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Amazon Will Pay Up To $1,000 in Damages Caused By Defective Products (theverge.com) 22

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Amazon has announced a new policy to pay customers directly for claims of property damage or personal injury under $1,000 caused by defective products. The new policy begins on September 1st and will apply to all products sold on Amazon.com regardless of who sells them. From a report: Previously, if you wanted to file a similar type of claim, you had to work with the seller -- which has raised questions of who's really at fault for defective problems sold on the platform. But when this policy kicks in, Amazon customer service will help facilitate claims between a customer, the seller, and the seller's insurance provider.

The $1,000 figure accounts for "more than 80 percent of cases," according to Amazon. The company won't ask sellers for reimbursement for these payouts, though Amazon says it will keep sellers "informed at every step." And in some situations, the company could pay more; Amazon "may step in to pay claims for higher amounts if the seller is unresponsive or rejects a claim we believe to be valid," it says.
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Amazon Will Pay Up To $1,000 in Damages Caused By Defective Products More

Amazon Will Pay Up To $1,000 in Damages Caused By Defective Products

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  • Upper limit set (Score:4, Informative)

    by bosef1 ( 208943 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @05:08PM (#61677883)

    So if the defective lithium battery from the sketchy third-party seller, that was co-mingled with legitimate batteries, catches fire and burns down my house, Amazon only owes me $1000. Got it.

    • So if the defective lithium battery from the sketchy third-party seller, that was co-mingled with legitimate batteries, catches fire and burns down my house, Amazon only owes me $1000. Got it.

      Doesn't say that at all.

    • Re:Upper limit set (Score:4, Informative)

      by TheGratefulNet ( 143330 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @05:13PM (#61677903)

      no, that's not true at all.

      you'll get the $1000.

      in gift cards. not dollars.

      silly man.

    • That is why you should buy a 4-star fire extinguisher from Amazon. Just hope it works when you need it.

    • Re: (Score:1, Troll)

      by MaDMvD ( 1148691 )
      Reading is fundamental, jackhole.

    • No. UP TO.

      $0.01 is a value between nothing and a $1000.

      You'll get $0.01. Though I'm sure they'll argue that $0.00 also qualifies as "up to a $1000".

      And of course they will argue that 1. No harm was done to you. 2. the product is not defective. 3. you never received the product. 4. you were already paid. 5. you aren't a customer. 6. you don't exist (aka stonewalling), and they don't exist either. 7. in fact you harmed them, and now have to pay damages!

      You're laughing, but it's ALL about who is the chooser a

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      It's not an upper limit, you can still sue them or claim for more. It's just a way to reduce insurance costs.

      Insurers do this all the time. If you have a car accident that isn't your fault the other person's insurer will usually want to settle quickly for a cash sum that resolves the issue. If they don't it not only wastes their time, it means that lawyers might get involved, further costs might be incurred (e.g. hire cars, storage fees) and the amount they end up paying out rapidly increases.

      In Amazon's ca

    • PROTIP: Don't buy from Amazon third-party sellers. It's like eBay but without the photos, which makes it worse. At least with eBay, if the seller has included non-stock photos, you can have a peek at what you are buying. I can't believe Amazon allowed third-party sellers just so they can "compete" with eBay (despite being two different kinds of businesses).

  • On the one hand, this is very obviously an attempt to throw money at people and hope they don't sue just because it probably costs them more than $1000 to hire a lawyer to respond to any given lawsuit even if they get it dismissed very early.

    On the other hand, it could also be good for consumers. If you want to sue Amazon in small claims court you probably have to take a day off to go down and file the paperwork, then there's the filing fee, plus probably another day off work on your actual court date in 1-

    • If it's not a limit, but rather an initial step to a satisfactory resolution without jumping threw a million hurdles to sue suppliers, it's a good move.

      I think they should do more for goods that come with an unusual risk, but I expect Amazon isn't going to enjoy paying out even $1000 for suppliers unless their volume makes it make sense. Small, unreliable sellers will get tossed Damn quick. Win-win

      • It's only "good" in a fucked-up world where Amazon even gets to choose in the first place!

        They sold you a dangerous, defective product!
        Why the hell would they get to choose if they undo the damage they did to you and repay the money they literally stole?

        That's like making the fox the godking of the hen house. Like the burglar coming into the court room to defend himself, say what he has to say, then jump up on the judge's seat, be the judge, and judge that he's not guilty, (but will oooh so generously maybe

  • Should come in handy when ones Trojans have failed.

  • ten million dollars and up

  • Trying to go around insurance companies? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Fly Swatter ( 30498 ) on Tuesday August 10, 2021 @06:28PM (#61678131) Homepage
    Sounds like what they don't want people doing is filing claims with their insurance company. Because when that happens, not only do they have to deal with very good lawyers from the insurance issuer, they also have to deal with the insurance company reporting the incident to the respective government consumer safety oversight organizations.

    I bet those reports are piling up.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Xenx ( 2211586 )
      I cannot say your guess is wrong, but the very real fact is that they're getting bad PR for crap that happens with products sold through them. Even if they aren't technically responsible (bit of a grey area depending on the market), it makes them look bad. This makes them look good(better) for caring about the customer, and will also potentially bring in additional sales by reducing perceived risk.

  • Until Amazon burns down your house or electrocutes a loved one, 1000$ would be a nice consolation prize in either case

  • I got bit by this a few years back. Had to replace the failed hard drive in my 27" iMac, and bought what was advertised as a genuine OEM adhesive kit for the screen. Everything went well with the replacement, but about 3 weeks later I get a text from my wife. Screen fell out, shattered glass everywhere. Contact the vendor, all they'll do is offer to replace the strips. Amazon only offers refund of purchase price.
  • Pray we don't alter it any further.

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