CJ Rosenbaum’s Top 4 Ways to Avoid an Amazon Suspension
Amazon seller suspension is more common than many are aware of. If you want to run a successful ecommerce business on Amazon, it’s crucial to understand why seller accounts get suspended, how to avoid a suspension, and what to do if your Amazon account gets suspended.
Being barred from selling on Amazon is detrimental enough – but to top it off, Amazon will refuse to release your funds while your account is suspended. Regardless of the transaction in question or issue that brought on the suspension, Amazon will hold all of the funds in your seller account balance. Amazon Sellers Lawyer, CJ Rosenbaum, breaks down the top four ways to avoid being suspended as a seller on Amazon.
1. Do not sell generic products on a branded listing.
This is a huge source of suspensions for Amazon sellers all over the world. When you sell a generic product on a branded listing, this constitutes grounds for suspension because you can threaten the well-being of the original brand selling that product. Consumers may not be aware that they are not purchasing directly from that brand, and if issues arise over the product, that company, and not your own business, may face the backlash.
“What a brand does is allow you to build a reputation,” says Kerry McDonald, a senior managing paralegal here at Amazon Sellers Lawyer. “Not just for the actual product, but for your service and the overall quality of your business.”
Selling a generic product on a branded listing may spring Amazon to action—you will likely be suspended, and it probably won’t be just that listing, but instead your entire account.
2. Source your products from reliable sources.
They say that if you want something done right, do it yourself. Well, that can be difficult if you are overseeing a company that sells thousands of products to consumers around the planet. For this reason, you must trust the people working under you, so that your customers are getting quality products that exactly match the detail page. This is especially vital if your products are shipped directly from your source to FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), or if you do not have the time or resources to check every single shipment. If you are trusting your source to inspect every product for perfection, and to then ship your products directly to FBA, understand that the health of your account lies heavily in the hands of your source.
3. Confirm that your products when shipped to the door of the consumer, are identical to the product they would receive if they were to purchase it at a brick and mortar store.
Many products, especially health and beauty products, often change their packaging from time to time. For example, a customer may see a product in a drugstore which they desire, and instead choose to order it on Amazon from you. If the product is packaged differently or has a slightly different appearance whatsoever, this can arouse suspicion or cause consumers to believe your product is illegitimate, even if it is 100% authentic.
4. Be extra careful when joining a listing that might have outdated photographs or images, even if you did not create that listing.
If you join, you may want to alter that listing if you have the capability. We are noticing more suspensions of sellers, both account and listing suspensions, for jumping on detail pages that are out of date because the packaging has changed, or the description is simply no longer applicable. So, Amazon sellers: be extra careful when getting on someone’s listing. Make sure the listing matches exactly what you’re going to deliver to that consumer.
As always, we are here for you 7 days a week. You can contact us by calling 1-877-9-SELLER or at [email protected]