Amazon seller hijacks a stranger’s porch for free returns

In case the week got away from you...

Between juggling restocks, refunds, and whatever Seller Central threw at you, some headlines may’ve slipped through the cracks. No worries. 😉

We’ve rounded up the biggest bites from the week so you can catch up in under five minutes.

• Prime Day scammers launch 120K fake Amazon sites 🕵️
• Agency tools, no agency fees 💸
• TikTok scrambles to release app before ban hits ⏳
• Seller turns stranger’s porch into return hub 🚪

HOT TOPIC

Imagine checking your porch and finding a mountain of unwanted car seat covers. 

That’s what happened to a San Jose woman who, according to ABC7 News, got stuck as an unwitting returns hub—thanks to a black-hat seller cutting corners.

🍪 Quick bits

In case you missed it, here's the situation:

• A China-based seller used her address to dodge international return shipping costs.
• Customers paid $$$ to return faulty car seat covers—then never got refunds.
• Amazon support allegedly told the woman to “just donate” the mountain of junk.
• U.S. law and Amazon policy require:
  • A valid U.S. return address; 
  • A prepaid return label; or
  • A returnless refund.
• This seller chose: none of the above.
• After a year (and some media heat), Amazon finally cleared the returns and promised to “crack down” on abuse. 

💬 SellerBites’ take

If you’re a legit international seller: follow return policy to the letter—this is the kind of abuse that gets entire accounts nuked. 

And for U.S.-based sellers? Situations like this prove how easily customer trust (and someone’s garage) can be trashed by rule-breakers.

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BITES OF THE WEEK

• Amazon seller hijacks a stranger’s porch for free returns
• Better Than One: Target launches dual campaigns targeting both students and parents for back-to-school marketing.
• Meta Chatbot 101: Get technical and learn how to upsell using chatbots powered by Meta's Llama.
• The Amazon Standard: Amazon's mission, to provide excellent shopping experiences, led to the Standards for Brands policy.
• Goodbye, Meta Checkout: Meta is phasing out checkouts from Facebook and Instagram and shifting to website checkouts instead.

BLACK MARKET

120,000+ fake Amazon sites launched ahead of Prime Day

Scammers are suiting up for Prime Day too—and they’re not after lightning deals.

🍪 Quick bits

ICYMI, here’s what we covered earlier this week:

• 120,000+ scam sites launched just ahead of Prime Day.
• Target: rushing shoppers more likely to click fast and think later.
• Amazon hasn’t issued a formal statement but has:
  • Warned Prime members via email.
  • Shut down 55,000 phishing sites + 12,000 scam phone numbers in 2024.
  • Partnered with global law enforcement to hunt fraud rings.
• AI is supercharging the scam game—kill one site, three more pop up.

💬 SellerBites’ take

Honestly, it’s starting to feel less like Prime Day and more like Crime Day.

Scammers spinning up more than a hundred thousand fake Amazon sites is like a fraudster version of Black Friday. These aren’t just lazy copy-paste jobs—they look legit. 

If shoppers are getting tricked by fakes, it’s not a stretch to imagine them questioning your legit storefront too. 

So yes, even if you're not the target, your reputation is still at risk.

TRENDING TOPIC

TikTok pushes a new app ahead of federal deadline

TikTok’s racing the clock and plans to roll out a new U.S.-based app on September 5—just days before a federal deadline that could force ByteDance to sell or get banned.

With 170 million users in the U.S. alone, this could be a full-blown platform reset just to avoid getting axed.

🍪 Quick bits

If you missed it earlier this week, here’s what’s up:

• ByteDance has until September 17 to divest TikTok’s U.S. operations—or face a ban.
• The new app could be a U.S.-compliant version of TikTok, separate from the current one.
• If no deal happens, the existing app could go dark in March 2026.
• The sticky part? TikTok’s algorithm likely won’t come with any U.S. version—meaning a watered-down experience.
• Big-name buyers are sniffing around, but China has final say—and they’re not eager to hand over the goods.

💬 SellerBites’ take

This isn’t just a technical reboot—it’s a geopolitical chess move. 

TikTok’s new app could be a legal workaround, a branding bandage, or a Trojan horse depending on how you look at it.

And sellers? You’re caught in the crossfire.