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Listing violation
 

A buyer is undercutting everyone on a certain listing by selling an older model in the condition notes. I contacted Amazon and they said they would not just remove the listing form the seller, and that I had to do a test buy and then contact them if it is different.

This is ridiculous, and I should not have to buy the item, they should just remove the buyer's listing

Re: Listing violation
 

amazon is ridiculous. and ebay. the seller will weed themselves out when they get upset customers complaining about older models.

Re: Listing violation
 

Test buy and contact? Wow lazy on AZ part.

Re: Listing violation
 

So OP what are you trying to say or do. All because someone else is undercutting you in price for a older model and you start to whine about it. Then you contact Amazon about your problems and still will not due anything.

All I hear is blah blah blah and whining.

So try to find where he finds his stuff at and undercut him. Its called competition.

Re: Listing violation
 

I think the reason why Amazon want you to do a test buy here, is to confirm if the item being sold by the seller is different to that which is listed.

Also if Amazon kept taking listings down at the request of competitors, the marketplace would be a nightmare to trade in.

Re: Listing violation
 

Too true Play - plus Amazon wins a bit of credit if they can force someone to buy so...yeah, quite the coy play by AZ...

Re: Listing violation
 

how can a buyer undercut?


amazon want complainers to do their work.

Supply the proof and spare them a hassle with a seller.

:typing:

Re: Listing violation
 

What you are suggesting is that at anytime a competitor can call amazon and complain and get your listing removed without any facts of any kind? Any proof?

They do the same thing with manufacturers for inauthentic. Great move by Amazon. In my opinion, just asking you to buy and confirm is not nearly far enough. What makes ones competitor an expert?

Leaves the door open for fraud by competitors and unfair competition along with disruptive business practices but it is a heck of a lot better than taking someones complaint with no proof.

Re: Listing violation
 

What more proof do they need. They are admitting it is the wrong item right in the condition notes. Before Amazon would just remove the listing

Re: Listing violation
 

I think the fact that the complainant is a competitor of the said seller, plays a part in the solution provided by Amazon. Had you been a buyer complaining to Amazon, I am sure the repercussions for the seller would be greater.

Re: Listing violation
 

Ah the power of the buyer vs that of the seller...

Re: Listing violation
 

Exactly. If you were a BUYER and had purchased the item, they would probably remove the listing.

You have to understand that Amazon probably receives hundreds of complaints a day from Marketplace sellers complaining about the business practices of other Marketplace sellers. So what they hear is:

"Please remove the listings of my competitor because he is getting all of the sales and those sales SHOULD ME MINE!!!"

Re: Listing violation
 

Thanks for the tip

I will complain as a buyer on a stealth buyer account

Re: Listing violation
 

:doh: funny ending to the lesson being given ...

Re: Listing violation
 

This is typical stuff, they sell older models, refurbished, from another market, phake, etc.
Show proof as a seller. Give a few friends the funding necessary to buy it, complain and return it. How much is it costing you per month in lost sales? Don't hesitate to spend that much on killing the under cutter.

Re: Listing violation
 

No, its not competition in this case. You cant sell a different model and hi-jack a different ASIN...thats not competition...im all for fair competition and business is business but there are plenty of scammers out there...

I've had the same thing happen to me, I wrote Amazon on the buyer and seller side many times and they did not care, simply wrote back canned responses. Seller had it in his comments that if he did not have this model instock, he would send a "newer and better version"..We're talking hard drives here, and unless you understand drives newer does not always mean faster and anytime you deal with data migration, its alot safer to go with the same exect hard drive model to prevent issues....

I finally got fed up, did a test buy, and when I wanted to return the item and he tried to BS me in how this is was a better model etc etc, I wrote back and said I spoke to the manufacturer and that you were not an authorized seller and the item is most likely counterfeit. He was removed from the listing and never seen again on that ASIN, I knew he could not provide invoices because I knew he was just buying the newer model off Amazon and hi-jacking the other listings..

Amazon does not care, Just imagine how many sellers whine about every little thing........

Re: Listing violation
 

This is a complicated issue. it is possible that the UPC of the products are the same. Many Manufacturers update the design of an item almost every year, with sometimes significant changes, without updating the UPC so the new model has the same UPC even though it looks quite different than the old model.

The stupid design of Amazon's system does NOT allow you to have two separate listings under the same UPC number, which now represents a problem for a Seller who purchased old stock inventory from a supplier. Sometimes it works the other way around, there are 5 Sellers already selling the older model under the same SKU, so the new model comes out, you buy it and try to list it, but the UPC pulls the older model/design. It's ridiculous. Back in the day you were able to create another listing with your own UPC number, (even if against Amazon rules) but now they have changed that and the UPCs have to match the manufacturer's assigned UPCs (their system knows whether that is the brand name UPC or your own somehow, based on the first few numbers)

Anyway, maybe the Seller did not have malicious intent, and just didn't have a choice but to list against the changed SKU since the UPC of the product brought that same product. Maybe their price is so low because they are terrified of "not as described" product complaints, and they are just trying to dump the inventory quick. If they only have 1-2 in stock, I wouldn't make a huge deal about it. If this is an ongoing thing, and they have hundreds of those items, it may canibalize your future sales as they may continue selling theirs at ridiculously low price since they bought old model/clearance inventory.

There are ways around this, and I can talk to you in PM about it if you want. Amazon isn't going to do much about it, simply because their system is so screwed up that both Sellers maybe correct in trying to list a product under the same UPC. :(

It is against Amazon policy to sell a product that is materially different than the pictured/described, but amazon doesn't care much about it until you get a customer complaint.

Again, this is a frustrating issue that we have dealt with many times in the past, due to the nature of our inventory. I suspect you maybe selling similar items to us.

Re: Listing violation
 

Great points, but in the situation, it's not the case. It's for a computer listing, and the seller is selling a completely different model with less RAM and a smaller hard drive. Obvious they are selling the wrong item, and Amazon can see that. However, Maybe a person at Amazon looking at this not computer illiterate and doesn't understand computer specs.