Selling an Apple Macbook Air and Getting The Shaft from Amazon

About a week ago I found a real good deal on an 11.6 inch Macbook Air on eBay for $699.  It is currently selling on Amazon for $830.  At the time I purchased the laptop it was selling on Amazon for $783.  I needed to spend $1400 to meet the remaining minimum spend on a Citi AA Business card, the laptop seemed like a no brainer.  I bought two to sell on Amazon.

Prior to purchasing any product I always check to see if I can list the item as new or if there are any listing restrictions.  I also take a look at how many other sellers there are and what prices they are selling the item.  At that time, Amazon would let you list the item as new and there were about 70 other sellers.  The laptop also had a sales rank of 30.

It took about a week to get the laptops from the eBay seller.  I logged in to my FBA account and attempted to add the listing. To my surprise and disappointment Amazon changed the listing requirements.  The laptop was now restricted, and I was no longer allowed to list it as new.  I was a bit annoyed.

When I went to the the sales page on Amazon and looked at the sellers I noticed there were now only two sellers for the laptop, and one was Amazon.  Amazon must have decided it wanted in on this product and gave everyone else the boot except for one seller who is an official Apple retailer.

Amazon added this restriction if you want to be able to list the product as new.

Other listing limitations

A product may have listing limitations if there are potential product quality, product branding or consumer safety concerns. In an effort to ensure that customers are able to buy with confidence from all sellers on Amazon, Amazon requires proof of supplier to apply to sell certain products. If you believe you purchased your inventory from an official supplier, please contact Seller Support to request approval.

This product may also have these additional listing limitations:

  • The product has listing limitations because of regulatory or other restrictions and Amazon is currently not accepting applications
  • The product has regional compatibility issues and therefore cannot be sold in all regions
  • The product has listing limitations for a limited amount of time and Amazon is currently not accepting applications

The last sentence I find particularly egregious.   This restriction is for a limited time only?  Is it just until Amazon sells out of inventory and then they will open it up again?  That is pretty f-ing lame of Amazon.  Also, no coincidence I am sure that Amazon kicks out the competition and then all of a sudden the price of the laptop went up from $783 to $830. Sucks for consumers.

In the meantime I am holding on to two laptops that I need to sell.  I gave it a try again on Craigslist and Letgo, which I will write about in another post.  What I will say for now is that I think only scammers shop on Craigslist and Letgo.  In the end I sold one laptop at cost to my Uncle and the other I kept for myself.  I needed one for work anyway.

2 Comments on "Selling an Apple Macbook Air and Getting The Shaft from Amazon"

  1. Travels of Wonka | March 9, 2017 at 12:38 pm | Reply

    wow that sounds very anti-competitive of Amazon. Is that even allowed these days?

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