Stolen goods are being sold on Amazon, even goods stolen from Amazon themselves

Big retailers have been bleeding inventory due to theft since the pandemic started, and now they are fighting back tooth and nail, including by putting pressure on Amazon itself.

One law enforcement official went as far as to say that the retail shipping giant could very well be "the largest unregulated pawn shop on the face of the planet," referring to what he feels are their lax policies towards the sellers of stolen goods.

Ironically, it's often goods stolen from Amazon themselves that wind up being re-sold on their own platform right under their noses, sources say.

According to Supply Chain Dive, professional shoplifters (called "boosters") are almost always linked to larger criminal networks and organizations, and will target retail stores like pharmacies, cleaning out often thousands of dollars of merchandise in seconds.

They use tools like foil-lined bags to stow the goods, in order to avoid setting off the store alarms as they leave, although they are generally brazen in the way they operate. Store staff are often told not to confront the thieves for their own safety, as many of them are thought to be armed.

Retailers such as Target, Home Depot, TJ Maxx and Marshall's have often had to respond by limiting store hours in an effort to stop this sort of massive theft, especially in hard-hit areas like the city of San Francisco. They are also investing large sums in security, including hiring professionals to track these thieves.

This massive wave of retail theft has had multiple repercussions. For example, other sellers on Amazon can't compete with the low prices of stolen goods, making it hard for them to stay in business. Often, prices are permanently driven down by the flood of illegal goods, as was the case with the popular GoPro cameras.

Also, illegal goods are often mixed in with potentially dangerous and unsafe counterfeit items, also sold at unreasonably low prices.

Ironically, in some cases, corrupt Amazon drivers are paid to stage robberies, or  these drivers simply actually get held up and have their trucks stolen. These goods then find their way back on to the Amazon platform on several seller accounts.

Amazon itself has stated that, in one of the above cases in Seattle regarding two Amazon drivers, "... we cooperated with law enforcement by providing them the information they requested. Additionally, we strictly prohibit inauthentic or stolen goods from being offered in our store and take action when sellers do not comply."

Critics, however, say that Amazon doesn't go nearly far enough in curbing this type of crime. They insist that Amazon needs to vastly improve its vetting process, and perhaps revise its refusal to cooperate with law enforcement outside of a warrant or a subpoena.