The Unofficial Seller’s Guide to Amazon’s TOS

Q: Can I include my URL on the product packaging?

As a general rule, Amazon does not want sellers to direct customers to websites outside of Amazon. Including a URL, especially one that leads to a seller’s e-commerce website from which a customer can buy, may be seen as a form of off-Amazon sales promotion that is against Amazon’s TOS. According to its Selling policies and seller code of conduct:

You may not attempt to circumvent the Amazon sales process or divert Amazon customers to another website. This means that you may not provide links or messages that prompt users to visit any external website or complete a transaction elsewhere.

However, this is a gray area since many Amazon sellers include their URLs on the packaging, and Amazon does not seem to have any problem with this.

Q: Do my product photos have to be on white backgrounds?

No, except for the main product image.

Sellers are free to be creative in their product images, but Amazon does have product image requirements. One of these is that the main image has to be on a white background. There’s a practical reason for this: pure white blends in with the Amazon search and product detail pages.

However, as for consequences, Amazon does not seem to be policing this issue too strictly. Some sellers can get away with not using white backgrounds on main product images along with other things such as including props that may confuse buyers.

Q: Can I add HTML to Amazon Product Descriptions?

Amazon officially banned HTML tags in 2021. Even prior to this, a limited number of HTML tags would work, specifically <b>, <p> and <i> tags in product descriptions. Some of these tags will still get through but typically, Amazon will show the actual HTML tag and not apply the formatting e.g., a <b> tag will show up with the brackets and all. Any other more complex tags, e.g., colored text, will never get through. If you do try and use these tags, the only penalty is the tag being showed in its full glory. But your listing won’t be suppressed.

Regardless, very few people actually read the product description, so the value of placing these tags is pretty questionable. The best alternative is to add A+ Content, which is available to sellers who are registered with Amazon Brand Registry.

Q: What things are prohibited on product packages and inserts?

The most common mistakes Amazon sellers make regarding product packages and inserts relate to reviews. Amazon is hyper sensitive to reviews especially because of the FTC scrutiny they’ve faced in terms of review legitimacy on Amazon.

Packages and inserts should not

• Encourage customers to leave reviews in exchange for incentives
• Direct customers to write a positive review even if no incentive is offered
• Ask buyers to contact you directly, i.e., outside Amazon’s Buyer Seller Messaging Service
• Offer refunds for buyers who leave positive reviews

Generally, Amazon does not allow verbiage that will influence or impact the customer’s feedback. However, this does not mean you cannot encourage buyers to leave any review. As long as it is worded in a way that does not impose any conditions other than the buyer’s honest opinion and experience with the product.

Q: What are warranty cards, and are they allowed on Amazon?

A warranty card is a card included in products that serves as the written guarantee of a manufacturer to repair or replace the item within a specified period if the product does not function as described. But in reality, most sellers include these as an attempt to get the customer’s email address so they can market them off of Amazon.

Amazon does not prohibit warranty cards BUT directing people away from Amazon to your own website and then also collecting their email does run contrary to the Seller Code of Conduct, specifically: “You may not attempt to circumvent the Amazon sales process or divert Amazon customers to another website.” 

Warranty cards like this are common practice by manufacturers who sell both on and off Amazon, including by some of the biggest brands in the world. Amazon would have a very difficult time policing every brand and making sure their inserts don’t steal Amazon customers. There have been some reports of sellers getting in trouble for egregious warranty cards but typically, these have involved warranty cards that result in requesting an incentivized review. 

Long story short, warranty cards that divert people to another website are technically forbidden but rarely come under scrutiny.

Q: Can I sell a product already sold by another seller?

It depends. In general, if the brand or product is not restricted, third-party sellers may sell the same product under the same Amazon listing.

However, for restricted brands, you need prior approval. Some examples include Adidas, CeraVe, and Hallmark. The reason for this is simple—to ensure that only genuine products are sold on the site. To resell products from restricted brands, sellers should have direct approval from the manufacturer. They may present invoices from authorized distributors or the manufacturers themselves.

One way to check if you can resell a particular product is to use the Amazon Seller App. You can even request approval directly from the app after you scan the product. Another way to check is to click “Sell on Amazon” on the product listing. If the brand is restricted, a pop-up will inform you that it is.

Q: Can I sell products on Amazon without barcodes?

Yes, provided you get a GTIN exemption and you’re not using FBA. But most of you are selling via FBA so yes, you need some type of barcode. This is how Amazon scans your inventory into stock.

In order to know whether you need a barcode or not, you need to be familiar with the different types of barcodes used by Amazon sellers. These barcodes have different purposes.

The most common ones you see in most products are GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers). There are various types of GTINs:

Not all products sold on Amazon require GTINs. Some items don’t have barcodes, such as personalized or handmade products. Third-party sellers can request a GTIN exemption if the product falls under the eligible categories:

*For more information, Amazon has a list of GTIN requirements per category.

If your product is approved for GTIN exemption, it does not need a product ID to be sold on Amazon. However, if you want to sell through FBA, you will need a barcode even if the product is GTIN-exempted. This time, the barcode will not be universally acknowledged. It’s only used by Amazon to identify your product. This barcode is called an FNSKU (Fulfillment Network Stock Keeping Unit). FNSKUs also ensure that the products you send to Amazon will not be commingled with those of another seller who is selling the same product.

Q: Do product bundles need separate barcodes?

Yes. If you are bundling products, the bundle needs its own barcode even if the individual items already have their own barcode. The reason for this is bundles are sold as a unit and so have different dimensions and weights compared to the individual items. Sellers who create bundles are responsible for obtaining a product identifier for the bundle from GS1.

Q: Why is my product tagged as an “adult” item when it’s not?

This happens because some words or phrases in your product listing may be flagged as “Adult” by Amazon’s bots. These words or phrases may be found in the title or description, and it doesn’t matter if your products actually fall under the Adult category. Unfortunately, there is no way of absolutely preventing this from happening, and there is no report that will show you which of your products are tagged as “Adult.”

What sellers can do is regularly check through searches if there are products that are inadvertently tagged as “Adult” and submit a case to Seller Support to remove the tag.

Q: Is there a limit to how expensive I can sell my products?

As a general rule, sellers under Amazon’s Individual Selling Plan may not list products at a price higher than $10,000, and sellers using the Professional Selling Plan may not sell items higher than $300,000. The exception to this is collectible items, which may exceed the price ceiling.

Amazon does not expressly state that it will control the prices of products sold on the marketplace. On the contrary, the Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy states, “Sellers are responsible for setting their own prices on Amazon marketplaces.” Sellers can even reprice their products multiple times daily using automatic repricing tools.

However, Amazon adds that it constantly monitors the prices and compares them with “other prices available to our customers” and that if it finds pricing practices that “harm customer trust,” it can sanction sellers in any of the following ways:

• Removing the Buy Box;
• Removing the offer;
• Suspending the ship option; or
• Suspending or terminating seller privileges

There was a time when third-party sellers from the United States could not sell their products for lower prices on sites outside Amazon. Later, this so-called price parity policy has been silently removed by the company in 2019, about six years after it was eliminated for sellers in the European Union.

However, one of the practices considered to harm customer trust is setting a price that is significantly higher than recent prices offered on or off Amazon. So in a way, Amazon still compares your prices to those on other platforms and may penalize you if you set the price too high.

In addition, Amazon also penalizes sellers who are involved in price gouging and who collude with other sellers to control prices.

Q: Do all Amazon sellers need product liability insurance?

No. Only those who meet the threshold are mandated by Amazon to have product liability insurance. Once you hit that threshold you do though.

In 2021, the company announced changes to its product liability insurance requirements for Amazon.com sellers. Starting September 2021, sellers with gross sales revenue of $10,000 in any month are required to have insurance with at least a $1 million limit. In addition, the insurance policy must name Amazon as an insured party. Prior to this announcement, the threshold was $10,000 in sales revenue for three consecutive months. The threshold varies, depending on the Amazon marketplace involved. For example, the threshold for FBA sellers selling on Amazon Australia is AUD10,000 for three consecutive months, and for those selling on Amazon UK, it’s GBP4,000 for three consecutive months.

For those who meet the requirements, you can secure your insurance through the IP Accelerator.

Q: Can I sell any product on Amazon?

No. There are products that may not be sold on Amazon. Some are pretty straightforward (like a house and lot), while others require more study. Amazon does provide examples of prohibited listings, but this list is not exhaustive.

There are also brands that cannot be resold without permission from the manufacturer (see discussion under “Can I sell a product already sold by another seller?”). In addition, Amazon has a list of restricted products that are either absolutely prohibited or require prior approval from the company before they may be sold.

Amazon has an overview of categories, which indicate which ones need prior approval and what conditions the products may be sold. Certain categories require sellers to apply to sell such as Jewelry, Music, and Video, DVD & Blu-ray.

Take note that there are also products that may be sold on Amazon but cannot be sold through FBA for safety reasons.

Q: Can I avoid sales taxes on Amazon?

Kind of. Thanks to Marketplace Facilitator Legislation, sales tax collection and remittance obligations for nearly allstates have been shifted from Amazon third-party sellers to Amazon itself in many states. This means Amazon collects and remits sales tax. 

Furthermore, some states have zero sales tax, both statewide and local. These include Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Delaware. Alaska, on the other hand, also has no statewide sales tax but have local sales taxes.

There are a lot of murky areas that continue to exist in terms of state taxation though. For instance, municipal taxes, business operating taxes (such as Washington State’s B&O tax), and more. Most sellers, for better or worse, choose to ignore these taxes (that’s not an endorsement for what you should do regarding these murky areas, just a synopsis of the current environment).