Although selling refurbished products on Amazon isn’t new, with the launch of Amazon Renewed, the eCommerce giant has separated new items from pre-owned, like-new, and repaired item offerings.
Many buyers aren’t aware of Amazon Renewed because it requires users to navigate to that portion of the website through various dropdowns.
However, Amazon Renewed does have its cult following of bargain-hunter customers, which is a win-win as it also gives Amazon sellers a whole new audience to sell pre-owned products, display items, and returned, or open-box products that work and look like new.
In this blog, we’ll go over everything sellers need to know about it like what the requirements are, how to get started, and more.
What is Amazon Renewed?
It is a product category within Amazon.com that sells refurbished, rebuilt, or previously owned items that have been inspected and tested by qualified suppliers or other third-party vendors.
To provide customers with the peace of mind that a previously owned or used device will last, each item sold within the products category is backed by the Amazon Renewed Guarantee within 90 days of receipt.
Further, Amazon’s Renewed policy ensures quality items for its customers through a rigorous inspection, refurbishing, and cleaning process:
“The inspection and testing process typically includes a full diagnostic test, replacement of any defective parts, and a thorough cleaning process carried out by the supplier, or by Amazon. The product may have minimal scratches or dents.
Box may be generic and accessories may not be original, but will be compatible and fully functional. Wireless devices do not come with headphones and have batteries tested to have at least 80% capacity. Any exceptions will be mentioned on the product detail page.”
What is the Guarantee?
The Amazon guarantee promises customers 100% satisfaction and quick customer support solutions.
According to the Amazon Renewed Program Policies, if a buyer is not 100% satisfied with their order within 90 days, the Seller is responsible for providing technical troubleshooting support.
If that does not resolve the issue, Renewed customers have the right to return the product and receive either:
- A full refund; or
- A replacement unit of the same model, color, and version purchased, if available
That said, if a Renewed customer experiences theft, if the item is accidentally damaged, or if the item has been tampered with, the Renewed Guarantee no longer applies.
How to start selling?
To begin selling with the program, you should know the rules. It’s quite difficult to manage all of the criteria, listing, catalog, and quality requirements to get into the Renewed program if your business doesn’t have an Amazon Expert who’s accustomed to navigating through Amazon’s backend and support network.
You could let the Amazon Experts at Lab 916 do the legwork for you, but we’ll do our best here to help you navigate through the hoops.
First and foremost, there are a few conditions that Sellers must be aware of before applying to Amazon Renewed:
- The Guarantee applies to all Renewed products sold in the Amazon Renewed store
- Merchant Fulfillment Network (MFN) sellers must opt into prepaid return mailing labels
- The Guarantee automatically applies to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) sellers
- The A-to–Z Guarantee still applies to all items in the Renewed category
- Your company backs all of your refurbished products with the Guarantee and is responsible for all claims under the guarantee
If your business is equipped to meet the conditions above, next is the obstacle of getting approval to sell within this store platform.
Check our guide on how to sell on Amazon for more info.
Meet the Criteria
In addition, unlike Amazon.com, not just any Seller can sell products on this platform.
To qualify to sell on Amazon Renewed, Amazon requires Sellers or retailers to submit invoices to prove they have extensive experience in selling pre-owned or refurbished products.
According to Amazon, to qualify as a Renewed seller, you must meet the following criteria:
- Supply invoices showing a minimum total value of $50,000 in qualifying refurbished purchases in the previous 90 days from the date of the application. You may black out the unit purchase amount on the invoices. Note that sellers intending to offer products related to Home, Tools, or Lawn & Garden, Kitchen may supply invoices showing a minimum total of $50,000 in qualifying refurbished purchases in the previous 180 days.
- If you are an existing seller on Amazon, we require an ODR of 0.8% or less in the trailing 90 days.
- If you want permission to list factory refurbished items (with no manufacturer warranty) you need to submit a minimum of 8 images of a sample unit for product and packaging review (box in which the product will ship, inside packaging and padding, a product from top and bottom, a product from all four sides).
- For approval to list the Apple brand in the Consumer Electronics categories, we require invoices dated from trailing 90 days that total $2.5 million in Apple refurbished products.
Comply with Catalog Requirements
After submitting your application to Amazon, all there’s left to do is wait until you’re approved.
Once you receive approval, you’ll have to abide by numerous catalog requirements before you begin listing new refurbished, pre-owned, or open-box products on Amazon Renewed.
Regarding the platform’s product listings:
- Renewed products must be listed under the original brand of the product offered. You cannot use your seller name under the product’s brand attribute.
- You are not allowed to include references to a seller name or a seller brand on the Product Listing (detail) page. This applies to the main content as well as the product title, description, bullet points, pictures, or any other place on the detail page. Content will only contain references to the original brand of the product.
- Listing in bundles (such as a mobile device with a protective case) is not permitted.
Regarding Amazon Renewed ASIN creation:
- You are not allowed to create multiple ASINs for the same Renewed product.
- To create a Renewed ASIN you will use the Renewed ASIN Creation tool. When an equivalent New ASIN is not available and requires you to create a new Renewed ASIN manually, you must indicate the term “(Renewed)” in parentheses in the suffix of the title.
- You are not allowed to create new Renewed Apple ASINs. If you need a Renewed Apple ASIN that is not already in the Renewed Catalog, you must request creation through Seller Support.
Ensure products meet general quality requirements
After your catalog has been set up, you’ll want to ensure that your products abide by the Amazon Renewed US Quality Policy. This policy outlines the minimum required quality bar across all Renewed product categories.
First, you’ll have to ensure that your products are permitted. Review what can be sold on the platform.
Second, your products will need to undergo a full diagnostic test to ensure that the replacement of any defective parts has been done well. Items are expected to be repaired, cleaned, and tested to look and work like new.
That means that:
- Anything that’s been refurbished will need to have been replaced with OEM parts
- No signs of cosmetic damage should be notified when the product is held 12 inches away
- No dead or stuck pixels should be present on products that contain displays, with no signs of dimming
- Any markings on external surfaces of the product must be intact (e.g. product logo)
- When present, batteries must have a capacity that exceeds 80% of the new equivalent
- Where applicable, products must be restored to their original factory settings and must be fully unlocked for use
- Where applicable, products must be upgradeable to the latest firmware supported by the OEM
Third, accessories cannot be sold as standalone ASINs. Products sold must come with all of the accessories that a new equivalent would have.
Fourth, sellers are responsible for removing all data contained on or in any hardware, software, or media component of each product before sale.
And finally, products must be packaged in their original packaging or a new cardboard box. Labeling must be applied on at least two sides of the package, explicitly identifying the product as “Renewed,” “Refurbished,” “Remanufactured,” or any other applicable derivative.
Amazon has an extensive list of requirements by product category and brand, which you can review here.
What can be sold on Amazon Renewed?
Not everything can be sold on it. The full list of product types that can be sold on this platform is as follows:
- Air conditioners
- Audio receivers and amplifiers
- Blu-ray and DVD players
- Cameras
- Car stereos, security, video, and radar detectors
- Chain saws, pole saws, and log splitters
- Chippers, shredders, and mulchers
- Dehumidifiers
- Digital antennas
- Digital musical instruments
- Electric ceiling fans
- Electrical floor cleaning devices
- Embroidery machines
- Fitness machines
- Fitness watches
- Generators
- GPS devices
- Graphing and scientific calculators
- Headphones
- Headsets
- Heaters
- Home stereo equipment
- Home theater systems
- Irons
- Kitchen Appliances
- Lawnmowers, hedge trimmers, and edgers
- Media players
- Microphones
- Monitors
- Outdoor blowers and vacs
- PC drives and graphics cards
- PC keyboards, mice, gamepads, and webcams
- PC motherboards
- PC networking equipment
- PC power supply
- PC processors
- PC servers
- PCs
- Phones
- Pneumatic tools
- Portable media players
- Power tools, power drills, and power saws
- Pressure washers
- Printers
- Projectors
- Refrigerators
- Scanners
- Security cameras and systems
- Sewing machines
- Shredders
- Smartwatches
- Snowthrowers
- Sound and recording equipment
- Soundbars
- Speakers
- Tablets
- Televisions
- Thermostats
- Universal remote controls
- Vacuums
- Video cameras
- Video game consoles
Additionally, the items sold on Amazon Renewed must be within these 3 categories:
- Refurbished: Used products that a customer returned it because it didn’t work properly or because they decided they didn’t want it anymore
- Pre-owned: Used products returned in better condition than refurbished products are
- Open-box: New products have been opened and taken out of their packaging, but have never been used by a customer
What is the difference between renewed and refurbished on Amazon?
Does renewed mean refurbished? In terms of semantics, we think of renewed products and refurbished products this way:
All Renewed products are refurbished, but not all repaired/refurbished products are Renewed.
Here’s a further breakdown of the terms from Amazon:
- All Renewed products must be capable of being repaired/refurbished and tested to look and work like new by our Global Quality Policy.
- Repair/refurbish capability means that products must have electrical or mechanical components that can be replaced or upgraded to new or like-new condition.
The Takeaway
On the landing page for Amazon Renewed, they state that “you can grow your business.”
Although that may be true, after reading this blog, you’ll realize that this statement is only true if
- You’re confident in the quality of your products; and
- You’re already a successful refurbished product seller
If your business model relies on selling individual parts or display items without accessories, selling on it will not work. Additionally, it’s not likely that a brand-new eCommerce business that focuses on selling refurbished items will qualify for Amazon Renewed.
However, if your business meets or exceeds the strict criteria Amazon has outlined, selling on this platform is likely a good fit.
Now that you know all of the basics about getting started with Amazon Renewed, we hope that you have all of the knowledge you need to make an informed decision.
Happy optimizing!
