Amazon sellers hit by 1p sales glitch

A glitch on Friday saw a number of items being sold by Amazon sellers sold to customers for just 1p.

The Guardian reports that the third party RepricerExpress software used by private sellers to list items on the site went haywire” and reduced prices on a huge range of items.

One seller estimated that by the time he had been alerted to the problem customers had placed 1,600 orders through his store, with Amazon marking 30,000 worth of stock as having already been dispatched – meaning the orders could not be cancelled and customers were able to keep the goods.

Another sold 59 mobile phones to one customer for 1p each, complaining of the difficulty he had experienced in trying to get the largely automated delivery process halted.

Kiddymania owner Judith Blackford told the paper: I have lost about 20,000 overnight. Having asked Amazon to cancel the orders they are still sending them out and charging me horrendous fees. Surely someone has to be accountable for this. I will be bankrupt at this rate by the end of January.”

Amazon has been working to cancel orders that have not been dispatched, but many sellers are now complaining of a negative effect on their seller ratings.

I am truly sorry for the distress this has caused our customers,” RepricerExpress chief executive Brendan Doherty said. We understand that you are angry and upset and we will endeavour to work to make good on this issue and to work to restore your confidence in our product and service.”

An Amazon rep added: We responded quickly and were able to cancel the vast majority of orders placed on these affected items immediately and no costs or fees will be incurred by sellers for these cancelled orders.

We are now reviewing the small number of orders that were processed and will be reaching out to any affected sellers directly.”