A suspended Amazon seller account is certainly worrisome. This is your business, and if you're not selling products, you're not making money. However, there are options available to you to get back to business. In this article, we'll explain Amazon suspensions and what you can do about them.
Account Status Explained.
Suspended
The first thing that Amazon does to sanction a seller is to suspend their account. This is not a ban—you can contest the suspension and regain your selling privileges on the platform.
Along with account suspension, Amazon can also suppress the ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) of a product. This means that you are unable to sell that product, although it remains in Amazon's database. And like an account suspension, you are also able to appeal this to have it reopened.
Denied
If you've submitted an appeal, in the form of a Plan of Action (PoA), you might see that it was denied. However, you can still rewrite your PoA and resubmit it. There is no specific preset limit to how many times you can appeal a suspension.
Banned
Finally, the worst status you can see is Banned. This means that your attempts at appeal have all failed, and you won't be getting another response from Amazon.
Identifying Why Your Amazon Seller Account was Suspended
You can get more information about why your account was suspended in your Performance Notifications, which are within your Seller Central dashboard. You'll also get a notification with the title “Your Amazon.com selling privileges have been removed” and that includes a list of ASINs that Amazon has identified as violating their policies.
The three major reasons for a suspension are as follows:
Poor Performance
If your seller account metrics see a significant decrease, indicating poor health of your account, or you're getting a lot of negative reviews, your account may be suspended so that Amazon can conduct a review to determine why your account is performing poorly.
Policy Violations
If your account has violated Amazon's policies, it will be suspended. Amazon enforces its seller guidelines strictly to maintain the quality of their marketplace and keep their customers satisfied.
“ You are not allowed to mention any brand names , so you can’t mention Nike , you can’t mention Walmart , you can't mention any worlds that are trademarked . Sometimes we have to go back and revise a listing because we didn’t realise that a specific word , things you wouldn't think of , like “Kleenex” , - words that have become a part of everyday language are sometimes trademarked historically .
‘’Crunchy peanut butter’’ for instance, someone could have trademarked that so if you are using it to describe your peanut butter then the Amazon can come back and flag you or give you a warning . And you know , it’s usually an easy fix , but you’ll have to appeal to amazon to have it restored .”Restricted Products
If you'e selling products that belong to a restricted category, or are inauthentic or counterfeit,
they'll be discovered, and that will result in account suspension.
How to Appeal a Suspension
Now that you understand the basics of what a suspension is and why you might get suspended, we can talk about how to appeal a suspension of your Amazon seller account.
First, DO NOT open a new account. Amazon won't have any problem figuring out what you're doing and opening a new account will cause problems for you when you try to get your original account reactivated.
With that covered, here is what you should do. Start by finding out everything you can about why your account was suspended. Go through your whole account, taking note of any ASIN that has received a warning about a policy violation.
Make notes about how you will address each issue that you found. The more information you can include up front in your Plan of Action, the less back-and-forth you'll have to go through with Amazon's investigators.
Carefully read your suspension notice. Even if you think you know why you were suspended, be sure to read everything thoroughly, because you don't want to miss any problems that you'll need to commit to fixing. Find out which specific rule or rules you violated to cause your suspension. Refer to the full text of Amazon's policies to figure out what you'll need to do to bring your account into compliance. If you need more information and are still able to file a support ticket, you can do so.
Writing a Plan of Action
When you write your Plan of Action, you should follow this general process to ensure that you are including all relevant information.
First, acknowledge that you understand why your account was suspended. Be specific—if you sold a restricted product, for example, indicate which product caused the issue and that you know why. Take responsibility and admit that you see that your business practices need to change.
Make the necessary changes and explain what those changes are in your PoA. Be proactive in addressing these issues, document your changes, and describe how you will prevent these issues from arising again. If, for example, you were suspended due to shipping issues, explain your new shipping processes or your intent to move to FBA to solve the issue.
Reiterate that you are committed to providing your customers with excellent service and products, and that you understand that selling in the Amazon marketplace is a privilege. Don't blame your customers for your issues—Amazon will always prioritize customer satisfaction over their sellers' opinions.
Even if you disagree with the reason for your suspension, don't argue with Amazon or criticize their processes. Demonstrate that you will comply with their policies and that you are happy to do so to continue selling on their platform.
Actually, take the steps to fix the issues! Don't claim to have done anything you haven't actually done or that you will not follow through with once your account is reinstated. Once you've done everything you can to bring your account into compliance with Amazon's policies, go ahead and submit your appeal. You'll find the “Appeal” option on your suspension notice, which is within the Performance Notification section of Seller Central.
Prevention is the Best Cure
As always, the best thing to do is avoid suspension in the first place by making sure that you've familiarized yourself with Amazon's policies. Following the rules is the best way to prevent a suspension. You'll find everything you need to know on Amazon's Seller Code of Conduct page. Additionally, be sure to review your metrics regularly and address any issues that you find immediately to keep your account in good standing.
“ It doesn't matter whether you work with an Amazon agency or going solo . Suspensions happen no matter what you are doing on Amazon . You can walk into a coffee shop and log on to the IP and then someone else has been suspended before who was also on that IP and all of a sudden you are suspended !”