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| Coronavirus: Amazon blocks non-essential items from warehouses | Coronavirus: Amazon blocks non-essential items from warehouses |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Amazon is temporarily refusing to stock certain items in its warehouses, to cope with overwhelming demand for household essentials due to the coronavirus pandemic. | Amazon is temporarily refusing to stock certain items in its warehouses, to cope with overwhelming demand for household essentials due to the coronavirus pandemic. |
| It means third-party sellers of non-essential items could find it difficult to ship orders to customers. | It means third-party sellers of non-essential items could find it difficult to ship orders to customers. |
| The move will last until 5 April and cover warehouses in the US and Europe. | The move will last until 5 April and cover warehouses in the US and Europe. |
| Some items – including many brands of toilet paper – remain out of stock on Amazon’s UK website. | Some items – including many brands of toilet paper – remain out of stock on Amazon’s UK website. |
| The decision to restrict warehouse stocks to household essentials and medical supplies has been met with dismay by some sellers of other products. | The decision to restrict warehouse stocks to household essentials and medical supplies has been met with dismay by some sellers of other products. |
| “My sales just doubled and Amazon halted all my shipments,” said one in a post on discussion site Reddit. | “My sales just doubled and Amazon halted all my shipments,” said one in a post on discussion site Reddit. |
| “This is absolutely crazy,” wrote another – though they added they had been “prepared” for disruption. | “This is absolutely crazy,” wrote another – though they added they had been “prepared” for disruption. |
| Third-party sellers can still list and sell items on Amazon but they would have to carry out packing and shipping of the products themselves. | Third-party sellers can still list and sell items on Amazon but they would have to carry out packing and shipping of the products themselves. |
| Amazon told the BBC: "We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfilment centres so we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers. We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding." | Amazon told the BBC: "We are temporarily prioritising household staples, medical supplies, and other high-demand products coming into our fulfilment centres so we can more quickly receive, restock, and deliver these products to customers. We understand this is a change for our selling partners and appreciate their understanding." |
| Amazon was "doing the right thing", one US-based seller told the BBC. | Amazon was "doing the right thing", one US-based seller told the BBC. |
| "Small businesses will hurt because of it and some will completely go bankrupt if the supply chain disruption goes beyond a month," said Samantha Morrison, who sells a range of electrical and computer-related goods via Amazon. | "Small businesses will hurt because of it and some will completely go bankrupt if the supply chain disruption goes beyond a month," said Samantha Morrison, who sells a range of electrical and computer-related goods via Amazon. |
| She said it was nonetheless important that Amazon remained able to provide essential items to people in a time of need. | She said it was nonetheless important that Amazon remained able to provide essential items to people in a time of need. |
| Ms Morrison added that she thought her own business would be minimally impacted as she had enough stock to "weather the storm". | Ms Morrison added that she thought her own business would be minimally impacted as she had enough stock to "weather the storm". |
| Andrew Helgeson, a seller based in Lincoln, said he had "no idea" how many fewer orders he would be able to ship because he has been relying on Amazon's services for eight years. | |
| Mr Helgeson sells items including DVDs and Blu-ray discs and said he would have to switch to packaging the products individually himself at home. | Mr Helgeson sells items including DVDs and Blu-ray discs and said he would have to switch to packaging the products individually himself at home. |
| "We will get around it, always do, you have to be able to adapt," he told the BBC. | "We will get around it, always do, you have to be able to adapt," he told the BBC. |
| He added that he had already applied for a three-month mortgage holiday from his bank and would be seeking other government help. | He added that he had already applied for a three-month mortgage holiday from his bank and would be seeking other government help. |
| Are you a third-party Amazon seller affected by this decision? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Are you a third-party Amazon seller affected by this decision? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways: |
| Or use the form below | Or use the form below |