In December, Amazon announced a new "low inventory fee" coming to FBA sellers this year. As we reported at the time, sellers already faced fees for sending in too much inventory to Amazon fulfillment centers, and with the new change, it means this year they face fees if their inventory levels drop too low.

The new fee generated a lot of controversy, but we recently heard from a seller who explains a situation that makes the fees ... Read More

A California woman pleaded guilty on Friday to defrauding the US Postal Service of $150 million by allegedly using fake postage to ship tens of millions of parcels to customers that came to the US from China-based logistics businesses. That's bound to make sellers fume given the high cost of postage for domestic shippers. Sellers who have access to below-market shipping costs can lower their prices, giving them an advantage over other sellers (whether or not they're aware of any fraudulent activity on the part of their vendors).

The US Department of Justice said the defendant, who has been ... Read More

Here's a different kind of Amazon fraud: a vendor that sold inventory to Amazon at wholesale is accused of bilking the marketplace for $19 million by allegedly manipulating its vendor system. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York charged four brothers with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering.

According to the indictment, the defendants opened vendor accounts with Amazon to sell the company small quantities of goods: "By accepting a purchase order, the defendants agreed to supply specific goods, at specific prices, in specific quantities. Instead, they manipulated Amazon's vendor system, and then, ... Read More

It's not surprising to imagine retail companies making purchases from rivals to gather intelligence, but it was a bit surprising to learn that Amazon reportedly had a program to sell on rival marketplaces for nearly a decade under brand names such as Rapid Cascade and Svea Bliss.

Brands use subterfuge to buy online to sniff out counterfeit goods, but Amazon reportedly ran a project codenamed Curiosity, according to the Wall Street Journal: "Inside Amazon's Secret Operation to Gather Intel on Rivals - Staff went undercover on Walmart, eBay and other marketplaces as a third-party seller called 'Big River.' The mission: ... Read More

Etsy created "Teams" on the discussion boards where team leaders can make them private or public (open, closed, or hidden). But it recently introduced a backdoor where posts in supposedly private Teams are accessible to non-members.

Etsy explains on its help page, "Etsy Teams is a community feature where you can gather with peers to socialize, get advice from experienced members, and share information about running a business in your area."

A reader told EcommerceBytes, "There is a serious breach of privacy going on within the Etsy teams space. The changes they made on March 26 resulted in all teams ... Read More