What Is Buyer Vetting (and Why Brands Skip It Under Time Pressure)
A prospective wholesale buyer reaches out, seems eager, and wants to place an order quickly. Under time pressure, it's easy to skip the basic checks that would reveal a shell account, a diverter, or someone with no real business behind them — until the account causes a problem months later.
Why a Structured Checklist Beats a Gut Feeling
This extension turns your own judgment into a consistent, repeatable process — a weighted checklist of real shell-account warning signs that produces an instant risk score, so you're applying the same standard to every prospective buyer instead of relying on how convincing any individual person seems.
Key Brand Owner Pain Points and How This Extension Solves Them
| Pain Point | How the Companion Solves It |
|---|---|
| You approve accounts inconsistently, based on gut feeling under time pressure | A fixed, weighted checklist applies the same standard to every prospective buyer |
| Some red flags matter far more than others, but it's hard to weigh them mentally | Each item is pre-weighted based on how strong a warning sign it actually is |
| You have no record of why you approved or declined a buyer later | Pro: save every vetting result with notes for future reference |
| You want a documented, defensible process if a bad account later causes a dispute | Exportable history gives you a record of the process you actually followed |
How the Vetting Companion Works
The Weighted Checklist
| Red Flag | Risk Points |
|---|---|
| Generic or placeholder-sounding business name | 2 |
| Very few products listed (fewer than 5) | 1 |
| Very low or no reviews across their listings | 2 |
| No business address or contact info visible | 2 |
| Storefront appears very recently created | 2 |
| Requesting a large opening order with no purchase history | 1 |
| Only communicating via a generic personal email | 1 |
| Won't provide a reseller certificate or business license | 3 |
Total score bands into 0–2 = Low Risk, 3–6 = Medium Risk, 7+ = High Risk.
Step 1 — Review the Prospective Buyer's Storefront
Open their Amazon storefront and look at what's actually there — product count, reviews, contact information, how established it looks.
Step 2 — Check Off What You Observe
In the popup, check any item that applies. The risk score updates instantly as you go — no submit button needed.
Step 3 — Follow the Guidance for Your Risk Level
Each risk band comes with specific guidance — from "standard approval is fine" at Low Risk to "request verification documents or decline" at High Risk.
Worked Example — A Medium-Risk Buyer
The buyer: "QuickWholesale123 LLC" reaches out wanting to buy your product wholesale.
What you observe: Generic business name (+2), very low reviews across their listings (+2), only communicating via a personal Gmail address (+1) — no other red flags checked.
Total: 5 risk points — Medium Risk.
The guidance: "Some caution is warranted — consider asking for a reseller certificate or business references before approving."
Try It: Live Vetting Checklist Demo
Check any items that apply to see the same weighted score the extension computes.
Where Brands Actually Use This
Newer Brands Building Their First Distribution Network
A brand with only a handful of authorized resellers so far uses this to apply consistent judgment to every application rather than approving based on how the conversation felt.
Scaling Past Personal Relationships
As a brand grows past the point where the owner personally knows every reseller, this gives a repeatable process for whoever handles new account approvals.
Building a Defensible Record
If a bad account later causes a dispute, having a saved, dated vetting record shows the process that was actually followed at the time of approval.
A Note on Accuracy
The scoring is simple, transparent arithmetic — each checked item adds its fixed weight, with no hidden logic or external verification. The tool's accuracy depends entirely on your own honest observation of the storefront; it doesn't independently confirm anything you check. All data stays local to your browser except an optional license check for Pro features.
Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
Fix: The checklist covers common red flags, not every possible one — use it as a structured aid to your judgment, not a substitute for it.
Fix: The whole value of a structured checklist is applying it consistently — the buyers who seem most convincing are exactly the ones worth checking properly.
Fix: Save every result regardless of outcome — the record is most valuable for buyers who later become a problem, which you can't predict in advance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this verify anything about the buyer automatically?
No. You review the storefront yourself and check off what you observe — the tool structures and scores your own judgment, it doesn't independently verify anything.
Why is the "reseller certificate" item weighted so heavily?
Refusing to provide basic business verification when asked is one of the strongest and most direct signals of an illegitimate account — it's weighted at 3 points, the highest of any single item.
Can I customize the checklist items or weights?
Not in this version — the checklist is fixed based on common shell-account patterns. Custom criteria may be considered for a future update.
What happens after the 14-day trial?
The checklist and live scoring keep working for free indefinitely. Pro unlocks saving vetting results with notes and exporting your full history to CSV.
