Con Artists Are Exploiting Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee
How A Loophole in the System Leaves Buyers at Risk
Facts:
Last year alone, Amazon made $120 billion in product sales in the U.S.
Around 50 percent of those sales occurred through third-party sellers.
Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee protects buyers who purchase from third-party sellers, by ensuring both a timely delivery and good condition of their items.
Some sellers are using buyers’ trust in this policy to take their money without delivering any product.
Because of the way this scam is constructed, Amazon is not liable and will not issue a refund to the customer.
A Cautionary Tale
With its well-established reputation and ironclad A-to-Z Guarantee, Amazon is widely trusted by consumers across the U.S., including Dave Polanco.
After days of searching Amazon’s marketplace for an affordable used camera, Polanco finally found what he was looking for. When the exact one he wanted appeared in the search results for a mere $260 — instead of the $320 retail price — he bought it immediately.
The seller claimed to ship the camera within minutes of Polanco’s purchase. Pleased by the seller’s promptness, he went on with his day and eagerly anticipated the arrival of his new gadget.
But the product never arrived.
Frustrated, Polanco followed the rules listed under Amazon’s A-to-Z Guarantee and contacted the seller. No response. Eventually, he realized he had been scammed, and contacted Amazon’s customer support to ask for a refund.
To his dismay, Amazon reached back and said they would not issue a refund, as they had received confirmation that the package had been delivered. So, Polanco decided to investigate the situation himself and solve the mystery of the lost package.
After a little digging, he discovered that FedEx had been used to deliver the package to its final destination. To gather more information, Polanco called FedEx and spoke with a customer service representative, who confirmed that the package had indeed been delivered to the address provided. However, the delivery address did not match the address Polanco had specified when placing the order. With this documentation in hand, he returned to Amazon and tried to get his money back.
Once again, they refused his claim.
Polanco then went back to FedEx and learned that the package had been delivered to a business in the same town that he lived in. He also discovered that the package was listed with a weight of 0.0 pounds. In other words, the seller had shipped an empty box. And because that box’s tracking number showed that it had been delivered, both the seller and Amazon were off the hook. Sadly, this loophole meant that Polanco was out $260 and a camera.
The Larger Scheme at Play
Many Amazon customers are drawn to the platform because they want good deals at affordable prices. A shopper can find everything from Nikon DSLR cameras — listed at 40% below retail — to steeply discounted orthopedic running shoes. But, as it turns out, some of those deals are too good to be true.
As Amazon’s online marketplace continues to grow, so have the number of new sellers — and scammers — who want a piece of the pie. This has resulted in thousands of new merchant accounts being opened on Amazon each day. And while the company has begun vetting third party merchants more seriously than in the past, it still remains a highly accessible platform for those looking to sell. With just a few clicks, anyone can set up their merchant account and list items for sale.
Source: Christian Wiediger on Unsplash
There are no checks in place to see if the seller actually has the inventory he or she claims to have. In fact, the only form of regulation comes from negative feedback and complaints filed by scammed customers. In other words, Amazon’s standing policy is that they are a user-regulated marketplace — meaning that they will only take action when complaints start rolling in, not before. Unfortunately, by that time, the damage has already been done.
In the meantime, at least consumers can rely on the company’s A-to-Z Guarantee, or can they? The guarantee covers any item purchased on Amazon.com and offers a refund for orders that never show or are not as advertised. However, as we saw with Dave Polanco, scammers are finding loopholes in the system that allow them to profit big time. In Polanco’s case, all the scammer had to do was mail an empty box to a different address in the same city as the customer and then get someone to sign for it. Doing this, the scammer was able to trick Amazon into thinking the order was complete and made it more difficult for Polanco to get his money back.
How It Works
Let’s take a closer look at how this scam is executed:
First, the fraudster signs up for an Amazon seller account using fake or stolen information.
From there, he begins finding popular items to sell. He can then list these items on his merchant profile in a few simple clicks, using Amazon's streamlined seller's platform. However, in order to stand out from other merchants, — and entice more buyers — the scammer will offer these items at a steep discount.
The plan works. With each order that rolls in, the seller immediately marks the item as shipped. This, in turn, releases the payment to his account. Again, there’s no check here — Amazon simply trusts that the seller is being honest.
The seller does, in fact, ship something. He sends an empty box to a business address in the same town as the buyer.
For the cost of shipping this empty box, the seller gets a tracking number showing that the package is in transit. And because the seller sends that box to a business, the shipping company gets the signature of whoever accepts the package and sends a confirmation receipt back to the seller.
Once the package has been delivered, Amazon receives proof of delivery. However, shipping companies are not allowed to disclose the exact delivery address, so this is the only confirmation Amazon has to prove that the order has been fulfilled.
Thus, when the customer never receives their order and goes to file a complaint with Amazon, they discover that the A-to-Z Guarantee is void and cannot receive a refund.
Eventually, enough customers complain and Amazon boots the offending party from their marketplace. But by the time this happens, the scammer has made plenty of money and has already opened a new seller account under a different name.
The process then starts all over again.
Take Steps to Protect Yourself
How can Amazon customers avoid falling victim to these scammers?
Pay attention to who’s selling the product. Watch out for products sold by third-party sellers. That said, not all of them are bad and many are selling legitimate products. But if the prices seem too good to be true, they probably are.
On this note, it helps to know the difference between the three categories of products sold on Amazon:
Ships from and sold by [Name of Third-Party Seller]: While Amazon makes a small profit off of these listings, the company is not otherwise involved in the transaction. This means that the third-party seller fulfills the order and ships it directly to you, similar to how eBay and other online marketplaces operate.
Source: How to Geek
Sold by [Name of Third-Party Seller] and Fulfilled by Amazon: Just because a product is “fulfilled by Amazon” does not mean that it is sold by Amazon. Rather, you’re still buying the product from a third-party seller. But in this instance, the third-party seller ships that product to an Amazon warehouse and then Amazon ships it to you.
Source: How to Geek
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com: The product is actually sold by the company and is, for the most part, trustworthy.
Source: How to Geek
Read product reviews, carefully. Prior to making a purchase, check out the reviews for that product. Also, look at the reviews for the seller you wish to buy from. Many reviewers will call attention to any red flags you should watch out for. It’s also good to read through the most recent reviews — rather than just the overall product reviews — in case the seller has changed something about their product. That said, keep in mind that a product or seller may have purchased a bunch of fake five-star reviews to make it appear more legitimate. These are usually pretty easy to spot.
Final Notes and Updates
It’s important to remember that online marketplaces like Amazon are not the same as brick-and-mortar retailers like Best Buy or Target. The shopping experience between the two is completely different. In fact, it’s a lot like shopping on eBay, in that, Amazon acts as the middleman — connecting sellers and buyers — rather than acting as the retailer itself. This means that Amazon doesn’t necessarily examine or vouch for the products being sold on its website — nor does it thoroughly vet each individual seller — which is something that most people don’t think about, but should.
While Amazon is known for their great customer service, it looks as though their A-to-Z buyer protection may not be so ironclad after all. Then again, these policies are designed to provide protection after the fact. Therefore, it is up to consumers to do their due diligence when shopping online.
Useful Resources
To request an A-to-Z Guarantee refund:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201889740
To report a violation of selling policies:
Editor’s Note: Have you been affected by fraud? Most people have, in some form or another. If you have a story you would like to share, we’re sure our readers would benefit from hearing it. Please send an email to editor@theconartist.pub detailing your experience, and we will be in touch. Your privacy and any wishes of anonymity will be respected.
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