Amazon ups restrictions on sellers of hand sanitisers, masks

In a bid to curb opportunist marketing of high-priced face masks and hand sanitizers in view of growing demand due to coronavirus pandemic, Amazon has started putting more restrictions on sellers of these goods on its third-party marketplace platform.

In a note to some sellers of products like face masks and hand sanitizers, Amazon on Wednesday said that it was not "accepting applications to sell these products at this time".

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"You are receiving this message because you are currently selling, or have previously sold, products such as disposable face masks, hand sanitizers, disinfecting wipes/sprays, isopropyl alcohol or related products," reads the message, according to a report in The Verge which reviewed the note.

"We have implemented more stringent requirements to sell these products in our store and as a result, your offers have been removed. We are not accepting applications to sell these products at this time," the message added.

Sellers with remaining inventory will be eligible for reimbursement of the return or disposal fees subject to fulfilment of certain conditions, according to the report.

However, the criteria to allow the sales of these products are not clear.

EBay has banned all listings for N95 and N100 face masks, hand sanitisers and alcohol wipes, according to a report in TechCrunch.