Amazon states that they do not allow the sale of CBD products on their platform, yet an independent analysis has shown this is not the case. With the ubiquity of the on-demand fulfillment giant at the pinnacle of the morally questionable online shopping pyramid, it’s no wonder shady distributors are filling it with bad products. However, if Amazon “prohibits” the sale of hemp products, how are they so readily available, and how do they stack up?

How Do Some Brands Sell Prohibited Products on Amazon?

This one is actually pretty simple; they brand burn. Brand burning is the phenomenon where a distributor sells under one brand until that brand name gets shut down, then they rebrand and resume business with the same usually counterfeit or otherwise fraudulent topic. This is the mechanism by which sites like wish.com, Ali express, and Temu are filled with counterfeit products despite having whole teams dedicated to weeding out bad vendors. In fact, it’s basically the state of online shopping right now. Amazon actually prohibits quality CBD vendors from selling on their platform because their products aren’t verified, therefore they can’t sell. So where does this leave the consumer?

How Does The Consumer Fare?

Simply put, it’s bad for the consumer. The allure of cheap products, especially those that are more expensive elsewhere, allows many consumers to momentarily silence their inner skeptic. That old adage about things being too good to be true comes to mind. “If a thing seems too good to be true, it probably is,” rings all too clearly with the sound of truth in this online mercantile mayhem. How bad are things really though? Let’s see how a bevy of Amazon products fared in third party testing. 

The High Times published this article about one company’s experiment. CBD Oracle purchased 56 different CBD products from Amazon, consisting of eight tinctures, two topical creams, one pack of mints, and the rest being the ever popular gummy variety. They found that out of all these products, only 17 even contained CBD, but with a wildly variable range in CBD content. 28mg on the low end and a whopping 1582 mg on the high side. Amazon also prohibits THC yet six products contain the cannabinoid, with the most potent three containing delta-8. At 76 mg of THC per gummy, the most potent “cbd product” they tested would knock many people firmly out of whack. 

35 of the products tested by InfiniteCAL labs contained zero cannabinoids with 24 containing no hemp whatsoever. Furthermore it’s worth noting that even in the products that did contain cannabinoids, 96% of them had an incorrect label. 

Only Buy From Suppliers You Trust

The simple truth is that as long as online retailers like Amazon prohibit verified sellers from using their platform you’re much better off steering well clear. This issue isn’t limited to CBD products either, it is far too easy for predatory merchants to make outrageous claims under false pretenses, enticing consumers with good deals on name brands or apparent name brand equivalents. Buyer beware. 

Real Tested CBD Lists CBD and Delta-8  Products You Can Trust 

Whether you want gummies, oils, CBD, or delta-8, Real Tested CBD tests hundreds of products and brands for quality so you, the consumer, can buy safely and with confidence. Check out our website for the latest CBD reviews.