When West Jordan resident Jason Wright saw the upcoming “Great American Eclipse” on the horizon, he realized that the Aug. 21 event — combined with some entrepreneurial spirt — could be an opportunity to “make an honest living.” So in March, he loaded up on “$3,000 to $4,000” worth of eclipse safety glasses from a certified manufacturer in Tennessee and began searching for outlets to sell them.
“I tried selling these things to retailers in Idaho and it was a little challenging,” Wright said. “I tried selling them in person at fairs and stuff where a lot of people didn’t want to give me the time of day.”
Then, prices for the glasses jumped on Amazon and Wright shifted his focus to selling on the online retail giant’s platform. He created an account last month and began selling glasses to consumers as far away as California and New York.
Wright declined to give specifics on his prices, but said he sold them for “a little bit less” than the site‘s going rate — currently between $45 and $60 for a five-pack of glasses.
But after being inundated by new sellers hawking safety glasses — some not certified to adequately protect eyes — Amazon shut down his selling privileges Sunday, leaving him in a lurch with little time left until the big event in the sky.
“They told me I made too much money and that I didn’t have enough feedback,” Wright said with a laugh. “Who leaves feedback on Amazon, right?”
Amazon asked for documentation that the glasses were certified to safely view the eclipse — standards the retailer Wright bought his glasses from adhere to, according to the company’s website — and said until he provided the paperwork, his account would be frozen from between 72 hours and up to a month.
He emailed the safety documentation proof to Amazon several times, but didn’t receive a response — so with only a week remaining before the eclipse, Wright booked a last-minute flight to Seattle to visit Amazon’s headquarters.
He arrived at 1:30 a.m. Monday, slept for a few hours at a Motel 6 and then took an Uber to Amazon’s front door to plead his case. He went straight to the front desk and asked to see anyone who could expedite the reinstatement of his account.
Wright said he was initially turned away, he said, but told them: “I need that money. This is an opportunity for me and I want to talk to somebody about it.”
Later in the day on Monday, a representative from Amazon’s product safety department called and ”got things sorted out” with Wright, reinstating his account.
However, after the online ordeal, he’s taking his remaining stock of 1,500 to 2,000 pairs of glasses to sell directly on Facebook or to local buyers for $2 each — a process he can more closely control and manage as the eclipse rapidly approaches.
“I’m really trying to bend over backward because this is important,” he said. “I think it’s really important to see this once in a lifetime event.”
Wright plans to travel from West Jordan to Placerville, Idaho, near Boise to catch a glimpse of what he calls ”a beautiful gift from God” with his 4-year-old son.
Wright said he doesn’t fault Amazon and that he’s “really, really grateful” for the chance to sell on the company‘s platform.
“I think it’s amazing. It’s just a little bit challenging when you have a lot of road blocks that are thrown up, especially at the last minute,” Wright said.
But he said he’s out of the eclipse glasses business for the foreseeable future.
“There’s no such thing as an easy dollar.”
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