Why Compliance Can Make or Break Your Amazon Business

27 Jul

And Why You Need a Specialist Like David Esral on Speed Dial

Expanding into international markets is exciting.

But if you’re launching on Amazon without a firm grip on product compliance, you're playing with fire.

At Zeal, we’ve seen too many brands — good brands — lose momentum, margin, and entire product lines over one critical oversight:

Assuming compliance is someone else’s job.

In a recent episode of The Executive Roast, I sat down with David Esral, founder of Epsilon Safety — one of the most experienced and pragmatic product compliance consultants in the ecommerce space.

Here’s what stood out.

Compliance Isn’t a Box-Tick — It’s Your Risk Strategy

David made it clear: Amazon’s compliance expectations often exceed government standards, and the rules vary dramatically between regions.

What’s worse? Many of these requirements aren’t written down.

Your supplier saying “it’s fine” doesn’t protect you from a customs seizure, product delisting, or a full-blown recall.

· Real examples we discussed:

· A toy company that skipped $500 in retesting — and ended up with a product recall and six figures in legal fees.

· A cosmetics brand that didn’t register with MoCRA — and lost three years of stock to government warehouses.

· A robe seller unaware that “sleepwear” triggered strict flammability tests — until Amazon flagged and froze their listing.

What Brands Get Wrong

· Relying on factory certificates

· Copying labels from the internet

· Assuming what worked in one country will fly in another

· Waiting until they’re caught to 'fix' it

When Should You Bring in a Compliance Consultant?

Before you:
- Finalise your product spec
- Print packaging
- Ship your first container

Even better — during product development.

David supports brands from any country to any country and specialises in interpreting Amazon’s often-opaque requirements. Whether you're moving from the UK to the US, launching a cosmetics line, or navigating a bot-triggered listing takedown — he’s your guy.