Greetings @Mal123456789,

I just have a question.... I've been reading in the forums that amazon doesnt allow alibaba product sourcing (rarely does), however I've found a site from amazon which is strictly Alibaba distributors lol. How is it possible that amazon gives headaches to sellers, but they're promoting sourcing from Alibaba? Sounds like double standard!! What should a person do when considering sourcing from alibaba?

I understand you have some concerns about sourcing inventory. I want to provide some insight into the Amazon policies in regards to sourcing and product authenticity.

@NEVERLAST and Grampa_and_Grandma have already responded with some good points here. Amazon does not have restrictions on suppliers. There are some important things you should consider in terms of policies though, such as supply chain standards and maintaining responsible sourcing documentation for all products you are to offer in your store.

There are times when Amazon might request information from you about your products. This could be to verify your supplier or to verify authenticity of items. Responsible sourcing documentation includes a number of details, such as the following:

• Copies of invoices, receipts or other similar documents that demonstrate where your products are produced or manufactured
• These documents:
• Should reflect the sales volume of your product across all Amazon marketplaces in the last 365 days
• Should demonstrate your product’s full supply chain
• Should include contact information for the supplier(s) and the original manufacturer. We may contact suppliers or manufacturers to verify the documents
• Your documents should be able to trace your products to the original manufacturer even if you did not purchase them directly from the original manufacturer. This may require requesting additional invoices or supply chain documentation from your supplier if you are not sourcing directly from the manufacturer.
• You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible to enable adequate review of the documents you provide. For ease of our review, you may highlight or circle the ASIN(s) under review.

Amazon has no such restriction. But sellers cannot source from Alibaba and add those items to a branded listings. Doing so is selling counterfeits. Not by Alibaba but by the Amazon seller.

As @Grampa_and_Grandma has stated, authenticity comes into questions if you are attempting to list a generic item on a branded listing. When a seller puts an offer on a branded listing, the seller is the person who will take responsibility if they cannot provide proof of authenticity. Buyers want to shop with confidence on the marketplace, so all sellers are expected to comply with the applicable product authenticity and quality policies as well.

All in all, I wanted to provide you with this information in order to help you guard against many aspects of the Account Health Rating program and the policy violations that can negatively effect the AHR of your store.

If you have further questions, please continue to utilize this thread! The forums community and I are here to support you.

All the best,

Stevie