Amazon blamed a "bad actor" for racist abuse that has appeared on multiple lists on its UK website.
The abuse, now removed, appeared when users searched the Apple AirPods online store and similar products.
It is unclear how long the racist language stays on the site, but it has sparked outrage on Twitter and the sharing of screenshots and video footage.
"We are removing the images in question and acting on the bad actor," Amazon told the BBC.
The company did not elaborate the "bad actor", nor did it provide details on how many products were defaced and how long the abuse was visible in the listings.
Nadine White, a Huffington Post reporter, tweeted that the abuse "must be recognized, removed, explained, apologized as far as possible. Being black at the moment is quite difficult; we don't need to be called N-word during the online shopping, to boot. "
Another Twitter user said that Amazon should have been able to remove the offending messages in minutes. "I'm still on Amazon UK. Site administration is extraordinarily poor," he said in the early hours of Sunday.
Amazon also allows third-party resellers to sell goods through its website, with the company making about half of its retail revenues.
But the Amazon Marketplace platform has been reviewed.
There was concern about the counterfeit goods on the lists and Amazon was criticized during the coronavirus pandemic for not doing enough to stop sellers from inflating prices.
In April, several foreign Amazon websites, including UK domain, were added to the US regulator's "notorious markets" report on markets known to be counterfeiting and piracy issues.
Amazon absolutely disagreed with the report at the time, describing it as a "purely political act".
