Amazon’s Terms of Service for Sellers: Paragraph 12: Force Majeure

Today I want to talk about one of the shorter provisions which are found in paragraph 12, referred to as the force majeure clause.

Force majeure is just a fancy way of saying superior or intervening force and it’s actually a contract term that refers to events that are outside of the control of the party.

Paragraph 12 force majeure states,

We (as in the Amazon) will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform any of our obligations under this Agreement by reasons, events, or other matters beyond our reasonable control.

So basically what this means is that if there’s something like a strike or a riot or more commonly, an act of God, which legally refers to things like hurricanes or tornadoes or other natural disasters, that Amazon cannot be found liable for their failure to perform in those situations.

This is a pretty standard clause in contracts, but what’s interesting is that the right usually extends to both parties, but here, Amazon specifically states that the right applies only to them. Now this is interesting and again seems one-sided, but on a positive note, our firm has seen that Amazon will work with sellers if they are affected by something like a snowstorm or a natural disaster. Typically, for example, if a fulfilled by merchant seller has an issue with shipping products out as expeditiously as they should during a blizzard, a well-written plan of action will usually work to get Amazon to resolve the issue with the seller.

If you’ve been suspended on Amazon or have questions about the new TOS, call us today for a free consultation: 1-877-9-SELLER.

Make sure you watch all of our videos regarding the loopholes Amazon created in the new TOS.