Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon's New Recall and Safety Alerts Page: What You Need to Know
A new alerts page will appear if a product you purchased is the focus of a recall.
- Member of Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association
Amazon will now let you know when a product you bought is the subject of a recall.
Amazon has devised a new alert system that aims to make it easier to know when something you've bought on the site has been recalled. There will now be a dedicated page in your Amazon account to view recalls and safety alerts impacting items you've purchased. The retail giant says it's part of ongoing efforts to help people shop confidently.
Amazon has been criticized in the past for being slow to remove recalled products. In 2021, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission accused Amazon of failing to remove hazardous and defective products from its retail listings. At the time, Amazon said it had a robust recall program.
Amazon says it monitors public recall alert websites, including the US government's Recalls.Gov, and receives recall information from manufacturers and sellers.
Here's what'll happen if something you bought on Amazon gets recalled.
A 'dedicated' space for safety information
Customers will now see a banner alert at the top of the Your Orders page if a product they ordered is the subject of a recall. Clicking it will lead you to a new page titled Your Recalls and Product Safety Alerts, where users will find more details about the issues the product has, as well as options for a refund, a return or a repair. You'll also get a personalized email from Amazon.
Amazon said it will "always proactively notify customers" about product recalls and safety alerts, adding that the new page will help reach even more people directly in their account, giving them "clear instructions on what to do next."
Amazon noted that, in the past, people may have had to rely on third-party sites to get some information about recalled products. In many cases, they would also have to submit personal information to these sites to receive instructions on returns, repairs or product disposal.
"With these and other innovations -- such as our robust seller vetting, product safety and compliance verification, and expanded A-to-Z Guarantee -- customers can shop confidently knowing we stand behind all products in our store and will make it right in the rare event a product does not meet expectations," Amazon wrote in a blog post last week about the new alerts page.
While the new service applies to all products sold by Amazon, products sold through third-party sellers don't automatically get the same treatment. Amazon's selling partners have the option of using the new service, but they'll have to opt into the company's Recalls Logistics Service for their customers to get the same experience.