Amazon Seller News: Why Appealing Inauthentic Products Is So Difficult
One of the most common types of suspension appeal to be rejected on Amazon is one for inauthentic products. These suspensions, which are often rooted in customer complaints that a product arrived different than was advertised on its storefront. In this blog, we walk sellers through why these suspensions are so difficult for sellers to appeal on their own, and options that sellers have for escalation appeals.
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Amazon Inauthentic Product Suspensions
Inauthentic product suspensions are the result of Amazon being unable to verify your supply chain, or otherwise believing that you are selling products that do not match up to what is advertised on your storefront. While this problem can coexist with counterfeit products, it is a distinct problem that has one of the hardest routes to seller account reinstatement.
Why is it so difficult to appeal these suspensions? The primary reason is that Amazon does not want customers to have a poor experience on their platform. Because customer complaints are valued so highly, often only a few complaints are required to lead to a suspension of your account. Additionally, Amazon wants to ensure that they know where products are coming from so that they can minimize the chance of having legal issues with a seller.
Creating a typical Plan of Action (POA) appeal for these issues often relies on providing documentation that shows the validity of your product sourcing. Additionally, these appeals include writing sections that detail the cause of your suspension, what you are doing to address it, and how you will prevent future suspensions.
For sellers using Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), there is another option that can help you combat inauthentic suspensions, bin checks. Bin checks are an option for FBA sellers to request a verification of the integrity of their inventory. This can help to resolve inauthentic product suspensions, or serve as additional evidence for your appeal.
Amazon Appeal Submissions – Escalation Appeal Options
If your POA submission is not enough to reinstate your products or account, escalation appeals and legal actions are your next steps. Escalation appeals involve the creation of an appeal that includes additional evidence and builds off of your previous writing to continue arguing your case for reinstatement. These are often effective if you created your first appeal on your own, then contacted experienced assistance to help in creating future appeals.
Legal escalation typically involves moving to pre-arbitration. This sends notice to Amazon’s legal team that you will be pursuing legal action against them if your case is not properly resolved. Often, pre-arbitration is enough to resolve a case that has been stuck with Amazon’s enforcement team. However, if your case goes to a full arbitration, it is important to have legal counsel you trust preparing your case.
Arbitration plays out much like a normal courtroom, with the key difference being that an independent arbitrator decides your case and issues a legally binding decision. Arbitration being private is one of the major reasons why Amazon requires disputes be handled through arbitration in their Business Solutions Agreement. Whereas scheduling a court case could take months and cost Amazon large amounts of money, arbitration cases can be scheduled much quicker and have expedited decisions.
Amazon Sellers Lawyer Case Data
The team at Amazon Sellers Lawyer was recently contacted by a seller who was facing inauthentic accusations for their products that led to an account-wide suspension. This suspension was costing them time and money, leading them to reach out to our team for an expedited resolution.
Like most inauthentic cases, this seller had authentic products, but had received customer reporting that led them to get suspended. Prior to contacting our team, this seller had attempted to prepare a POA independently, but had been rejected. Once we started working with the seller, we immediately realized it was necessary to take the appeal to Amazon’s executive enforcement team. Our team compiled evidence through the seller’s supply chain and direct contact with manufacturers that allowed us to successfully appeal the suspension on first submission.
Contact Amazon Sellers Lawyer Today!
Amazon Sellers Lawyer is here to help you create POAs, escalate your case, and deliver formal legal arguments if that’s what it takes to reach resolution. We have been focused exclusively on helping sellers for over a decade and know the evidence that creates compelling arguments. If you are currently facing suspension, give us a call today at 212-256-1109. You can also fill out our online form linked here.
About the Author
CJ Rosenbaum, Esq.
CJ Rosenbaum is the founding partner of Amazon Sellers Lawyer. He’s been practicing law since 1995, and since 2016 his firm has focused exclusively on helping Amazon sellers deal with issues like suspensions, intellectual property disputes, and withheld funds.
CJ has written six books on Amazon seller legal issues including the Amazon Sellers’ Guide to Copyright Law. He has spoken at major industry events like the Prosper Show, Global Sources Summit, Retail Global. CJ also works with the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team to provide free content for Amazon sellers. This is available through their online blog and YouTube channel, frequently covering major Amazon updates and important topics relevant to the seller space.
Through BrandProtectionAmazon.com, the firm also supports brands in protecting their products. This gives the team the unique opportunity to learn from case wins on both sides of the fence, strengthening protection for both the sellers and brands that Rosenbaum & Segall P.C. represents.
Amazon repeatedly rejecting your Plan of Action? Amazon Sellers Lawyer handles suspension appeals and account reinstatement cases – including arbitration against Amazon when they’re withholding seller money. Contact us to discuss your situation and figure out the best path forward.