Amazon is banning used and collectible-condition toys, and it's also instituting stricter policies on new toys. As a result, sellers are scrambling to find a new place to list their toys as the holiday shopping season gears up, and eBay may be the beneficiary of Amazon's radical changes.
Amazon sent an email to sellers on Monday (September 15) telling them the following:
"Effective September 15, 2025, all Toys & Games listings must be in "New" condition only. Toys & Games listings in "Collectible" condition will no longer be permitted and will be removed after this date.
"To help minimize this impact, you'll have until October 30, 2025 to sell through your existing "Collectible" condition Toys & Games inventory. After this sell-through period ends, only "New" condition listings will be permitted."
Until Monday, Amazon allowed sellers to list toys in the following conditions: Collectible - Like New; Collectible - Very Good; and Collectible - Good, as described on a
help page that has yet to be updated. However, it has already updated its help page on "
Condition guidelines: Toys & Games" to ban anything but item in brand new, unused, and unopened in original packaging (see details).
"We have already purchased our 4th quarter inventory and supplies for the holiday selling season on Amazon. This policy change notification arrived this morning and will have a significant financial impact on our business. We understand the need for the policy, but it should carry a grace period through Dec. 31st (as we have appealed to seller support). Sudden and swift changes like this with no warning cause sellers financial harm and hardship. A longer grace period is a reasonable ask."
Another asked, "Which software works best to transfer from say Amazon to eBay, Shopify, etc?"
Some sellers had seen the writing on the wall on September 3rd when Amazon announced another disruptive change to toys. A seller shared the following email
Amazon sent sellers on September 3 notifying them of new requirements (excerpt):
"Effective September 3, 2025, we'll require annual testing or document verification from a Testing, Inspection, and Certification (TIC) organization for children's toys sold in our US and Canada stores. This change helps ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, standards, and our policies.
"We're sending out notifications in phases. You'll receive a notification for your affected ASINs within the next 30 days, along with the due date for completing all required actions. Once you receive the notification, check your Account Health dashboard to see your impacted listings.
"The dashboard will show what documents are required and provide you with a list of approved TIC service providers who can iether test your products or verify existing testing documents.
"To initiate a test or document verification, take the following steps: ...."
- "Do you realize how many MILLIONS of discontinued, antique, etc. toys are sold on Amazon? I am assuming none of them will be exempt so all those listings will now come down? No more Hot Wheels (except this years) no more beanie babies (yes people still buy them) no more vintage Barbie Dolls, Lego sets, GI Joes, etc. etc. etc."
- "The writing's on the wall. Amazon Marketplace has been getting decidedly worse over the last 5 years, and seller support has been completely unreasonable to deal with. (If the product says "Not a Toy" and if it also comes with a testing certificate, they will not reinstate anything that has been removed.) I have preorders that I have been waiting on for almost two years, so it will certainly be too late for Amazon. Sellers' best bet is to move to ebay, Shopify, or others, because toys here are treated as dangerous contraband unless they are sold by Amazon."
Among the concerns were the costs of the policy change. An Amazon moderator returned to the thread with the following response:
"To clarify - Amazon isn't charging any fees or receiving any payment from this process. While we understand your frustration about additional costs, the fees you're seeing are charged directly by the TIC providers for their services, not by Amazon. If you already have testing reports, you can choose to verify your existing documents through our TICs. This option is typically less expensive than new testing. You only need to work with one of our TIC providers and you can compare quotes from the different TICs to find the best rate. I'd recommend request quotes from multiple TICs to find the most cost-effective option for your business."
Sellers concerned about the change to testing requirement had questions about how Amazon defined "toy." On July 3,
Amazon posted a video on YouTube with an overview of its policy for listing children's toys on Amazon's US store that included an explanation of what it considered to be a "toy":
A children's toy is a product intended for use in learning or play by a child 12 years of age or younger. Toys are determined to be children's toys based on the following criteria:
- Age grading on the product packaging is intended for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.
- Product is presented in its packaging, display, promotion, or advertising as appropriate for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.
- Product is commonly recognized by consumers as being intended for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.
Amazon could hardly have picked a worse category to disrupt during the holiday shopping season, but it could be a gift for eBay as sellers seek alternative venues for their non-new toys.
eBay Benefits from Chaos Amazon Unleashed in Toys
by: RKTOYS