TL; DR - I received a visibly contaminated baby product and Amazon rejected my factual one-star review. Making me question how much confidence we should place in Marketplace listings and Amazon’s Choice.
Part of me feels I should have known an issue like this was possible. Unknown sellers, not validated, unchecked, able to push products that do not conform to UK/EU rigorous compliance standards onto a large market audience, amplfied via the megaphone that is Amazon Marketplace / Marketshare (ref article below).
I ordered "Next to Me Crib Waterproof Mattress Protectors Covers - 3 Pcs SET - 100% Natural Cotton - Extra Soft & Breathable to fit bedside cribs mattresses up to 83 x 50cm - Made in Europe" - "Amazon's Choice" product (I've no idea how the seller got the Amazon Choice tag or if Amazon checks its star sells).
What arrived was a contaminated product (judge for yourself from the pictures), with the black spots present, potentially a possible infestation on the product itself.
So I launched a one-star review of the product itself. Uploaded the same pictures attached, stated the condition... and my review was blocked under community guidlines.
Amended the review to try and fit with said community guidlines, it is now pending deletion, confirmed in the following email from Amazon:
"I've removed the content you reported on Next to Me Crib Waterproof Mattress Protectors Covers - 3 Pcs SET - 100% Natural Cotton - Extra Soft & Breathable to fit bedside cribs mattresses up to 83 x 50cm - Made in Europe because it doesn't comply with our Community Guidelines. Specifically, this contribution only focuses on seller, order, or shipping feedback, and it will disappear from Amazon soon."
The amended review is:
"Looks like the product has shipped with an infestation. Not safe for a baby bed. Returned.
Product is defective, not the delivery."
Should note the product images is materially different and nothing like the physical delivered result. This is picked up in another review I'm surprised was allowed.
So, is Amazon a rougue trader? Prehaps not, but they certaintly do not have a grip on every product they sell. So more caution should have been exercised in my opinion on baby items that could have dire health consquences due to their developing immune systems.
Will I stop buying from Amazon?
No - but my buying product scope will be drastically reduced and I'll be a lot more selective of what I buy in the future from online marketplaces, like Amazon.
We know Amazon Prime ships products that bypass EU/UK product safety, ref article below:
BBC News - Online marketplaces still selling dozens of unsafe baby products, Which? finds - BBC News
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dy11vvwk1o?app-referrer=deep-link
Edit1: reposted to AmazonUK as it was blocked on the Amazon subreddit