Amazon Compliance – “Certification, Essential Goods and Inspections”

Jodea Pearl Abalos
April 21, 2020

Today’s heavy hitters are legal eagles Paul Rafelson and Jeff Schick, who will be giving us the low down on the shit storm brewing on Amazon. We also have inspection and QC boss Andy Church, PPE expert Matt E Silver and hopefully Amazon seller and maverick Brock Johnson joining this episode… Share this far and wide. Stay home, be safe!

A bit of a background

Andy Church is the founder and president of Inside Quality Services, a third party service provider.
Matt E. Silver is an Amazon seller, PPE expert since 2011 and helps sellers with account suspensions.
Jeff Schick and Paul Rafelson are e-commerce attorneys specializing on providing service for e-commerce sellers to protect their businesses.

Amazon Quality

There has been a lot of ambiguity with the FDA and a lot of sellers asking for quality checks on masks and healthcare products.
There have been a lot of poor phony product.
There is a need to audit companies, and factories if they are legit.
- There is an influx of new factories in the healthcare business.
FDA is allowing disposable masks into the country from all other countries except those from China.

Price Gouging Suspensions

A lot of suspensions happened on March 5th, even before any of the States passed declarations of state of emergency.
- Essentials vary from state to state.
- Technically, sellers who got their accounts suspended did not commit any violations.
- You need to look into your product certifications and quality inspections to make sure your products are legit and that they do not kill people.
There will be a lot of people selling masks.
- People using the FDA logo on products – this is not allowed.
- KN95 does not mean “kids N95”.
- The Attorney General’s office has been asking information on sellers’ data on masks and hand sanitizers.
- The states are misinformed on how Amazon works, they do not have a clue.
Price gouging is a tricky question.
- There is no national price gouging law.
- It is not as clear cut as it may seem.
- If you get a letter from the AG )Attorney General), get help.

N95 and KN95 from China

There are only 30 plus companies with NOSH certification from China.
- Only N95s are allowed into the US, KN95s are not allowed.
The China manufacturers with NOSH certifications are on the NOSH website.
It is possible to ship FPPs and N95s into the UK.
There are EEN and CE standards in the EU:
- EN 149: 2001
- EN 529: 2005

Selling Masks, PPEs and Test Kits

There are strict requirements on masks and sanitizers.
Product is gated and there is a high risk of suspension.
- The PPE category is too risky.
Non-essential goods are allowed into the FBA now.
- Major brands are unrestricted, anything with low sales ranks and low sales history is restricted.
A good freight forwarder will know what will be stopped from shipment.
- Working with one can help.
COVID-19 test kits is not a good idea to sell.
- It is illegal to sell.
Product liability insurance does not exist for these products.
- If you are sending these as gifts or donations, make sure you have a disclaimer.
Do not sell products you do not understand.
If you do not have a place in these categories, do not start now.
Price gouging standards are vague.
- FBA is getting too much restriction.

Quality testings and cultural shifts

There is a huge backlog for testing on filtration and sanitizer products.
- Alcohol content 75% requirement.
- Verification is critical.
The surgical masks will end up in stock shelves. They can not be sold online.
- People want the N95.
Wearing masks is the new normal.
People will see a shift and a need to wear masks.
There is no insurance coverage for COVID-19 and no one is willing to include it in their coverage.

US Government Loans

Governmental loans or Payroll Protection Program is being launched in the US.
- You can get 2 and half worth of your payroll. You can go straight to your bank.
- Move quick to get this.
- As long as you spend 75% on mortgage, utilities and so on– it will be forgivable.
- PPP is different from the disaster loan.
Talk to your banks. Do not spend money for fixers or people saying they will help you to get the loan for $2,000.
- You should be able to handle it on your own.
SBA 7A is allowed for real estate and purchasing. You can apply for loan forgiveness for six months.

Tips

Watch CNBC and Bloomberg. Watch the market and get a feel of what is going on.
There are a lot of products you can source like green screens for home.
Do not get into the goldrush of masks — it is too much risk.

Connect with our guests:

Andy.Church@insight-quality.com
Jeff@sellerbasics.com
Paul@sellerbasics.com

To get help, or if you have any question then get in touch with us: danny@sellersessions.com

If you are looking for help or more information check out: https://sellersessions.com/case-studies/

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SellerSessions LIVE — Tickets SOLD OUT!

Send Danny an email to get on the wait list: Danny@SellerSessions.com

About SellerSessions 2020

Our venue this year: The David Game Keynote Theatre, with tiered seating.
This year we are supporting a charity and a portion of the proceeds will be given to Tomy’s pioneering studies for prevention of babies born asleep: https://www.tommys.org/
We will give away 5 FREE tickets for single-parent Amazon sellers. If you know anyone please get in touch to get the details.
Confirmed speakers and more to come:
- Brandon Young
- Dr Yev Marusenko
- Destaney Wishon
- Zack Franklin
- Nadine Schöpper
- Liran Hirschkorn
- Ivelin Demirov
- Dr Ellis Whitehead
- Paul Harvey
- And yours truly, Danny McMillan. I will be hosting the show and speaking on a topic.