In June 2017, Amazon announced their desire to purchase Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion. When the Federal Trade Commission approved the deal, days later Amazon announced they would lower prices on many products.
Amazon Stops Retail Arbitrage of Whole Foods Market brands
It’s interesting to read that days after the acquisition that Amazon restricted all sellers of the Whole Foods Market brands like 365. In fact, Amazon was so kind to reimburse sellers who had Whole Foods products at an Amazon fulfillment center.
From SusanH@SellerSupport in this thread on Amazon:
Hello TigerWares Unlimited,
It is true that third party sellers will no longer be able to sell the Whole Foods brands, which includes as many as 24 different brand names.
It is also true that any inventory currently in Amazon fulfillment centers will be credited for the replacement value, minus FBA fees.
We do have a path for sellers to follow if they are incorrectly impacted and their product is not associated with the Whole Foods brands. Please contact Seller Support if you need assistance.
I hope this helps clarify the situation.
-Susan
Amazon Prime 365 Everyday Value Brands
Most products shown as of writing this post are mostly Prime pantry. Clicking into a lentil listing we see that Amazon is the only seller
Amazon 365 Everyday Lentil Blend
Additionally, if we tried to sell this Lentil package, ASIN B074H5LYDF, we will see this in our Seller Central portal:
Amazon 365 Everyday Lentil in Seller Central
Amazon Acts In Their Best Interests, Not Yours
Just remember that while you own your business selling products on Amazon utilizing their platform. You have no control. Amazon? They’ll do what they need to do in their best interests and making sure the customer will be happy at the end of the day. End of story.
Third party sellers can’t sell in Amazon Pantry category. The affected listings were probably alternate listings for the same products in grocery. They may very well have had UPC mismatches for any number of reasons
Right, no sellers in Amazon Pantry. There’s a few 365 brands that are listed as a standalone, like the Lentils, but if you tried to apply to the listing, Amazon wouldn’t allow you to do it.
The same error would be seen on Gillette products as well (those not grandfathered into that brand)