And I fell asleep on my recliner. Whoops! At least I woke up in time for tonight's JV Soccer Teacher's Appreciation Event since I had announcing duties.
However, I wanted to talk a little bit about Amazon's new ID verification policy.
Amazon began requiring identification verification from sellers over a year ago thanks to the INFORM Consumers Act. This law applies to all online marketplaces, from Target to Etsy, to provide the necessary information regarding sellers to consumers.
There's been a spate of con jobs going on with online stores where shoddy goods are delivered to the consumers. Or even, nothing at all is delivered, and the consumer has lost their money to some fly-by-night scam artist.
Now, the process has moved to KDP. If you're starting your writing/publishing career, you will now need to provide a qualifying picture ID when you sign up for Amazon.
For those of us who joined KDP in the early days, or maybe started when KDP was still DTP, Amazon is slowly going through and verifying our identities. From what I've been able to learn, the priority is based on the volume of sales.
However, if you change how you do business (for example, I'm in the process of switching from a sole proprietorship to an LLC), you're verification will happen when you enter your name change under your Account info on Amazon.
This is something to be aware of because eventually Amazon or some other service will tap you on the shoulder and say, "ID, please."
Like many other folks, my concern is privacy. I understand the need for consumer protection, but I don't want my information in place where someone can steal my identity. Amazon claims it deletes the copies of your driver's license or passport, but do they really?
It's one of those things that bothers me when it comes to Amazon these days.
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