Barring a higher court reversal, the rules for drop shippers might change. If safety certification, indemnification and insurance isn't part of the budget, plan ahead, because there is change in the wind.
Bottom line: Amazon — and by extension other online retailers — isn’t just a bystander when someone purchases a third-party product. It’s a key part of the transaction.
And it can be held accountable if that product turns out to be harmful.
“Amazon is the retailer. They’re the one selling the product,” said Christopher Dolan, a San Francisco lawyer who spearheaded the case against the e-commerce behemoth.
“Because of this ruling,” he told me, “you can be sure Amazon is rewriting all its rules for third-party sellers, and it’s doing it today.”
More than half of all the stuff sold by Amazon comes from third parties — a crucial aspect of the company’s retail dominance. In the fourth quarter of 2020, that percentage hit a record 55%.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-04-29/column-amazon-product-safety-ruling
submitted by /u/traveltrivia
[comments]
