In the previous article, we talked about the access removal of rebate keys and it has affected the sellers. In our last article, we also talked about the probability of seller account getting banned for using Rebate key. As of now, there is not any seller account that has been suspended for using Rebat key, but sellers are talking about the probability of another mass ban coming for the amazon sellers. In this article, we will be discussing what is the basis for this speculation for this mass ban and if this mass ban will actually happen or not. We will also try to figure out when will mass ban take place if it actually ends up being implemented.
The basis for mass ban speculation?
The main reason why amazon sellers are talking about the possibility for the mass ban of the seller account comes from three places. The first thing is that over time amazon has become way too big and now is very close to becoming a monopoly globally in the international online selling market places. It should be noted that there is amazon’s competition in the local markets like Flipkart in India but there is almost no other company that is as big as amazon in the international market.
Second thing is that amazon sellers have been using third-party services to manipulate the search results to gain an advantage over other sellers. One of the things that the seller was doing is that they were giving discounts in exchange for the customer to give a positive review. This is a big no-no in the books of the FTC and it was these two things that got the FTC involved in the business and dealing of the amazon.
The third thing is the FTC itself.
FTC is a bipartisan federal agency with a unique dual mission to protect consumers and promote competition. Now in layman’s terms, FTC means that it tends to keep customers i.e you and me from the companies and keep fair competition in the market so that no one company becomes the monopoly and holds all of the power and them abusing the customer by engaging in wrong market practices.
Previous ban
The previous ban happened where amazon banned over 75,000+ seller accounts that were found using services that provide fake reviews and those fake reviews bring the product to the top of the page. This previous ban of 75,000+ seller accounts included accounts of some big Chinese sellers like Aukey and Mpow. There was an internal email that was leaked which showed that one of the reasons for the ban of these accounts was the escalation to FTC. The same email also says that “we [Amazon] are advised to not entertain any appeals for the block.” FTC came to find out about this issue when one of the FTC officials purchased a lamp off Amazon with an insert that offered a $15 gift card in exchange for a 5-star review. This equates that amazon is purchasing a review for $15.
After that API ban of Rebate Key, the situation has become such that it is fulfilling all of the above criteria in which a previous ban has happed. First Amazon is getting too close to becoming a monopoly. Second sellers are using third-party services to manipulate the search result by offering discounts in return for a positive review, and last number three FTC is also included to protect the customers and to make sure that the competition is fair.
Will the mass ban happen or not?
At this point, it is very early to say if amazon will take any action or not, because amazon has only removed Rebate Key API access this means that Rebate Key is still working it has just become difficult for them to verify the products in order to give the discounts. It should also be noted that as of now no seller account has been banned because they were using Rebate Key before the ban, and the last thing is that Amazon has not banned any other service providers that are offering similar services like Rebate Key.
At this point, amazon is either collecting data to make sure that they have enough data to back up their action of suddenly banning a lot of the seller accounts. Another thing that amazon might be doing is that they are waiting for FTC to respond. So that they do not take any wrong actions.
