Amazon Suspensions: Protecting Your Seller Privileges

Sellers on Amazon invest a lot of time and resources to keep their account healthy, but despite this it is commonplace for sellers on the marketplace to receive suspensions. While oftentimes it can be caused by minor issues, suspensions can negatively affect legitimate merchants and cause long-term problems for the account.

Amazon has also become somewhat notorious for providing vague and unclear reasons about why accounts are suspended, leaving many merchants with no option but to investigate the problem themselves. When merchants do decide to appeal their suspensions, it can often lead to an extensive, difficult process of appeals and dealing with lengthy periods between responses.

However, even in instances where Amazon provides little information, there are tangible steps that can be followed to help identify the root cause(s) of the problem. Our specialist team has assembled this article to help sellers take the correct approach when appealing account suspensions.

What happens when you get suspended?

Amazon will restrict selling privileges if account performance is continuously low, any terms or policies are violated, or if a restricted product is being sold. There are four primary types of Amazon account interruption that sellers will have to be aware of when selling on the marketplace.

Suppressed ASINs

In some instances when an account is suspended, the merchant’s ability to sell that ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) will be removed. If this occurs, users can appeal the decision with Amazon and restore their ASIN from Amazon’s database. 

Account Suspension

Seller suspension is commonly the first step that will be undertaken by Amazon when removing an account’s privileges. Although it can be time-consuming to resolve suspensions, users are still able to contest the decision and restore account access. Amazon will send an email revealing the reasons for the suspension along with a timeframe to appeal, which is typically within seven days following notification. It is recommended that sellers have a prepared Plan of Action (PoA) letter to detail how issues with the account will be addressed to ensure the issue does not persist.

Denied Status

Following the submission of a Plan of Action, Amazon may still present sellers with a denied status. In such instances, the PoA should be rewritten and submitted for review until Amazon deems it satisfactory. There is no limit to the number of times that an appeal can be resubmitted, but due to the time required for each appeal, sellers should take their time to carefully go through the process.

Ban

The final and worst-case scenario for any seller on Amazon is a complete account ban. Once this happens, the account will be completely banned from the platform and Amazon agents will no longer read or respond to emails, and Plans of Action will not be accepted.

Selling on Amazon becomes almost impossible after a ban, as Amazon have established systems in place to track dummy accounts.

The steps sellers can take when suspended

The reasons that Amazon provides for seller suspension, suppression, denial, or ban can oftentimes be vague. When communication from Seller Support does not reveal the cause for an account’s status, analyse any recent changes that may have affected the account within the last few months.

Within Seller Central, sellers can navigate to Performance > Account Health to view all the data that Amazon will use to grade overall performance. Activ8 recommends that merchants regularly track the following key metrics to track account health:

Customer service performance order defect rates

Amazon policy states that sellers should keep order defect rates below 1% on an ongoing basis. The defect rate is a calculated score based on the overall experience of customers that have purchased the product. Negative feedback, credit card chargebacks, and A-to-Z Guarantee claims that are not denied will affect the rates.

Product policy compliance

Any items sold by the merchant should not violate Amazon’s product policies. Complaints regarding IP violations, product authenticity, item condition, health and safety, or listing policy violations can result in serious cases for sellers. Always ensure to actively monitor any applicable Amazon marketplace policies to ensure product listings are compliant.

Shipping performance

Amazon will also want that ensure that sellers, particularly those who fulfil orders through FBM, are shipping products on time and that orders are not cancelled before fulfilment. Sellers are advised to keep a Late Shipment Rate below 4% and a Pre-fulfilment Cancellation Rate below 2.5% to maintain strong shipping performance.

Creating an effective plan of action

Amazon will commonly allow merchants to plead their case when a suspension is in place, therefore, merchants need to be aware of how to create a Plan of Action letter. Although the requirements for a Plan of Action will be heavily dependant on what lead to the suspension, in most cases the basics will remain the same.

Address the problem

This can be somewhat difficult and take some guesswork as Amazon can provide unclear information regarding the reason for account suspension. Always check account health and reports to gain a better understanding of what could be causing the issue.

Explain the actions taken to fix the issue

It is imperative that merchants explain to Amazon the steps taken to resolve the issue: actions should be carried out prior to the letter being sent, with evidence attached to prove that the corrections have been made. PoAs will commonly allow for attachments, so it’s good practice to include receipts, emails, screenshots, or any other relevant form of proof.

Explain how this will be prevented in the future

The final step is to describe to Amazon how this issue will be avoided in the future. This is particularly important as Amazon wants to ensure that sellers understand the severity of the situation and have taken the appropriate action to resolve the mistake. To avoid any difficulties, it is easiest to assume total ownership of the problem and go through the appropriate steps, even if Amazon has wrongly accused a seller.

Once the Plan of Action is submitted to Amazon, the account should be reinstated with the same functionality as before. If Amazon denies the PoA sent, sellers can re-submit a new letter to address the issues in detail.

Healthy accounts are the best defence against Amazon suspensions

It can be challenging to deal with Amazon, but if in the situation of facing suspension merchants must focus on creating an effective plan of action to convince Amazon the same mistakes will not be repeated. There are no guarantees on the marketplace, and Amazon has permanently banned sellers before: it is, therefore, essential to keep track of seller performance metrics regularly, maintain a thorough understanding of marketplace compliance, and address any issues before they lead to suspensions.

Always remember that Amazon sets up seller standards to protect the satisfaction of buyers, so following the rules will not only help with avoiding suspensions but also create positive customer experiences.