The greatest fear that all sellers constantly battle with is the Amazon account suspension. Being at the receiving end of an account suspension can be quite shocking and debilitating.

It comes with severe consequences, in which a seller is denied access of their account, their hard-earned customers, and their potential earnings. When this unfortunate situation occurs, sellers immediately retort to submit an Amazon account suspended appeal that usually remain pending for weeks or months. In some cases, these suspended accounts are restored, and other times, the accounts are banned for life.

What can you do to prevent it?

Your best bet to avoid this dreadful situation and to not feel the constant fear of falling victim permanently is to get familiar and understand the dos and don’ts of the Amazon marketplace.

This blog post will help you to get a clearer idea on how you can protect your Amazon seller account and what to include in your plan of action to get your account reinstated.

First, let’s differentiate between third-party sellers getting suspended, denied or banned by Amazon.

What’s the difference?

·  Suspension: It means you have a chance to appeal with a good plan of action.

·  Denied: It means your appeal was rejected but you can still submit a revised plan of action for consideration.

·  Banned: It is the worst scenario out of the three. As the name suggests, you’re out of the game. Your appeal has failed more than once, and Amazon will no longer read your emails.

Of course, facing any of the above mentioned situation is a nightmare for any seller. Whenever a seller is suspended, they’re losing money every minute. It becomes more frustrating when it takes weeks or months for sellers to getre instated.

But, why my Amazon selling privileges are removed, I was doing everything right?

It can be of the three reasons stated below:

·  Amazon feels your performance is deteriorating day by day. They want to support a competitive marketplace that values good customer service.

·  You have knowingly or unknowingly violated Amazon’s policies. Remember it’s Amazon’s kingdom and you have to abide by their rules.

·  You are probably selling a restricted product.

You can find out the reason behind account being suspended by checking your Performance Notifications within Seller Central.

‍3 Quick Seller Tips to Prevent Suspension:

‍1) Check Your Amazon Reports Regularly

Closely monitor Product Returns, Imperfect Order and Negative Feedback reports to know what your customers are saying about you and why they are not happy with your product. Also, keep an eye on customer reviews and how you respond to their complaints or suggestions. Pay attention to shipping on on-time and cross-check if your goods are properly packaged. Lost or late deliveries can damage your account and Buy Box percentage. It is recommended to check and change your shipping, returns and refund policies to match your customer satisfaction levels.

2) Pay Attention To Listings

Ensure you correctly label new products as “new” and used products as “used”. It is critical to confirm you choose the correct condition category. For instance, if you are selling used items, check closely to ensure there are no missing parts.

Apart from this, it is also equally important to check your listings for any potential flags. Don’t sell generic products with private label on them. If you are selling private label, inform your customers (and also Amazon) what differentiate your product in comparison to similar products on the marketplace. When describing your product, make sure yours are both accurate and authentic.

Don’t keep selling something that attracts the bad reactions from your customers daily, which can lead to listing removals, warnings, and further scrutiny of your Amazon account. If you are in doubt, throw it out.

3) Stay Informed & Updated

Don’t just limit your knowledge to the basic Amazon selling information, when you can get access to endless resources available online and offline to guide you, and warn you, of incoming threats.

Assign someone in your Amazon account management circle to spot any policy warnings that other sellers receive, instead of disregarding it thinking that it can’t happen to you. Because, eCommerce business is ever changing and what happened to someone else in your category can happen to you tomorrow. Hence, it is vital to stay active in social media groups or check email newsletters containing updated information regarding how Product Quality is measured.

How to Appeal Against Your Suspension

If Amazon suspends your account despite your best efforts, don’t just leave it that. Get to the root cause by conducting a thorough investigation across all of your account, pay close attention to any ASINs with previous policy warnings.

You need to re-read the suspension notice carefully to identify which rule or rules you may have violated referring to Amazon’s policies and agreements page. Check your Seller Central performance metrics and if still you are not sure of the reason on your suspension, consider opening a ticket to clarify.

In your appeal, identify any of or all these reasons for suspension:

·   Do take responsibility and acknowledge the harm it did to the customer.

·   Do inform Amazon you are committed to providing the best customer service and you appreciate the opportunity to sell on their site.

·   Don’t criticize or badmouth Amazon’s product quality process.

Make sure your Plan of Action is thorough and based on your internal account findings to increase your chances of a successful appeal.

I understand that Amazon often seems to operate with impunity and change in an instant, but that is NOT always the case.  Amazon, like other companies, may sometimes commit mistakes and issue unfair suspensions. If you strongly think that your account has been unfairly suspended, you should immediately begin an Amazon plan of action to restore it. If all else fails, then you can hire the services of our amazon expert to guide you in the right direction.

Schedule a call with our expert right HERE!