Account suspension comes as a lightning strike to the sellers. In some cases, it is unforeseen and forever. Every Amazon seller knows how strict and stringent are the selling standards and customer services on the world’s biggest marketplace. Overruling this can drag even the most experienced sellers in a conclusively deprived condition.
It is quarter 4, in case you hadn’t noticed! Since you are scrambling to get as much inventory sold as quickly as possible, you probably don’t have time to reply to those performance notifications sent by Amazon. What about the Product Quality team calling you for proof of authenticity? Or what about a brand telling the marketplace that you have violated their intellectual property rights?
Where does this bring you? On the verge of suspension! Yes, you heard that right. While there is no magic potion to restore your listings on Amazon once suspended, you can take some impactful steps to address Amazon’s concerns and get back to selling on the marketplace.
In this post, we will discuss how you can avoid Amazon account suspension. And if you are already facing suspension, this write-up would come handy to you.
Let’s get started.
Quick Tips to Prevent Account Suspension
#1 Request Amazon to review your seller account to establish that the ASIN isn’t counterfeit
You are always advised to check your Amazon reports regularly to make sure there aren’t any issues with your listing(s). Negative feedback reports, imperfect order, and returns all can put you in trouble if you don’t keep a close eye on them. Amazon only cares about customer satisfaction, and if you are the one who is causing displeasure to customers, Amazon will not think twice before suspending your account. So, you need to work hard on maintaining excellent customer satisfaction levels. Pay attention to the shipping and quality of the product. Late deliveries or poor product can hurt your Buy Box percentage and, ultimately, your account.
#2 Aggressively review your Amazon product listings
You need to check whether there are any potential flags hovering your listing. Analyze your keywords to stay clear of any risky keywords. Use a quality keyword inspector to help you avoid flagged keywords, which can harm your listing. Provide every detail about your product in the description and features and tell your customers what makes your product unique to similar products on Amazon. From product photos to videos, there are certain guidelines that need to be followed. Moreover, you need to list your product in the right category. Honesty is the best policy. Show what you actually sell – use good product descriptions and visuals, and put product title.
#3 Provide best customer service
The main reason why most sellers face account suspension is poor customer service. The customer is the king, so strive to give your customers the best shopping experience. This is the best way to get in good books of Amazon. Keep late shipment rate, cancellation rate, and defect rate as low as possible. It will help you enhance your seller performance by increasing your ratings and good customer feedback.
Amazon product quality investigators and policy teams are vigilant when it comes to reviewing your account. You need to follow best practices to keep policy teams and investigators off your back.
#4 Check out all blocked listings for valid product quality complaints
Are you getting performance notifications from Amazon, and if so, are you replying to them, and what sorts of appeal do you send? Are you receiving positive replies, or are you getting frustrated with Amazon asking you the same information repeatedly? If you fail to reinstate blocked ASINs or your warnings remain unresolved, it will come back to haunt you.
Unresolved listing blocks over a certain period of time will lead to manual account review. Product quality investigators and policy teams need to justify their time with a restrictive action. These actions stem from sellers failing to understand the right place to look for the real causes of the product quality complaints surfacing on their account. You need to dig deeper into why particular ASINs attract high return rates with “inauthentic,” “not as advertised,” or “not as described” type complaints.
#5 Refrain from selling counterfeit products
Don’t imitate or copy products. It is completely unethical, and Amazon finds it the most frustrating. Such factors for account suspension cannot be reinstated in any way. Don’t rush towards making money faster. Take your time to find and list your own unique and authentic products. Remember – easy come easy go.
Some Pro Tips
- Establish your brand authority. Use various offline and online advertising and awareness platforms, including social media to spread awareness of your brand
- Avoid listing ultra-competitive products on Amazon
- Build your own fraternity of loyal customers
- Focus on multiple selling channels and don’t depend on Amazon for complete revenue
My Account’s Already Suspended. What to do now?
If Amazon has suspended your account for whatsoever reason, your job is to conduct a thorough investigation across your Amazon account. Read the suspension notice carefully to determine the rules you have violated. Refer to Amazon’s policies and agreement page while reviewing the suspension notice. Most importantly, check out your Seller Central performance metrics to identify what went wrong.
Once you have understood what you have done wrong to upset Amazon and its customers, it is time to appeal the suspension.
Amazon encourages all its sellers to appeal a suspension. Go to Amazon Seller Central > Performance > Performance Notifications > Location Suspension Notice > Appeal.
In your appeal, you need to provide
- A foolproof recovery plan denoting how you will be addressing Amazon’s documented issues
- Clear steps that you will take to resolve the issue and how they will prevent it from happening any future issues
- Make sure to provide some positive attributes of your store and products and how it is beneficial for the customers while adding value to Amazon
Remember, never criticize Amazon’s rules of selling or product quality processes. This will make your appeal look more like a complaint.
In order to maintain a healthy relationship with Amazon and its customers, you need to abide by the rules and regulations.
If you have any queries regarding the topic we have discussed, feel free to ask us.