Angie Chua has avoided selling on Amazon since she founded her Palm Springs, California-based stationery brand Bobo Design Studio in 2016. So, she was shocked when, in late December, she discovered that her product catalog was available for sale on Amazon’s marketplace.
The issue first came to Chua’s attention when she noticed a slew of unusual orders from an email address titled @buyforme.amazon. Many of the orders were for products that the brand no longer sold or were out of stock. This was how Chua learned about “Buy For Me,” an AI-powered tool that Amazon unveiled last year. But Chua says she never opted into Amazon’s “Buy For Me” program.
“They just opted us into this program that we had no idea existed and essentially turned us into drop shippers for them, against our will,” Chua said.
Amazon’s “Buy For Me” feature allows users to purchase products from third-party websites without leaving Amazon’s app or site. (Amazon also has a “Shop Direct” button that links out to brands’ third-party websites for customers to complete a purchase.) When products appear on Amazon through “Buy for Me,” they are shown alongside standard Amazon search results but are clearly labeled as coming from “other brands,” with a prominent button that says “Buy for Me.”
“Buy For Me” uses “agentic AI capabilities” to provide third-party websites with shoppers’ encrypted payment and shipping information, according to Amazon. Still, several merchants said that, to shoppers accustomed to scrolling Amazon’s marketplace, the listings can resemble a typical Amazon product page, potentially giving the impression that a brand is selling directly on Amazon, even if the transaction ultimately happens elsewhere.
Through “Buy For Me,” customers were placing orders for Chua’s products on Amazon.com to be fulfilled through Chua’s Shopify account. Chua’s products have since been removed — she contacted Amazon at [email protected] to opt out, per the company’s FAQ page for sellers — but Chua said other small online merchants like herself could be unknowingly opted into Amazon’s “Buy For Me” program.
Chua isn’t alone. Four other merchants who spoke to Modern Retail for this story were also upset that their products were featured on Amazon.com without their permission.
“’Shop Direct’ and ‘Buy For Me’ are programs we’re testing that help customers discover brands and products not currently sold in Amazon’s store, while helping businesses reach new customers and drive incremental sales. We have received positive feedback on these programs,” an Amazon spokesperson told Modern Retail in a statement. “Businesses can opt out at any time by emailing [email protected], and we remove them from these programs promptly. Amazon is a longstanding supporter of small and independent businesses, and today more than 60% of sales in our store are from independent sellers who leverage our innovative tools and services to run their businesses and serve customers.”
Another business owner who reported having issues is Amanda Stewart, the founder of Mochi Kids, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based apparel brand for children. Stewart hadn’t heard of “Buy For Me” until she watched a viral video Chua posted on Instagram about the issue; the video has garnered nearly 16,000 likes since it was posted on Dec. 28. The video prompted Stewart to search for her brand on Amazon, which is when she realized that her product catalog of 4,000 products was available for sale on the e-commerce company’s marketplace. Like Chua, Stewart avoided selling on Amazon because of concerns related to resellers, counterfeits and brand reputation.
“We’ve not wanted to sell on Amazon on purpose, and so seeing our stuff on there was surprising and very frustrating,” Stewart said.
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