Amazon was forced to refund tens of millions of dollars to sellers

Last Friday we reported that Amazon had submitted a rectification plan to Japan's antitrust body, the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC), and even planned to refund suppliers who were forced to bear the cost of discounts.

If this rectification plan is not accepted by the JFTC, Amazon may face certain administrative penalties. Today, the Japan Fair Trade Commission officially announced on its official website that it has accepted Amazon's rectification plan and made rectification requirements for Amazon's rectification plan.

The JFTC revealed that after a long investigation, it determined that Amazon Japan had engaged in the following suspected monopolistic practices.

1. In order to improve its own profitability, Amazon has taken control of the bargaining space and rights with suppliers, and there are no clauses to protect the bargaining rights of suppliers.

2. Once you sign a supplier agreement, you must accept that Amazon can decide the discount time and discount amount at its own discretion.

3. When the supplier seller does not receive all the marketing services, they still charge the full service price. In addition, they will deliberately delay the payment period and only release part of the payment to the service provider for their own profit.

4. Amazon Japan also requires suppliers or sellers to provide funds in the name of "investing in the Amazon system".

5. In the event of non-compliance with the supplier contract, the excess inventory will be returned to the supplier and the supplier will bear the loss.

In the rectification plan, Amazon made the following commitments:

1. Cancel the pre-calculated cost system for suppliers and sellers.

2. Restore suppliers’ bargaining power in setting prices and discounts.

3. A dedicated team will be set up to directly connect with sellers and suppliers, supervise rectification and accept opinions. All rectification actions and team contact information will be announced to all sellers and suppliers.

4. Re-formulate platform rules in accordance with Japan's Anti-Monopoly Law, and conduct regular training and audits by professional legal personnel. In the next three years, the rectification status must be reported to the JFTC every year.

The most explosive thing is that in its rectification plan, Amazon plans to refund more than 2 billion yen, or about 18.85 million US dollars, to 1,400 suppliers!

Although antitrust agencies in various countries are attacking Amazon from all sides, none of them has yet been able to make any substantial rectifications or changes to Amazon. Agencies like the United States and France are still going through layers of reviews and hearings. This time, Japan's JFTC not only made Amazon rectify its suspected monopolistic behavior, it also made my brother-in-law return the extra money he collected!

This money includes unreasonable deposits, discount costs that suppliers are forced to bear, and cost losses caused by suppliers' lack of bargaining power, etc. The specific refund plan will be released in the near future. Suppliers and sellers on the Japanese site must pay attention to this news!

Although most of the rectification plans this time are aimed at suppliers, the JFTC also mentioned in the announcement that although the committee agreed to the rectification plan submitted by Amazon, it does not mean that Amazon's rectification plan has included all suspected monopoly situations.

In fact, the current situation cannot directly determine that Amazon has violated the Antitrust Law, so the JFTC will continue to investigate and collect evidence on the agreement between Amazon and third-party sellers, and will continue to update its rectification requirements for Amazon, and will also review the rectification situation based on Amazon's feedback.

In other words, the antitrust investigation on Amazon is far from over. It has only reached the supplier level. The unfair competition between us third-party sellers and Amazon may also be required to be rectified by the JFTC in the future . Judging from the intensity of the current rectification, we third-party sellers may also be refunded for large quantities, cancellation of holiday discounts, and other such fees.

The Japanese site itself has a good size and consumption level, and the epidemic is relatively well controlled. There are many opportunities in the Japanese site this year. Sellers who want to expand the market can contact me for a commonly used Japanese email template!