What is behind the Drop Shipping Policy update on Amazon

On 27.January 2021, Amazon made a questionable announcement in the Seller Central, introducing “an update” to the Drop Shipping Policy.

The notice included a brief description of prohibited seller practices related to drop shipping, including purchasing from different retailers and having them ship directly to your Amazon customers.

However, the wording did not contain any actual updates – it was simply a summary of the current policy.

Only the most veteran Amazon Seller Community professionals can spot the difference in wording, which states that “any violation of our Drop Shipping Policy will negatively impact your account health and your ability to fulfill future orders using our Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN)”.

While previously, violations of Amazons Drop Shipping Policy could result in account deactivation, now the company made it clear that only Fulfilled by Merchant orders will be affected.

A few days later, on 31.January 2021, Amazon finally indicated what was really behind this “update” in their latest Amazon Seller Newsletter.

“Recently, we have seen a significant increase in violations of our drop shipping policy.”…

Amazon Seller Newsletter: Late January 2021

Here you can view the whole wording of the newsletter addressing Drop Shipping Policy:

While it is a real mystery how does Amazon detect violations of their Drop Shipping Policy, most likely they do so from tracking numbers provided by sellers.

Companies such as eBay, Aliexpress or Walmart use their own delivery service, which contains references to them in tracking status updates.

Additionally, Drop Shipping Policy Violations may arise from customer feedback complaining about receiving invoices and order totals not matching their purchase with shipments.

Here you can view the full announcement regarding the matter in the Amazon Seller Central:

Here is a copy of the full wording in English:

Important: Drop Shipping Policy update If you fulfill orders using a third party, a practice known as drop shipping, you must follow all Amazon policies in order to ensure a consistent customer experience that easily identifies only you as the seller of record. As an important reminder, all violations of the Drop Shipping Policy can break customer trust. As a result, any violation of our Drop Shipping Policy will negatively impact your account health and your ability to fulfill future orders using our Merchant Fulfilled Network (MFN). The following drop shipping methods are strictly prohibited on Amazon: You may not purchase products from another retailer and have that retailer ship directly to customers, if:the shipment does not identify you as the seller of record anyone other than you appears on packing slips, invoices, or external packagingNote: This means that the name, logo, or any other identifying information from the other retailer may not appear on what the customer receives. You may not ship orders with packing slips, invoices, external packaging, or other information indicating a seller name or contact information other than your own If you fulfill using drop shipping, you must strictly adhere to following requirements of our policy: You must always be the seller of record of your products, meaning you identify yourself as the seller of your products on all information included with the item. Remove any information identifying the third-party drop shipper before shipping. Be responsible for accepting and processing customer returns. You should comply with all terms of your seller agreement and applicable Amazon policies. If you have questions, see the Drop Shipping Policy page.

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