Merchants say Amazon’s AI-powered “Buy For Me” tool listed their products without consent, raising concerns over brand control, data use, and reputational risk.
When Angie Chua founded her Palm Springs–based stationery brand, Bobo Design Studio, in 2016, she made a deliberate decision to avoid selling on Amazon. That is why she was startled late last year to discover her products appearing for sale on Amazon’s marketplace—without her knowledge or permission.
The first warning came in December, when Chua noticed a stream of unusual orders originating from an email address ending in @buyforme.amazon. Some orders were for products that were out of stock or no longer sold. Only then did she learn of “Buy For Me,” an AI-powered shopping feature Amazon quietly introduced last year. Chua says she never opted into the program.
“They just opted us into this program that we had no idea existed,” she said, “and essentially turned us into drop shippers for them, against our will.”
Amazon’s “Buy For Me” feature allows shoppers to purchase items from third-party brand websites without leaving Amazon’s app or site. Listings appear alongside standard Amazon search results, clearly labeled as coming from “other brands,” with a prominent “Buy For Me” button. Amazon says the tool uses agentic AI to securely transmit encrypted payment and shipping information to merchants’ sites.
But several merchants told Modern Retail that, to consumers accustomed to Amazon’s interface, the listings can closely resemble standard Amazon product pages—creating the impression that brands are selling directly on Amazon, even when transactions are fulfilled elsewhere.
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In Chua’s case, customers placed orders on Amazon.com that were routed through her Shopify account. After contacting Amazon to opt out, her listings were removed. Still, she worries that other small businesses may be unknowingly enrolled.
She is not alone. Four additional merchants interviewed by Modern Retail said their products were listed on Amazon without consent.
“‘Shop Direct’ and ‘Buy For Me’ are programs we’re testing to help customers discover brands not currently sold in Amazon’s store,” an Amazon spokesperson said. “Businesses can opt out at any time, and we remove them promptly.”
Yet merchants argue that the burden should not fall on them to opt out of a program they never joined.
Amanda Stewart, founder of the Utah-based children’s apparel brand Mochi Kids, learned her entire catalog—some 4,000 products—was available on Amazon only after seeing Chua’s viral Instagram video. Stewart had intentionally avoided Amazon because of concerns over resellers, counterfeits, and brand dilution.
“We’ve not wanted to sell on Amazon on purpose,” she said. “Seeing our products there was frustrating.”
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Other founders echoed those concerns. Emi Moon, who runs the digital art brand Peachie Kei, said even her gift cards appeared on Amazon. “It’s a reputational issue,” she said. “I don’t want to be associated with Amazon.”
Several merchants said Amazon’s opt-out approach risks damaging wholesale relationships. One of Mochi Kids’s partners—an independent label that prohibits Amazon sales—questioned why its products appeared on the platform, forcing Stewart to explain the situation and reassure the brand.
“It builds distrust,” Stewart said.
Amazon says product descriptions, images, pricing, and ratings are pulled from merchants’ websites and refreshed regularly, though it may modify content for display. That may explain why one of Chua’s listings—a vinyl sticker—was shown with an image of pants, a product she has never sold.
“I don’t sell pants,” she said.
Chua also reported orders for discontinued products and lingering “shell” listings with jumbled titles and keyword-heavy descriptions, which she fears could divert search traffic from her own site. She has since consulted an intellectual property attorney and launched a survey that has drawn responses from 145 brands who believe their products were listed on Amazon without consent.
For some sellers, the risks go beyond branding. Sammy Gorin, a New York–based artist, said “Buy For Me” surfaced products from her password-protected wholesale portal—raising concerns about tax liability and the exposure of wholesale pricing intended to remain private.
“I keep my wholesale pricing hidden to protect my margins and those of my retail partners,” she said.
The controversy arrives as Amazon takes an increasingly aggressive stance against other companies using AI to access its marketplace. In 2025, Amazon moved to block third-party crawlers tied to companies including Google and Meta, and sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity over its AI-powered shopping browser.
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At the same time, Amazon is expanding its own AI shopping tools. Alongside “Buy For Me,” it has introduced “Auto Buy” and promoted its shopping assistant Rufus, which the company says makes users significantly more likely to complete purchases.
To Juozas Kaziukėnas, an independent e-commerce analyst, the rollout is out of character. “Normally Amazon requires brands to apply or integrate,” he said. “This isn’t built on partnerships. It just appears—and brands aren’t told.”
For small businesses already navigating a difficult retail climate, the result is yet another burden: monitoring Amazon’s marketplace for listings they never approved.
“It’s just another level of stress,” said Chelsea Ward, founder of the stationery brand Sketchy Notions. “Amazon knows we have very little room to push back.”
