Marketplace pulse have today reported that Amazon will start displaying the business name and address of it’s US sellers from the 1st of September 2020, something that their European, Japanese and Mexican Marketplaces have already been doing.
Amazon recently announced to US sellers that this information will soon be displayed in the detailed seller information section, available for anyone to see. This move is said to benefit consumers by giving them the security of knowing who they are seeking legal action against in the case of a product causing harm.
“Beginning on September 1st, 2020, we will display a seller’s business name and address on their Amazon.com Seller Profile page. For individuals, we will display the individual name and address. This is consistent with Seller Profile pages across Amazon stores in Europe, Japan, and Mexico.”
– Amazon
The seller’s details will likely go unnoticed to most due to the way the Amazon marketplace works but one big reason for the change was to implement the suggestion of U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help combat Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods. Unfortunately, fraudulent sellers will still be able to scam consumers using fake details on new accounts but if consumers stay vigilant this move may add to security when purchasing on the site. As Amazon’s vetting system grows we will hopefully see major changes to downfalls in safety on Amazon’s marketplace.
How do you feel about the removal of seller anonymity online?
4 Responses
Sole trader information is currently shielded in Amazon UK. I wouldn’t be comfortable with my name and home address being available to all. My house would be a ‘prime’ opportunity for any savvy burglar.
Ebay have displayed the business details for years and there’s been a decent amount of local business gained as a result. Some of it has gone through ebay channels properly, as in they ordered it, paid with paypal and collected. But you also get people phoning or just turning up at the trade counter and it’s only when you get the chance to chat with them, that it turns out they discovered the business through the details displayed on ebay.
Some of these buyers become repeat customers. They may also end up buying stock not listed online.
Given these gains, I don’t mind at all, but perhaps would think differently if working from home.
It’ll be interesting to see if the same thing happens with Amazon users, or whether they will behave differently to ebay users.
Nothing wrong with this IMO. But eBay should crack down on business sellers not displaying those, or showing “fake” addresses.
For me personally bigger problem is Companies House, with all that publicly available data which is then copied over 1000’s of third party websites of various kinds. Speaking as someone who had their 1st business registered at home. Never had customers turning up but all the data is all over the internet now.