Amazon finds lost inventory after it's worthless

Maybe the best thing you could gift your Amazon store this week isn’t another PPC tweak, it’s joining our Facebook group. 🎁

• What’s holding back your growth? 📉
• Here’s your expired item back! 😬
• Alibaba wants ChatGPT’s crown 👑
• China’s not giving up TikTok easy ⚡
• Join our Facebook group for FREE ✨

BLACK MARKET

A seller just lived every seller’s FBA nightmare in slow motion. 

They shipped inventory in November 2024 with an April 2025 expiry, plenty of time to sell. Then Amazon “lost” a few units, issued a reimbursement, and everyone moved on.

Or so they thought.

🧾 What actually happened

Almost a year later, Amazon found the missing items. 

• Amazon found the missing items, reversed the reimbursement, and shipped the expired stock back to the seller.
• The seller’s stuck with worthless stock and lost the reimbursement. Their question: Is this normal?
  • Short answer: kinda, but it shouldn’t be.

💡 Your damage control plan

If this happens to you, here’s how to fight the FBA time warp:

• File a case immediately. Reference your reimbursement ID and state the items are expired and unsellable. 
• Prove your timeline. Include the original shipment and expiration dates to show they were valid when first sent in.
• Check the reimbursement amount. Amazon pays based on the average selling price, not your cost.
  • Tip: If the payout seems off, submit invoices or recent sales proof to get it adjusted.
• Track your reimbursements. These “lost and found” cases happen more often than Amazon admits.

When Amazon’s calendar moves slower than your product’s expiration clock, you shouldn’t pay the price. Sellers who document everything, usually get their money back. 

But only if they make noise about it. Sadly. 🫠

TOGETHER WITH SELLER INTERACTIVE

What’s really holding your Amazon growth back?

You’ve optimized listings. You’re running PPC. You’ve read all the blogs. So… why isn’t it translating into real growth?

That’s where Seller Interactive comes in.

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Think of us as the partner who brings clarity and execution to your Amazon strategy.

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• Data, Your Way: Amazon’s new Custom Analytics lets sellers tailor dashboards with 100+ metrics and visual insights.

HOT TOPIC

Alibaba just declared war on ChatGPT and Meta

Alibaba’s not waiting for an invite to Silicon Valley’s AI soirée, it just kicked down the door. 

The Chinese ecommerce giant dropped both a ChatGPT rival and a pair of AI-powered smart glasses designed to square up against Meta’s latest Ray-Bans.

But this isn’t just about shiny gadgets, it’s a power move. 

🥊 China’s tech counterpunch 

Cut off from Nvidia’s top chips and U.S. tech pipelines, Alibaba isn’t sulking, it’s pivoting. The company’s turning scarcity into strategy and rewriting the AI playbook with bold moves.

• Chatbot clash: Its new Qwen3-powered bot takes on ByteDance, Tencent, and DeepSeek.
• AI eyewear drop: Quark AI Glasses debut at $660, undercutting Meta’s Ray-Bans just in time for Singles’ Day. 🕶️
• $53B cloud push: Alibaba’s investing $53B in cloud infrastructure, the real race is in compute. ☁️
• Global twist: Airbnb’s AI assistant runs on Alibaba’s open-source Qwen model, not ChatGPT.

💸 When AI meets ROI 

From ecommerce to enterprise, Alibaba’s betting the real profit lies in owning the infrastructure powering AI. 

If Alibaba can scale cheaper AI tools and cloud systems globally, sellers could soon see lower-cost, China-built AI services for listings, ad optimization, and logistics.

BIG IDEA

China is not ready to let TikTok go without a fight

The White House says TikTok’s long-delayed U.S. sell-off will finally close this week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed the deal is “firmly established” after talks with Chinese negotiators in Madrid. 

The plan: hand TikTok over to U.S. ownership before the December 16 deadline.

🌏 The global tug-of-war

It's a geopolitical chess match with commerce, data, and diplomacy all tangled together.

• China pushes back. Beijing isn’t happy. Officials call the new U.S. tariffs “protectionist” and may use TikTok’s approval as leverage.
• The U.S. stays confident. Trump’s team has reportedly “signed off,” and Bessent says the deal is moving ahead.
• TikTok plays it safe. The app quietly updated its data-sharing policy, possibly allowing U.S. agencies like ICE access.
• But China holds the pen. Despite the optimism, Beijing still has final say, and it’s in no rush to release

⚙️ The seller fallout

If the deal actually closes, the ripple effect will hit ecommerce first. 

• Expect a more U.S.-regulated, data-compliant TikTok with stricter seller checks and ad rules.
• If the ownership battle settles, brands may regain confidence in investing on the platform.
• A new structure could bring clearer data protocols.
• And a steadier TikTok Shop could crank up pressure on Amazon and Meta in short-form commerce.

We’ve heard “final deal” before, but this round feels closer to the finish line. Whatever happens next, TikTok’s move could reshape how brands sell and scale in 2026.