Which regulatory agencies enforce this type of clause?

{'agency': 'FTC', 'reason': 'The FTC has enforcement authority over deceptive practices in online marketplaces, including misleading representations about seller identity and responsibility for defective or counterfeit products.', 'complaint_url': 'https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/'}, {'agency': 'State_AG', 'reason': "State AGs have enforcement authority under state product liability and consumer protection laws where Amazon's Marketplace disclaimer conflicts with applicable state law, particularly in California post-Bolger.", 'complaint_url': 'https://www.naag.org/find-my-ag/'}

What is the severity of this clause?

ConductAtlas classifies this Third-Party Seller Liability Disclaimer clause as high severity. Severity reflects the magnitude of rights affected, the breadth of users impacted, and the degree of discretion the platform retains.

Third-Party Seller Liability Disclaimer — Amazon

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What it is

When you buy from a third-party seller on Amazon, Amazon says it is not the seller and not responsible for problems with that product — your legal claims would be against the individual seller, not Amazon.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Consumers who buy defective, counterfeit, or dangerous products from Marketplace sellers may find Amazon disclaims responsibility for those products, leaving them with limited recourse against a potentially unreachable overseas vendor.

How other platforms handle this

Shopify Medium

You may not use Shopify's Services to transmit any malware, viruses, or other malicious code, or to engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts the integrity or performance of the Services or related systems.

Google Medium

Avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias. AI algorithms and datasets can reflect, reinforce, or reduce unfair biases. We recognize that distinguishing fair from unfair biases is not always simple, and differs across cultures and societies. We will seek to avoid unjust impacts on people, particularl...

PayPal Medium

Step 4: Comply with PayPal's shipping requests in a timely manner, if you're filing a Significantly Not as Described claim. PayPal may require you, at your expense, to ship the item back to the seller, to PayPal or to a third party (which will be specified by PayPal) and to provide proof of delivery...

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Why it matters (compliance & risk perspective)

Many Amazon Marketplace sellers are difficult to locate or serve legally, particularly overseas sellers, meaning this clause can effectively leave consumers without a practical remedy for defective or counterfeit products.

View original clause language

Amazon operates a platform for third-party sellers. Amazon is not the seller of record for items sold by third parties on Amazon.com. When you purchase items sold by third parties, you are purchasing from those third parties and not from Amazon. Amazon is not responsible for examining or evaluating, and does not warrant, the offerings of any of these businesses or individuals or the content of their websites.

Institutional analysis (Compliance & legal intelligence)

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK: Amazon's characterization as a 'platform' rather than 'seller' is contested under multiple regulatory frameworks. The FTC Act Section 5 and state UDAP statutes apply to deceptive practices in Marketplace transactions. California courts in Bolger v. Amazon.com LLC, 53 Cal.App.5th 431 (2020) held Amazon liable as a distributor in the chain of commerce for defective Marketplace products under California's strict products liability doctrine, directly contradicting this disclaimer. The EU Platform-to-Business (P2B) Regulation (EU 2019/1150) and EU Digital Services Act (DSA, Regulation 2022/2065 Art. 6) may impose due diligence obligations on Amazon as an 'online marketplace' that override this disclaimer for EU users.

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Applicable agencies

FTC

The FTC has enforcement authority over deceptive practices in online marketplaces, including misleading representations about seller identity and responsibility for defective or counterfeit products.
File a complaint →
State AG

State AGs have enforcement authority under state product liability and consumer protection laws where Amazon's Marketplace disclaimer conflicts with applicable state law, particularly in California post-Bolger.
File a complaint →

Provision details

Document information

Document

Amazon Conditions of Use

Entity

Amazon

Document last updated

March 24, 2026

Tracking information

First tracked

March 6, 2026

Last verified

April 9, 2026

Record ID

CA-P-002537

Document ID

CA-D-00026

Evidence Provenance

Source URL

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=508088

Wayback Machine

View archived versions →

SHA-256

5f953d9aef66aa19c321476d5198d167086373da89d39d2abcf9b0f7e2316411

Verified

✓ Snapshot stored ✓ Change verified

How to Cite

ConductAtlas Policy Archive
Entity: Amazon | Document: Amazon Conditions of Use | Record: CA-P-002537
Captured: 2026-03-06 20:45:16 UTC | SHA-256: 5f953d9aef66aa19…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/amazon/amazon-conditions-of-use/third-party-seller-liability-disclaimer/
Accessed: April 29, 2026

Classification

Severity

High

Third-Party Seller Liability Disclaimer