trademark.
Technically, yes, almost every product has a brand, but Amazon usually requires proof of authorization (like an invoice or a Letter of Authorization) for well-known or restricted brands, especially if they’re gated, prone to IP complaints, or part of brand registry.
For Online Arbitrage (OA), retailers don’t provide LOAs, and they usually don’t permit resale on Amazon explicitly, so buying from them carries a risk of inauthentic claims. That’s why many OA sellers focus on ungated brands and keep clean invoices as proof of purchase, even if they can’t get LOAs.