Amazon’s BSA Stricken Again in Two Separate Arbitrations

Amazon Sellers Attorney, a lawyer-supervised suspension appeal service, announced today that, in back to back decisions; one from a Washington arbitrator, awarding and one from a New York arbitrator, awarding over $1.8 million in damages after an evidentiary hearing. In the two cases brought in the AAA against Amazon by its third-party sellers the arbitrators struck the controversial permanent withholding provision of section 2 of Amazon’s Business Solutions Agreement (BSA) which allows Amazon to permanently withhold any funds from a seller if Amazon determines the seller’s account has been used for illegal or fraudulent activity, or to repeatedly violate Amazon’s policies, as an unenforceable liquidated damages clause.

“This marks the sixth case this year where we have prevailed against Amazon’s unenforceable permanent withholding provision,” stated Kenneth Eade, Attorney for the Claimant in the case.

Both arbitrators ruled that Amazon’s BSA was a contract of adhesion that was not subject to negotiation, and that the provision of section 2 of Amazon’s Business Solutions Agreement, “providing Amazon with the sole discretion to determine the use of the funds it retains under Washington law is an unenforceable penalty clause. The Business Solutions Agreement allows retention by Amazon of all generated revenues irrespective of amount or potential invalidity.” The New York abitrator also ruled that Amazon’s In Person Inteview (IPI) procedure was not a condition for release of the seller’s net sales proceeds.

Eade prevailed in five other cases against Amazon this year, where section 2 was ruled as an unenforceable liquidated damages clause in all three cases. In two of the cases, arbitrators ruled that Amazon’s In-Person Verification (IPI) was not a condition for release of seller funds. One of the cases ruled that section 2 of the BSA was also unconscionable.

“The first such case I had where an arbitrator struck down Amazon’s funds withholding provision was in 2021. In that case, the arbitator also held the provision was not enforceable as a liquidated damages clause as well as unconscionable,” said Eade. “Unfortunately, the arbitration process results in non-precedential decisions, because arbitration awards are private and seldomly vacated by the courts,” he added.

About Amazon Sellers Attorney

AMZ Sellers Attorney® is an Amazon appeal service, supervised by lawyers, which serves third-party sellers worldwide with issues of suspension of their Amazon seller accounts and deactivation of listings through its website at www.amazonsellers.attorney. The firm provides 24-hour service to its customers by live chat, telephone, and email, and free appeal consultations. Its current supervising attorney, Kenneth Eade, represented the above-referenced sellers after they had lost appeal for the reinstatement of their Amazon seller account and restoration of sales proceeds.

Contact Information

Kenneth Eade

Supervising Attorney

AMZ Sellers Attorney®

info@kennetheade.com