Amazon Textbook Sellers Thrown Into Turmoil With Short Notice Of New Restrictions
UPDATE: Amazon community staff have confirmed the email was sent in error to some sellers and those who should not have received it should be receiving a follow up email explaining there was no impact to their textbook listings.
Hello sellers asking about the February 26 "additional restrictions for Textbook products" email:
sellers reported: some sellers were sent that email in error.
If you were one of the sellers who were not supposed to receive that email, you were sent a follow-up today explaining that "There was no impact to your textbook listings."
We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.
Amazon book sellers have once again been thrown into turmoil as confusing email with less than one day notice puts future of textbook selling on the platform in possible jeopardy.
The email is being discussed in the Amazon seller forums, where many sellers who received it are trying to get answers clarifying if it really applies to them or not.
As part of our ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience, we have implemented additional restrictions for Textbook products. Effective 2/26/2024, you will not be able to list the affected products, and your listings will be removed. This action does not impact your account health.
How do I reinstate my listings?
You are not approved to list Textbook products and we are currently not accepting applications.
Were your listings removed as a result of an error?
If you believe your products have been misclassified within a certain category or sub-category that requires approval, please contact Selling Partner Support with evidence, such as product pictures, to support this claim. Amazon will review your claim and make a final determination that will ensure the best shopping experience for our customers.
What happens if I do not take action?
If no action is taken, the affected listings will not be available for sale in the Amazon store.
Can I sell my remaining FBA inventory?
If you have remaining inventory of the affected products in Amazon fulfillment centers, you may continue selling your remaining inventory until 2/26/2024. After this date, you will need to create a removal order.
Adding to the confusion, the email apparently contained links to help pages for the Amazon Brazil site, leading sellers to wonder if this only applies if they are selling in that country.
One seller said they were told by support that it does only affect Brazil, but when pressed for additional information, they were provided random, unhelpful links to other policy and help pages, so the question still remains.
For what it's worth, an Amazon Seller Central rep stated this:
Who is allowed to sell textbooks?
MeSent at 7:50 PM
Is it just for Brazil? Or does it affect US marketplace as well?
H S7:51 PM
no it is affected to only brazil
And when I pressed them for more information on it just being Brazil, they have so far just spat out random help pages to me that have nothing to do with that very important question. I'll let you know if they say anything else potentially material.
Some who received the notice said none of their listings were actually affected.
US seller only (no connection to Amazon Brazil) here.
We got the email after hours at 4:08 PM PST on 2/26/24, so, after the deadline had passed.
The way this action is handled (if the notice is real) doesn't make good business sense, and doesn't match Amazon's normal handling.
The email feels like an accident I should ignore for now.
None of our listings or business seems to have been affected.
We will wait for clarity from Amazon before worrying more about it.
Hope you all have a great day and that sales are good. :)
And others said they had listings removed or were being blocked from creating listings for certain textbooks they would have been able to list in the past.
There are definately some textbooks I have sold in the past that are now restricted as of today.
This issue is eerily similar to another notice sellers received last month about possible new restrictions on selling "seasonal" books as well.
Liz Morton
Amazon community staff responded to questions about the textbook restrictions, saying they are "currently working with our books partners to get details and next steps on this restriction message you and other sellers have received", but it has been two days since that message and no follow up has been posted yet.
We've also reached out to Amazon directly to see if we can get any additional information and will update when/if we hear back.
Stay tuned and if you've received this notice from Amazon about additional restrictions on textbooks, let us know in the comments below!
