You must avoid suspension as an Amazon seller. If your account has been suspended due to any violations, you must focus on lifting the suspension and avoiding issues that could lead to it in the future.
Amazon suspension simply means that your goods will no longer be visible to potential customers, and you will not be able to sell anything on the Amazon marketplace.
This blog explores some common reasons that could lead to the suspension of your Amazon account. If it has been suspended, we will also look at ways to appeal an Amazon seller suspension.
Reasons Behind Amazon Seller Account Suspensions
Amazon seller account suspensions can happen due to various reasons:
Violation of policies
As a seller on Amazon, you must adhere to several policies to avoid being suspended:
- Giving incorrect price lists
- Selling restricted products
- Giving incorrect descriptions of a product
- Advertising or displaying counterfeit goods on your cart
- Displaying substandard products without authorisation
Violating any of these policies gives Amazon a reason to suspend your account.
Poor performance
Order Defect Rate (ODR) is a method Amazon uses to monitor sellers’ performance.
Issues like late shipment of orders, consistent negative feedback, and frequent customer complaints indicating poor performance can lead to account suspension. Such issues should be avoided at all costs.
Operating multiple accounts
Operating multiple seller accounts simultaneously is another reason Amazon suspends your account.
The platform has a strict one-account policy. Once the management detects that a seller is operating multiple accounts without prior permission, their account will be suspended due to policy violation.
Ignoring performance notification
If Amazon notices any foul play on your account, the platform will send a performance notification regarding the issues.
When you receive such notification, you must attend to it immediately and take the required action. Ignoring such notification or failure to rectify the issues could lead to account suspension.
Unusual activities
You might need to update your account information on Amazon at any time. You should inform the platform’s management beforehand.
When you perform some changes on your account without informing its management or give incorrect and incomplete information during account setup, Amazon may suspend your account for suspicious and fraudulent activities.
What to Expect After an Amazon Suspension
Many sellers see account suspension as a threat. However, it is meant to notify you that you are doing something you are not supposed to do on the platform. Amazon gives sellers chances to do the needful correction.
Understanding the situation and focusing on how to navigate through it efficiently should be your agenda.
In case your account gets suspended, here are the things you should expect:
Notification through Email
A notification will be sent to you by Amazon through your email account to notify you of the reason for the suspension of your account which you will see through your Seller Central Dashboard.
Immediate loss of selling privilege
Once your Amazon account has been suspended, you lose the privilege to sell or list your products. Likewise, your products can no longer be seen by the customers and you can’t fulfill pending orders.
Steps To Appeal an Amazon Suspension
Amazon usually allows appeals of accounts that get suspended. This section talks about how to appeal an Amazon seller suspension.
These are possible steps you will have to take:
- Figure out the cause of suspension
Carefully review the suspension notice to identify the cause of suspension and ensure you understand the Amazon policy you violated.
- Carry out analysis
Conduct a thorough analysis of your business performance to know what led to your suspension. Determine the mistake or step that lead to policy violation and make plans for improving your performance.
- Prepare and File a Plan Of Action
After identifying the appeal problem that led to the suspension through the notification sent, you should try to address it as soon as possible since you have a time limit to address the issue.
You can do that by drafting a Plan of Action (POA) explaining the steps you have taken to address the issue that led to your suspension and the measures you will take to avoid similar issues in the future. Use a professional tone to ensure you provide clear and concise information in your appeal.
- Send your Appeal to Amazon
When you finish the Plan Of Action (POA), you use your Seller Central to submit your appeal. Be patient and wait for your appeal to be reviewed by Amazon management, which may take some time. Avoid submitting multiple appeals, as that will complicate the issue.
- Immediate Response to Amazon Request
In case Amazon requests additional information or documents, be prompt in responding, as this could also show your commitment to solving the issue. You must follow up till you fulfil your goal.
Preventing Amazon Suspension
It is better to take preventive measures to avoid a problem from occurring.
Preventing an Amazon suspension is important to maintain a smooth and good performance as a seller.
Here’s how you can prevent your Amazon account from getting suspended:
- Comply with Amazon policies
Understand and familiarise yourself with all Amazon policies, guidelines, and terms of service. Adhere to them to succeed on the platform.
- Maintain Good performance
You must always maintain your performance, such as shipment of items at the right time, focusing on customer satisfaction to get positive feedback and stick to Amazon Policies.
- Provide standard products
Original and standard items acceptable by Amazon should be provided. Restricted or counterfeit products should be avoided to prevent Amazon’s suspension.
- Monitoring your account frequently
Check on your account from time to time in case of any updates. You can use Amazon’s Health Dashboard to know your account status and your metrics performance.
- Provide correct product listing
Always provide the correct product listing, description, and price. Providing misleading information about a product may result in negative feedback and may lead to account suspension.
- Maintain a single account
Customers tend to trust a seller with a single account rather than a seller maintaining multiple accounts which is against Amazon policy.
lt will also enable you to maintain your account efficiently since it will reduce complexity in terms of customer services and financial reports.
Avoid any suspicious activity. If you need to update any information such as your bank account, Amazon should be aware of that before you do it.
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Conclusion
To avoid Amazon’s suspension, it is very important to take note of all mistakes that could lead to it and try as much as possible to avoid them.
You should also understand how to appeal an Amazon seller suspension if it happens to you — find out the cause of your suspension and analyse your previous business activities to identify where something went wrong.
Then, create and submit a Plan Of Action (POA) that will explain how you have addressed the issue in a professional manner using concise and clear language. Patiently wait for Amazon’s response, which may take some time.
