Amazon Bans Foreign Seeds Sales In US Amid Mystery Packages – Report

Amazon said it has banned foreign sales of seeds in the US after thousands of Americans received unsolicited packages of seeds in their mailboxes, mostly postmarked from China, Reuters reported.Amazon (AMZN) changed its policy on seed sales on Wednesday. The policy change was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to Amazon’s policy web page, the ban also applies to plants and plant products.“Moving forward, we are only permitting the sale of seeds by sellers who are based in the US,” Amazon said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters on Saturday.The e-commerce giant added that sellers who do not follow its guidelines will be subject to action, including potential removal of their accounts.The action comes after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in July identified more than a dozen plant species ranging from morning glories to mustard in the bags of unsolicited seeds. It warned Americans not to plant the seeds, according to the report.According to plant experts, seeds from other parts of the world could be non-native varieties that harm commodity crops. The packages are believed to be part of a global "brushing" scam to gain positive reviews for online selling sites.Shares in Amazon, which dropped 2.2% on Friday, have been on a steady winning streak jumping a stellar 78% so far this year, with the $3,725.59 average analyst price target implying 13% upside potential is lying ahead in the coming 12 months.In a bullish note, Loop Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba last month hiked AMZN’s price target to $3,775 from $2,900 and maintained a Buy rating on the stock.Chukumba is confident that the “pull-forward” of consumer e-commerce adoption in groceries, health and personal care induced by the coronavirus pandemic will boost growth for the company "well beyond" COVID-19. The analyst also increased his target operating margin estimate for US first-party retail sales to 8% from 7%Overall, AMZN scores 37 Buy ratings from analysts versus 1 Hold rating adding up to Strong Buy consensus. (See Amazon stock analysis on TipRanks).Related News: US Backs Microsoft’s $10B JEDI Cloud Award; Wedbush Says JEDI ‘Game Changer’ Grubhub-Just Eat Merger Deal Extended By 6 Months Kimberly-Clark Snaps Up Softex Indonesia In $1.2B All-Cash Deal More recent articles from Smarter Analyst: * SRAX Pops 37% In After-Market On LD Micro Acquisition Deal; B. Riley Says Buy * Southwest Airlines Adds Miami, Palm Springs Routes As Analyst Turns Bullish * Buffett’s Berkshire Cuts Stake In Wells Fargo As Analyst Flips To Buy * United Airlines To Boost October Flight Capacity To 40% Read More...

Amazon said it has banned foreign sales of seeds in the US after thousands of Americans received unsolicited packages of seeds in their mailboxes, mostly postmarked from China, Reuters reported.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Amazon (AMZN) changed its policy on seed sales on Wednesday. The policy change was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to Amazon’s policy web page, the ban also applies to plants and plant products.” data-reactid=”13″>Amazon (AMZN) changed its policy on seed sales on Wednesday. The policy change was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. According to Amazon’s policy web page, the ban also applies to plants and plant products.

“Moving forward, we are only permitting the sale of seeds by sellers who are based in the US,” Amazon said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters on Saturday.

The e-commerce giant added that sellers who do not follow its guidelines will be subject to action, including potential removal of their accounts.

The action comes after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in July identified more than a dozen plant species ranging from morning glories to mustard in the bags of unsolicited seeds. It warned Americans not to plant the seeds, according to the report.

According to plant experts, seeds from other parts of the world could be non-native varieties that harm commodity crops. The packages are believed to be part of a global “brushing” scam to gain positive reviews for online selling sites.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Shares in Amazon, which dropped 2.2% on Friday, have been on a steady winning streak jumping a stellar 78% so far this year, with the $3,725.59 average analyst price target implying 13% upside potential is lying ahead in the coming 12 months.” data-reactid=”22″>Shares in Amazon, which dropped 2.2% on Friday, have been on a steady winning streak jumping a stellar 78% so far this year, with the $3,725.59 average analyst price target implying 13% upside potential is lying ahead in the coming 12 months.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="In a bullish note, Loop Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba last month hiked AMZN’s price target to $3,775 from $2,900 and maintained a Buy rating on the stock.” data-reactid=”23″>In a bullish note, Loop Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba last month hiked AMZN’s price target to $3,775 from $2,900 and maintained a Buy rating on the stock.

Chukumba is confident that the “pull-forward” of consumer e-commerce adoption in groceries, health and personal care induced by the coronavirus pandemic will boost growth for the company “well beyond” COVID-19. The analyst also increased his target operating margin estimate for US first-party retail sales to 8% from 7%

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Overall, AMZN scores 37 Buy ratings from analysts versus 1 Hold rating adding up to Strong Buy consensus. (See Amazon stock analysis on TipRanks).” data-reactid=”25″>Overall, AMZN scores 37 Buy ratings from analysts versus 1 Hold rating adding up to Strong Buy consensus. (See Amazon stock analysis on TipRanks).