Amazon Seller Account Banned
What to Do When Your Amazon Seller Account is Suspended
The post was originally published at on December 24, your Amazon seller account is suspended, you have every right to worry — after all, when you can’t sell, you can’t make money. But the good news is, you have options, like suspension appeals. To help you figure out how to get back your Amazon suspended account, we put together the following guide with everything you need to know about Amazon suspension. With answers to common questions like, “Why did Amazon suspend my account? ” and “How can I win an Amazon suspension appeal? ”, this guide will help you understand your Amazon suspension, how to craft a successful appeal, and what to do to prevent Amazon from closing your account in the can also address all these questions with the experts at Seller Labs. We help business owners sell effectively on Amazon while keeping you compliant with Amazon’s ever-changing rules. Part I Why Is My Amazon Seller Account Suspended? If your selling privileges have been removed, it is generally because of one of the following reasons: Poor Seller PerformancePoor account health, negative customer feedback, and decreasing seller metrics are all red flags to your seller performance drops, Amazon gets worried that you aren’t providing the best possible customer service and will want to conduct a review of your account to see what’s going on. Amazon Policy ViolationAmazon has strict seller guidelines to prevent fraud and ultimately keep their customers happy. If you violate their policies or terms of service, expect a suspension. Restricted Product ListingsIf you’re selling restricted, counterfeit or inauthentic products on Amazon, they’ll find out and suspend your account. Check your performance notifications in Seller Central to get more information about your specific suspension. Part II How Do I Get My Amazon Account Back? Payability works exclusively with Sellercare LLC () for suspension related matters. Their COO, Evelin Goldin works with sellers on a daily basis to assist with Amazon account notations, suspensions, and business practice spoke with Evelin Goldin regarding 10 things to do (and avoid) to get your Amazon suspended account reinstated as quickly as possible, and the following section is a paraphrase of her advice and recommendations: 1. DO Stay CalmFirst and foremost, remain calm. Assuming you’re an above-board seller and the suspension really is unwarranted, you should remain confident that you can put together a strong appeal — one that will get your account reinstated quickly. Even if you are at fault, don’t worry. Going into the appeals process with a confident, level head will ensure that you DON’T say anything in the appeal that will anger Amazon further. 2. DON’T Rush to Submit Your First AppealYou need to be thoughtful about your appeal. Getting an account reinstated is a process that can take days, weeks or even months — and Seller Performance investigators unfortunately only spend a few minutes reviewing each appeal. You want to take your time preparing a strong case, so when you do submit an appeal, your chances of approval are higher. Not only that, you want to include as much pertinent information as possible, so they don’t come back asking you for further clarification — that will only add time to the process. So take your time before you hit that appeal Tip:Hiring a professional to file an appeal for you might be the right step for you. Just keep in mind that there are many scammers out there claiming to help reinstate suspended accounts. To avoid those, do your due diligence and choose someone who’s highly recommended by other Amazon sellers. 3. DO Be ProfessionalWhen you submit your appeal and Plan of Action (more on that below), be professional. This means taking ownership of the suspension, laying out your solution(s) to the specific reasons laid out in your suspension notice, and reiterating your commitment to customer service as an Amazon seller. Make sure emotion is NOT involved — i. e., no mention of or commentary about Amazon’s processes or policies. Also, avoid blaming your customers for misunderstanding, etc. Amazon is 100% focused on customer service, so if you demonstrate in any way that you don’t have your customers’ best interests in mind, they won’t be our experience, Seller Labs’ Communication Center is the best tool to help you create and automate messages. With a number of messaging templates, pre-created in accordance with Amazon’s messaging guidelines and automated sending schedules, the Seller Labs tools can make improving your customer experience easy. 4. DON’T Open A New AccountYour focus should be on crafting the best appeal possible — not on opening a new account. In fact, opening a new account is not going to fool Amazon. If anything, it’s going to further delay your reinstatement because they WILL figure out what you’re doing. 5. DO Identify Specific ImprovementsWhen you get your suspension notice, read it carefully to see why you were suspended in the first place. From there, you’ll be able to identify where you need to make improvements in your business so you can get reinstated faster — and prevent suspension in the future (more on that below). 6. DON’T Send Multiple Letters After Submitting First AppealDon’t be surprised if, after submitting your appeal, you don’t hear from Seller Performance right away. This doesn’t mean they haven’t received it — they are just inundated with appeals on a daily basis and don’t always send confirmation that they got yours. If you haven’t heard from them after a week or two, you could check-in, but anything more than that will just further delay things. Let them review your appeal and get back to you when they’re finished 7. DO Create A Plan of ActionOnce you’ve reviewed your suspension notice and identified areas of improvement, you can start to craft your Amazon suspension appeal — or Plan of Action (PoA). PoA’s usually follow the same template. Source: Amazon Seller Central EUROPEWhen crafting your own PoA, make sure it includes these five things:a. ) IntroA brief introductory paragraph in which you take ownership of your suspension and reiterate your commitment to Amazon’s policies. Bonus points if you also talk about your dedication to customer service. b. ) Suspension Elements & SolutionsSpecifically, address everything that led to your suspension — including whatever solutions you’ve put in place (or will put in place) to improve your Amazon business and ensure suspension doesn’t happen again. Include proof of such solutions as well. For example, if you were suspended for stocking out, but you already placed a rush inventory order, attach a receipt of that order. c. ) FactsKeep it simple and address only the elements of the suspension and why you should be reinstated. DON’T use it as an opportunity to vent about Amazon, Seller Performance, or your customers. d. ) Requested PaperworkIf Amazon asks for something specific as part of your suspension review, give it to them in its true/original form. Sometimes getting your account reinstated is as simple as proving that your manufacturer is legitimate. e. ) Bullets & BrevityBe thorough but concise, and use bullet points to get your points across. Seller Performance agents review hundreds of appeals every day, so make it easy for them to read and understand yours. It’ll ultimately help you get reinstated more Template:Dear Amazon Seller Performance Team, Thank you for providing me the opportunity to appeal my selling suspension from Amazon. Please find my Plan of Action below for resolving [state the issue identified in your suspension notice]. A) The issues in my … [list selling and/or inventory management practices]B. ) What actions I have taken to resolve the issue … [List action steps] Thank you for taking the time to review my appeal. I look forward to hearing your response. Sincerely, [Seller name]Source: Sellbrite 8. DON’T Modify or Fabricate InvoicesIf your account was suspended for “inauthentic” inventory (or inventory obtained from unauthorized sources), Amazon may ask for copies of your invoices or other documentation that illustrates your supply chain — even if you drop ship. Whatever you do, do NOT modify or fabricate any paperwork they request. Seller Performance agents look at thousands of invoices and can easily spot one that is fake or has been manipulated. And when they do, they slap another violation on top of your suspension called “forged and manipulated, ” which only prolongs the reinstatement process. 9. DO Make Changes to Prevent Future SuspensionsPart of getting through an account suspension is owning up to the fact that your business needs improvement. After you’ve identified why your Amazon account was suspended, you’ll have a better idea of where those areas of improvement actually are. Whether or not you agree with your suspension, take steps to fix whatever is needed so that you can continue selling — and growing — on Amazon. Not only will you increase your chances of a swift resolution, but you’ll also safeguard your business from future suspensions (more on preventing Amazon account suspensions below). 10. DON’T Be Rude to Seller Performance or Threaten Amazon with Legal ActionAs previously mentioned, you should be professional in your dealings with Amazon and Seller Performance post-suspension. Take your emotions out of it, put your ego aside, and submit a Plan of Action speaking to every specific element of your ’t be rude about it, and here’s a little bit of advice from us: Don’t bring an attorney into the picture. Seller Performance wants to work with YOU, and they want to know that you are committed to improving your account — but if a lawyer gets involved, they likely will not respond at all. What to Do (And NOT to Do) with Amazon Account SuspensionIf the worst happens, stay calm, and follow this list of 10 DO and DO NOTs:DODO NOTCreate A Plan of ActionModify or Fabricate InvoicesMake Changes to Prevent Future SuspensionsBe Rude to Seller Performance or Threaten Amazon with Legal Action Identify Specific ImprovementsSend Multiple Letters After Submitting First AppealBe Professional Open A New AccountStay Calm Rush to Submit Your First AppealInterested in getting more information about how to mitigate risks and deal with suspensions? This definitive guide: How To Get Reviews on Amazon and Improve Your Amazon Seller Feedback can help you get started. How to Get Reviews on Amazon and Improve Your Amazon Seller FeedbackKnowing how to get reviews and feedback on Amazon can be risky. Learn how to do so effectively and compliantly with this guide. Mar 23, 2021 Ashley Kochans Part III How to Prevent An Amazon Account Suspension When your Amazon account is in good standing, you’re less likely to get suspended. What’s more, you increase your chances of winning the Buy Box in the future. A win-win for your business and its growth. So how do you actually get or keep your business performing its best? Here are five ways to prevent an Amazon account suspension (and win the Buy Box in the process): 1. Learn from an existing suspension notice — as well as customer feedbackTake note of any prior suspensions you’ve already had. What caused concern for Amazon? Have you fixed it yet? If not, do so ditionally, pay close attention to the customer feedback you’re getting. Are there common complaints or questions from customers and potential buyers? Whether it’s an inaccurate description, question about a specific feature, or something else, take steps to address it. Doing so should improve your customer experience and prevent negative reviews in the you’re not getting a meaningful amount of feedback, ask for it. Staying on top of what your customers want, think, or need and understanding how you can better serve them will help your business tremendously. Sell the Right ProductsA common reason for suspension comes back to what you’re selling. Make sure you’re only listing products and brands that are approved by Amazon. Avoid restricted products and gated you’re looking for more product inspiration, check out these top-selling items on Amazon. Optimize listing, inventory & fulfillment managementWhat your listings say, how much product you have in stock, and when a buyer gets their orders all factor into your overall account health. After all, if a listing has an inaccurate description, a buyer is more likely to make a return or leave a negative review. If you experience an Amazon stockout, you risk losing sales, the Buy Box, and so much more. And if there’s a shipping delay or product damage due to poor packaging, your customer is not going to be happy. Preventing all of this will strengthen your business against an account suspension. Get started with Amazon Feeds by X-Cart, which helps sellers create listings and better manage inventory and fulfillment. Brush up on Amazon’s policiesEven if you’re not new to selling on Amazon, there’s no harm in staying updated with Amazon’s seller policies. They’re known to change randomly and without warning, and the last thing you want is an unexpected suspension for a violation you weren’t aware of. Bolster cash flowWhen you have cash flow, you can be more nimble in business. So when things like a suspension happen, you’re better prepared to make necessary business improvements. For example, if you’re suspended for shipping issues, you can sign up for FBA. If you’re suspended for stocking out, you can place a rush inventory order. If you’re suspended for inauthentic products, you can more quickly invest in a new product line. And so Tip:Payability is a great option for sellers who need better cash flow. A financing company designed specifically for marketplace sellers, Payability offers a cash flow solution for just about every need sellers like you face — whether it’s next-day marketplace payments, a large lump sum of cash, or weekend/holiday access to your payouts. Since 2016, Payability has helped thousands of marketplace sellers improve cash flow, overcome hurdles like suspensions and stockouts, and grow their businesses 2. 5x faster than their competitors. Learn more here. Part IV Next Steps At the end of the day, Amazon suspensions happen often. As a suspended seller, your focus should be on crafting the strongest appeal — one that includes everything Seller Performance agents need to confidently reinstate your selling privileges. From there, run regular audits of your business and cash flow to ensure you’re primed for growth — not suspensions. For more information about Amazon suspension, listen to the full podcast.
14 Reasons Your Seller Account Got Banned & What To Do …
Using Amazon is a hassle-free way to sell products online, but there is an elephant in the room that a lot of people are ignoring.
As a seller, and especially if you are an FBA merchant, your business either lives or dies at the whim of Amazon.
Amazon can, at their discretion, temporarily suspend or just outright ban any seller account.
It doesn’t take a genius to know that an over-reliance on a platform like this isn’t ideal, but the benefits of having your products fulfilled by Amazon are hard to pass up.
To be honest, the trade-off is fair. You get access to millions of customers and all you have to do is stick to the rules.
Sounds simple right?
It is, as long as you understand those rules!
Luckily Amazon is pretty open about the do’s and don’ts for sellers on their platform.
Even though they can ban or suspend you for no reason at all, most of the time they have identified a clear breach of their TOS when taking action.
Let’s go ahead and take a look at how to avoid getting your Amazon seller account banned.
Table of Contents14 Reasons Amazon Could Suspend or Ban You, and How to Avoid Them1. Selling Poor Quality Products2. Selling Prohibited and Unregulated Items3. Breaching Copyright Laws4. Late Shipments5. Cancelling Orders6. Opening Multiple Seller Accounts7. Too Many Negative Reviews8. Poor Communication9. Buying Reviews10. Inaccurate Listings11. Wrong UPC Codes12. Hijacking Listings13. Providing Inaccurate Account Details14. Leading Buyers to Other SitesAppealing a Suspension or BanThe Best Way to Avoid a Ban
14 Reasons Amazon Could Suspend or Ban You, and How to Avoid Them
Amazon wants you to be successful, because the more products sold through their platform, the better it is for their bottom line.
They really don’t want to ban you, but they have a number of non-negotiable rules when it comes to the way you use their platform.
If you are found breaking any of these rules, you will be banned and will have to go through an appeal process to be reinstated.
This is lost time and money for you, so it is better not to end up in that situation in the first place!
To help you avoid any future issues, let’s go through the reasons why Amazon might ban an account and how you can avoid these pitfalls.
1. Selling Poor Quality Products
Amazon presents your products to millions of buyers who trust Amazon as a brand. Often, they do not even understand that there are different sellers on the platform and see their purchases as being ‘from Amazon’.
Because Amazon has a brand to protect, they are really big on ensuring everything being offered on its platform is high quality.
If they receive enough reports that your products are of poor quality, your account will be banned.
The easy way to avoid this issue is to only sell original, high-quality products. You should always test and verify items before putting them up on your Amazon store.
Although as an FBA seller it is possible to sell items without ever holding them, you should at least test some samples or prototypes before letting Amazon take care of your fulfilment.
2. Selling Prohibited and Unregulated Items
To avoid any regulatory or legal trouble, Amazon cannot host prohibited and unregulated items on their platform.
It would be impossible to list all items that fall into this category, but one category where this problem is most common is pharmaceuticals and supplements.
You should only sell FDA approved items in this category and avoid making any claims that cannot be substantiated.
If you have developed a product yourself, then you will have a good idea of its regulatory situation. In cases where you are sourcing a product from a manufacturer, never accept their claims at face value.
Do your own, independent research before listing a product on your Amazon store, because you will be the one that gets banned if the item doesn’t meet Amazon’s standards.
3. Breaching Copyright Laws
Breaching copyright laws is an easy way to get your account banned.
You need to avoid any counterfeit or fake items and any that infringe on the copyright of others.
Just because you can source an item from a factory overseas doesn’t mean that it is above board.
Plenty of copyright holders, like major movie studios, are on the lookout for counterfeit merchandise and will make sure that your account is taken down.
As always, do your research before listing to make sure your products are legit.
4. Late Shipments
If you are fulfilling your own products, then you need to ensure you are shipping items out in a timely manner.
Customers have an expectation of fast shipping when buying on Amazon and as an Amazon merchant, you need to uphold those standards.
Too many customer complaints will see your account limited or banned.
As long as you focus on providing a great customer experience, you shouldn’t have any issues. If you find it difficult to fulfil orders in a timely manner by yourself, then consider using the Amazon FBA program.
5. Cancelling Orders
A big no-no in the eyes of Amazon is cancelling too many orders.
This typically happens when sellers who manage their own fulfilment oversell an item and have to cancel orders due to a lack of inventory.
Avoiding this is simple – keep track of your inventory!
Once again, using the Amazon FBA program makes managing inventory and fulfilment a lot simpler and can help you avoid this issue.
6. Opening Multiple Seller Accounts
Unless Amazon gives you specific permission to do so, you are not permitted to open multiple seller accounts.
Even if you try to use different information in each account, Amazon is pretty good at discovering closely associated accounts and will catch you eventually.
All of your accounts, including your main one, will be banned for this behaviour, so don’t do it!
7. Too Many Negative Reviews
If you are receiving too many negative reviews, Amazon will eventually ban your seller account.
They want to protect the end-users buying experience and if the easiest way to do that is get rid of you, then they will!
There is no officially published threshold for negative reviews to be banned. The reality is that if you are receiving a lot of bad reviews, you are probably doing more than one thing on this list wrong anyway.
Maintain a focus on having accurate listings for high-quality products and responding quickly to customer issues and you are unlikely to have a problem.
8. Poor Communication
If you are not responsive to both customer and Amazon communications, you are putting your account at risk.
It is just good business to stay on top of your email inbox, so don’t let any important messages go unaddressed.
Working on your own, or with a small team, this can get overwhelming.
Consider automating some of your common customer communications to help you keep up, or use the services of a Virtual Assistant to help you keep up.
9. Buying Reviews
Buying reviews is a touchy subject with Amazon. They do not want you to solicit or pay for reviews, but so many sellers resort to this to boost their listing.
To stay on the right side of Amazon’s rules, you must never offer money, free products or any kind of discount/benefit for writing or modifying a review.
There are ways around this, including coupon campaigns, but always be sure to err on the side of caution so that you don’t get your account suspended or banned.
10. Inaccurate Listings
If you consistently publish inaccurate listings, or poorly describe products, then you will eventually be banned from selling on Amazon.
Poor listings like this directly impact the customer experience and if you want to be a successful seller, then you should want to have high quality and accurate listings.
If you are getting a warning about your listings and don’t know why, get some professional help immediately to nip this issue in the bud.
11. Wrong UPC Codes
UPC codes, colloquially known as barcodes are a unique identifier of your product and it is important that they are accurate.
Amazon uses these codes to keep a track of the products listed on the platform and your codes should be unique to you and your products.
Too many sellers overlook the importance of these codes and generate their own, or buy from dodgy third parties.
Always use an authorised UPC code seller, who can ensure you have unique and legitimate barcodes for your products.
12. Hijacking Listings
Hijacking a listing is when you get a similar or counterfeit of a popular product and sell it on the original products listing.
This is stealing from the hard work of others and is highly unethical.
Sellers are very aware of hijacking and will report you quickly. There is even software that will alert sellers to hijacking attempts.
Amazon acts fast in hijacking cases and your account will be impacted. So don’t do it!
13. Providing Inaccurate Account Details
When setting up your Amazon account, it is important to provide accurate information. This includes your tax number, contact details and bank details.
Amazon will verify and cross-reference this data and errors will get your account suspended or banned.
Take the process of account creation seriously and triple check all of your info to avoid issues down the line.
14. Leading Buyers to Other Sites
Trying to move buyers off the Amazon platform is a massive red flag for Amazon and they will not hesitate to ban you.
Customers you work with on Amazon must stay that way. Even small hints at working off Amazon in your customer communications could be enough to be banned.
If you want to build business off-platform, ensure there is a clear separation to avoid potential issues.
Appealing a Suspension or Ban
Getting your account suspended or banned means you have a serious problem on your hands, especially if you rely on your seller account for the majority of your businesses sales.
Amazon’s systems can sometimes identify problems where there are none, but luckily they have an appeals system to help you get back in action as quick as possible.
So what do you do if Amazon has suspended your account?
The first thing to do is not panic and make a fatal mistake, like breaking more rules by opening another account. Instead, follow these steps:
Identify the reason your account was banned or limited. Typically, Amazon will provide the reason for your ban, but may not say exactly which listing or product is at fault.
Figure out how the mistake happened. Was it poor practice on your part? Did you make a silly mistake or is there something inherently wrong with your processes?
Fix the identified issues and create a comprehensive Plan of Action (POA) about the problem and how you have fixed it. This is forwarded to the Amazon Seller Performance Team who will review your appeal.
It is important not to rush your appeal, as the staff on the other end might only have a few minutes to make a decision.
Be sure your POA is clear and comprehensive and make it easy for them to find a reason to lift your ban.
The Best Way to Avoid a Ban
If you are an active seller on Amazon, then you will likely break a rule at some point and get a suspension. This is not the worst punishment in the world, even if it does stop you for a day.
Suspensions are more of a warning and are often overturned when the problems are rectified. Most of the time, the owners of suspended accounts have made honest mistakes.
Bans, however, are much more serious and more likely to be permanent. They can be appealed, but when this level of action is taken, the reasons are usually pretty solid.
Anyone who has been banned either does not know the rules or has wilfully broken them and Amazon is very unforgiving for sellers like this.
As long as you approach your work as an Amazon seller with good intent, do your research and set up solid systems to manage your workflow, you are unlikely to have any permanent problems with your account.
Amazon Seller Account Suspension: Don’t do This – Payability
Sound On! Listen to the audio version of this article (read by a real person) here:
(This guest post from Sellercare was last published on April 11, 2018. We have updated it for accuracy and completeness. For help with an Amazon suspension, contact Sellercare. )
Your Amazon account is suspended, now what?
Don’t panic! While a suspension seems overwhelming, reinstatement is a process and you want to follow best practices to get back to selling ASAP. Too often sellers rush the process and make costly mistakes that delay your reinstatement even longer.
Here’s 10 things to never do once Amazon suspends your Seller Account.
#1: Don’t rush to submit your first appeal to Amazon
You might think that you need to submit something right away to fix your suspension. Without a thoughtful plan of action (POA) though, you could waste your appeal button. Amazon rarely reinstates an account after the first appeal is sent. Unless it’s a very minor violation, the process can take days, or even weeks and requires back and forth communication with Seller Performance.
Seller Performance suspends thousands of sellers on a daily basis, and investigators only take a few minutes to review each appeal. Make sure to take your time and prepare the most effective appeal before submitting anything to them.
#2: Don’t open a new account
Many sellers’ first thought is to simply open a new account and start over. They use a different name and bank account in hopes of fooling Amazon.
Unfortunately, it’s not that easy to trick Amazon. They have many ways of linking seller accounts. They will discover the second account and link it back to the original account. Once this happens, there is ZERO chance of getting the second account reinstated and you’ll hurt your chance of reinstatement on your original account too.
Take it from us, opening a new account to avoid a suspension isn’t worth the effort and will only cause more complications.
#3: Don’t modify or fabricate invoices for any reason
A common reason for suspension is “inauthentic” inventory, or obtaining your inventory from unauthorized sources. When this happens, some sellers try to modify their current invoices to “fit” what Amazon is asking for.
For example, if a seller only has a receipt or purchase order, they will create an invoice, and submit it to Amazon hoping that it will work.
Amazon sees thousands of invoices on a daily basis. It’s very easy for Seller Performance agents to spot a fake or manipulated invoice. And, a fake invoice can add another violation called “forged and manipulated”, which is very difficult to resolve.
Most of the time, this method doesn’t work (and damages the case significantly). Even the slightest modification can delay your reinstatement.
Even if you purchased the products from a supplier located in Asia, a retail location, or a liquidation company, submit the original proof of purchase to Seller Performance.
Pro Tip: For drop shippers — if you listed products which you never had in stock, it’s best to admit your business practices to Seller Performance right away.
#4: Don’t threaten Amazon with legal action
Seller Performance likes to see that as a seller you’re taking accountability for your actions, and they want to communicate directly with you during the appeal process. Many sellers reach out to an attorney for assistance, and the attorney starts contacting Seller Performance on the sellers’ behalf.
As soon as an attorney is involved, the appeal process is significantly delayed. Sometimes Amazon becomes completely unresponsive until the seller starts personally contacting them regarding their suspension.
In the case of an infringement suspension, an attorney can reach out to the complaining party to reach a resolution and request the complaint to be withdrawn. Once the complaint is withdrawn, the seller needs to communicate with Seller Performance about the results.
#5: Don’t contact Seller Support by email or through your seller account
Seller Performance is the ONLY department that can assist you. There is no direct phone number for Seller Performance. All communications must be handled through email.
Contrary to what most sellers think, Seller Support has absolutely no ability to impact the results of a suspension. It’s confusing because many suspension notices instruct sellers to “Contact Seller Support” if they have any questions. Unfortunately, Seller Support only provides basic customer support (and their advice is usually based on generic templates).
Despite this, they sometimes provide advice to the seller, which most sellers believe to be credible. However, this can lead to sellers basing their appeal on inaccurate information and damaging their process.
Be sure to only communicate with Seller Performance about an account suspension.
#6: Don’t be rude to Seller Performance, or use vulgar language
While a suspension is an upsetting and frustrating experience, you should ALWAYS refrain from sending a rant to Seller Performance with inappropriate language. This will only delay your appeal.
If you do lose your cool, you should explicitly apologize to Seller Performance about it. Just be aware that Seller Performance may not reply when they submit an effective appeal.
Just remember that suspensions are part of doing business with Amazon. Once an account is suspended, keep a cool head, and start focusing on creating the best plan of action to get your account reinstated.
#7: Don’t send multiple letters after submitting the first appeal
After you submit your first appeal, you should wait up to a week before submitting any additional letters. The days of “12-24 hour” response times are long gone due to the volume of appeals that Seller Performance receives on a daily basis.
Also, it’s common for Seller Performance to not send confirmation that the appeal was received. This can make you nervous and worry that they haven’t received your appeal or maybe are ignoring it.
We know it’s tough, but refrain from sending multiple appeals with different information in order to try to get a reply from Seller Performance. If you know you followed instructions, trust that Seller Performance has received the appeal and will reply once they’ve reviewed it.
#8: Don’t blame buyers or Amazon processes for the suspension
Many sellers submit appeals that single out specific buyers and orders, blame their issues on the actions of a customer, or blame Amazon processes for their suspension.
Amazon is a very customer-centric company. They also expect sellers to be familiar with all of their current policies and guidelines. Blaming Amazon processes won’t result in a timely reinstatement.
Focus on your own practices and procedures when creating your appeal. Ultimately, Amazon wants to know what changes you will make to keep their customers happy, and comply with their guidelines.
#9: Don’t immediately contact Jeff Bezos
Amazon suspensions can be overwhelming, especially if it’s your only source of income. Out of frustration, some sellers try to first contact Jeff Bezos if they don’t receive a quick reply from Seller Performance.
Understand that this method usually doesn’t provide any positive results. Jeff Bezos doesn’t read these emails himself for a variety of different reasons; they are transferred to an escalation department that reviews them instead.
Unfortunately, if a negative response is received from the escalation department, it’s much harder to get your account reinstated moving forward. It’s best to communicate with Seller Performance directly throughout the process.
#10: Don’t panic!
If you’re an established seller, most suspensions (even “final decision” suspensions) can be reversed. All you need is an effective appeal plan, and be ready to change some of your business practices if needed.
While change can be hard, it can ultimately lead to a more stable business for you.
How to Prevent an Amazon Suspension
Throughout this process, remember that you can consult a professional such as Sellercare once your account is suspended. In most cases, you’ll need to make significant changes to your logistics, inventory, and sourcing before the appeal is prepared.
Once you’re back up and running, you should consistently monitor your account health page and proactively address any problem areas to avoid any future issues. If you want a professional opinion, Sellercare also provides Risk Assessment Service and Suspension Prevention Service in addition to reinstatements.
To prevent anymore suspensions in the future, here’s are a few key areas to watch for:
Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy – How to Prevent Price Gouging Suspensions During COVID-19How Amazon Inventory Sourcing Methods Affect Inauthentic Suspensions
Evelin Goldin is the COO at Sellercare LLC. Sellercare LLC provides consulting and reinstatement services to Amazon sellers, and manages hundreds of sellers on a regular basis, including some of the top Amazon sellers worldwide. Sellercare LLC has assisted thousands of sellers with account reinstatement.
She has over 18 years of experience dealing with Amazon. She worked for a company which was one of the first third party sellers on Amazon. She is an expert on Amazon practices, guidelines, policies, and suspensions. She works with sellers on a daily basis to assist with Amazon account notations, suspensions, and business practice optimization. Check out her company ().
Frequently Asked Questions about amazon seller account banned
Can Amazon ban your seller account?
Amazon can, at their discretion, temporarily suspend or just outright ban any seller account. It doesn’t take a genius to know that an over-reliance on a platform like this isn’t ideal, but the benefits of having your products fulfilled by Amazon are hard to pass up.
Why is my Amazon seller account suspended?
A common reason for suspension is “inauthentic” inventory, or obtaining your inventory from unauthorized sources. When this happens, some sellers try to modify their current invoices to “fit” what Amazon is asking for.Oct 9, 2020
How do I get my banned Amazon account back?
You can only open it again after having your Amazon suspended account reinstated. Basically, the way for you to do it is to submit your appeal letter. When you’re in the process of trying to get your account reinstated, you have to wait for a certain amount of time before you get your results.Dec 19, 2020
