Recently, Amazon platform has removed a large number of 18650 lithium battery products, involving some best-selling listings. Moreover, many Amazon merchants were forcibly taken down without receiving platform notification emails and performance notifications, which had a significant impact.

Why was it forcibly taken down this time?

The reason for the large-scale forced delisting of the platform may be due to a warning issued by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in January this year, reminding consumers not to purchase specific types of bulk lithium-ion batteries used in electronic cigarettes, flashlights, toys, etc., as they may pose risks such as fires. Therefore, CPSC prohibits e-commerce platforms such as Amazon from selling bulk 18650 lithium battery products and urges them to remove these products from their shelves.

Has there been any notification before 02?

The implementation of new policies by Amazon this time will make the restrictions on the listing of lithium batteries even stricter. In fact, Amazon's policy had relevant regulations as early as 2018, prohibiting the sale of products containing 18650 lithium batteries. This is not the first time that Amazon has taken down a large number of 18650 lithium battery products. At present, all Amazon sites prohibit sellers from selling 18650 lithium-ion batteries separately, as well as lithium-ion battery models such as 14500/16340/20700/21700/26650.

According to the previous policy explanation of the Amazon platform, Amazon only prohibits these types of batteries from being sold separately, and their products as accessories can still be sold normally. Amazon stated that this delisting is for all products containing lithium batteries, not for a specific product. In order to improve consumers' shopping experience, they are updating their lithium-ion battery sales policy, and products will not be able to be resold due to safety reasons.
An industry insider analyzed, "There are too many products related to 18650 on the platform, and sellers of electronic cigarette devices, personal fans, decorative lights, etc. will also be affected

How to avoid risks?

At a time when everyone was at a loss, some sellers came with good news: the link has been saved. Here is a successful solution shared by an enthusiastic seller on the Canadian website:

1. Delete all 18650 links, mAh， Keywords related to lithium batteries, etc

If there are battery models such as 18650 mentioned in the picture, please remove the picture or replace it with another one

3. Appeal materials:

(1) English manual

(2) Product Six sided Diagram (PDF)

(3) UL1642, UL2054, UL2056 reports

(4) DOC Declaration of Conformity

(5) UN38.3 report and MSDS report

Zhonghan Testing reminds sellers who have not been recruited to quickly conduct self-examination. If your listing text contains words such as "18650 battery model", it is likely to trigger review. It is recommended to change the text to rechargeable batteries and delete the battery details in the set of pictures.

However, as Amazon's policies become increasingly strict, cross-border e-commerce partners who work on the platform should pay real-time attention to the platform's policy trends in order to avoid unnecessary losses. To avoid being restricted by third-party e-commerce platform policies, it is recommended that cross-border merchants consider establishing independent sites.

Because independent cross-border e-commerce sites have a high degree of autonomy and do not have so many rules to restrict themselves. Although third-party platforms do not allow the sale of products containing 18650 lithium batteries, independent websites will not be affected and will not incur losses due to platform policy adjustments.

Of course, the development of independent websites also requires the support of the country. Currently, various provinces and cities across the country are vigorously supporting the development of cross-border e-commerce independent websites. For those who want to layout independent websites, they can take action.