Guides

Under the FTC’s Guides Against Deceptive Pricing (16 CFR Part 233), a “was/now” price holds up only if the “was” price is one you actually offered openly, in good faith, for a reasonably substantial period of time. A “compare at” or list price holds up only if substantial sales really happen at that price in your trade area. A price raised just so it can be “cut,” a trivial reduction, or a “free” item paid for by a higher main price are the patterns the Guides call deceptive. ...

CPSC Section 15(b) reporting is the federal duty of manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of consumer products to tell the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) when they obtain information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product has a defect that could create a substantial product hazard, creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death, or fails to comply with an applicable safety rule. The deadline is 24 hours from obtaining that information. If you are unsure whether it is reportable, CPSC allows a short investigation, which should not exceed 10 working days. Amazon sellers fall inside this duty in whichever of those four roles they occupy. ...

Under the FTC Green Guides, a bare “eco-friendly” or “green” on an Amazon listing is the one eco claim sellers should not make unqualified; every other claim has its own threshold. “Recyclable” can go unqualified only if recycling facilities for the item reach at least 60 percent of consumers or communities where it is sold. “Biodegradable” unqualified means the whole item breaks down within one year after customary disposal, which landfills do not allow. “Recycled content” below 100 percent needs a percentage. ...

FTC Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: What Amazon Sellers Need to Know The FTC Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (16 CFR Part 465) took effect on October 21, 2024, and it applies to Amazon sellers the same way it applies to any business that sells to US consumers. It bans fake reviews, incentives tied to a positive or negative sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, review suppression through threats or false accusations, and fake social media metrics. It does not ban asking buyers for reviews, or incentives that are not conditioned on what the review says. ...

The home office deduction for Amazon sellers rests on two IRS tests: you must use a specific part of your home regularly and exclusively for the business, and your home must be your principal place of business. Sellers who store inventory at home have a separate route — IRS Publication 587 lets that storage space qualify without the exclusive-use test, as long as five conditions are met. Once a space qualifies, you choose between the simplified method ($5 per square foot, capped at 300 square feet, per the IRS as of data checked 2026-10-08) and the regular method, which uses actual expenses and Form 8829. ...

Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act for Amazon Sellers: Full vs Limited Warranty, $10 and $15 Rules Federal law does not make an Amazon seller offer a warranty, but once you put one in writing on a consumer product, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and the FTC’s rules decide how it must be worded and shown. Per the FTC’s business guide (checked 2026-10-08), a written warranty on a product costing more than $10 must be titled “full” or “limited,” and the disclosure and pre-sale availability rules apply above $15. Clauses that void coverage when a buyer uses third-party parts were the subject of FTC warning letters in 2018 and 2024. ...

Under US federal law, a UV sanitizer, an ultrasonic pest repeller or a bug zapper sold on Amazon is usually an EPA pesticide device, not a registered pesticide: it carries an EPA Establishment Number and no EPA Registration Number. EPA’s consumer guide states that the establishment number “does NOT indicate that the product has been reviewed for safety or efficacy by EPA” (Pesticide Devices: A Guide for Consumers, checked 2026-10-07). Once a product adds a chemical to do the pest-killing, or a listing promises that it “kills germs,” the rules change, and the claims on the page become the thing EPA reads first. ...

FTC Mail Order Rule for FBM Sellers: The 30-Day Rule, Delay Notices, and Refunds The FTC’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435) says a merchant needs a “reasonable basis” for any shipping time it states, and, when it states none, a reasonable basis for believing it can ship within 30 days. If the order cannot ship on time, the FTC’s business guide says the merchant must either get the buyer’s consent to the delay through a “delay option notice” or cancel and refund. As of 2026-10-07, the guide lists civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. ...

Amazon clothing label requirements in the US start with federal law, not with Amazon. Under the FTC’s rules for the Textile and Wool Acts, a garment label has to show three things: the fiber content, the country of origin, and either the company name or the company’s Registered Identification Number (RN). A separate FTC rule adds a care label with washing or drycleaning instructions, and when you sell online, the product description itself needs a clear statement that the item is “made in U.S.A.,” “imported,” or both. ...

You can put an unqualified “Made in USA” on an Amazon listing or package only if the product is “all or virtually all” made in the U.S.: final assembly or processing in the U.S., all significant processing in the U.S., and all or virtually all ingredients or components made and sourced in the U.S. That is the Federal Trade Commission’s standard, and it covers online marketing as well as the box. Short of it, a qualified claim such as “Made in USA of U.S. and imported parts” works only if it is truthful, substantiated, and the product has significant U.S. content or processing. ...

Selling cosmetics on Amazon in the US now sits on two layers: the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA), which FDA summarizes as facility registration, product listing, safety substantiation, and 15-business-day serious adverse event reporting, and Amazon’s own Beauty approval, which lists “Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) compliance documentation” among the documents a seller may need to provide (FDA MoCRA page, content current as of Aug 10, 2026; Amazon, How to sell beauty products, dated Feb 17, 2026; both checked 2026-10-07). ...

Amazon Attribution for Sellers: What It Measures, Who Is Eligible, How to Build Tags, and How to Read the Metrics Amazon Attribution is Amazon’s free tool for measuring what happens on Amazon after a shopper clicks a link you placed somewhere else — a Google ad, a TikTok post, an email, an influencer’s review. You build a tagged URL for each campaign tactic, put it in place of your plain Amazon link, and Amazon reports the detail page views, add-to-carts, purchases, sales, and new-to-brand orders that followed the click within a 14-day window. Professional sellers need a brand enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry to use it. ...