Amazon Suspension Guide
The root cause of suspended Amazon accounts in 2018 has altered drastically over just a short few years. As Amazon expands their efforts to keep the platform free of all inauthentic or counterfeit products, they have created many complicated reasons to issue suspensions to sellers. With this heightened security across the marketplace, many innocent sellers feel the impact of suspended accounts — even when they did no wrong.
On the other hand, there are also plenty of fraudulent sellers who use tricky tactics to get the buy box in every category.
Regardless of whether a seller is guilty or innocent, an appeal plan must be submitted for any chance of getting your selling privileges on Amazon reinstated. Your plan must cover every detail, from how the issue happened, to how you’ve remedied the problem to resolve any problems with customers, and how they will prevent it from happening again. Depending on the type of suspension, Seller Performance may request additional information, purchase invoices, and references from suppliers.
One of the most important things to keep in mind when appealing your suspension is to stay calm. Acting out of anger can lead to poor judgment, and mistakes like this may incur irreparable harm.
Our team advises all sellers dealing with an account suspension to review the following points. These suspension tips are important to keep in mind whether you plan to contact us to write your Amazon appeal plan, or if you plan to submit your own POA. The main factors in seller suspension cases from start to finish are clarity of cause and solution, accuracy in the details, and consistency of communication.
Account Suspension Answers
WHY DID MY ACCOUNT GET SUSPENDED ON AMAZON?
Seller accounts get suspended or terminated for a variety of reasons. The reasons for Amazon suspension cases are highly complex at first glance, but upon a thorough analysis of all the causes for account suspensions, we’re able to narrow down to four main categories.
- Serious violations where the seller has infringed on the intellectual property of another party
- Seller abuse or fraud: for example, product review manipulation, test buys and intentional poor feedback
- Performance-related violations, mostly due to lack of attention to detail by the seller
- Left field violations where the seller is not at fault, which may include a system glitch or a new policy implemented by Amazon
CAN YOU GUARANTEE REINSTATEMENT OF MY SUSPENDED ACCOUNT?
With no context, it is impossible to guarantee that your account will be reinstated. There is a minor chance that your seller account may be past the point of reinstatement. Fortunately, our suspension strategists are seasoned veterans in the art of appeal plans. We’re dedicated to obtaining a swift, effective reinstatement, and our team will always honor our commitment to honesty and open communication over the course of your account suspension.
WHAT TYPES OF SUSPENSIONS ARE EASIEST TO REINSTATE?
Any type of Amazon account suspension can be quite simple to appeal effectively. It depends on how cooperative each seller is, what appeal strategies are used, and the damage that has been done already. With all the facts at hand, our account strategists can quickly determine the cause of suspension, find the best strategy for your Amazon appeal plan, and figure out and what information will be needed for your plan of action. The more complex your suspension becomes, the more difficult it will be to reinstate — this is based on complexity of the issues, not necessarily how long you’ve been suspended.
I’VE BEEN SUSPENDED FOR TOO LONG. ISN’T IT IMPOSSIBLE TO REINSTATE MY ACCOUNT?
Not at all. In fact, sometimes longer suspensions can be simpler to handle than accounts that are freshly suspended. Over time, as long as your suspension hasn’t reached the point of no return, the major issues fade together. With less detail at hand, it’s less likely that Seller Performance will find an abundance of reasons not to reinstate you. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have been suspended from Amazon for a year or more.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE YOU TO GET MY ACCOUNT BACK?
It is difficult to pinpoint the exact time frame for which any seller will receive a response, a request for more information or a reinstatement notice from Seller Performance. Regardless, our team is happy to see your suspension case all the way through to its completion.