Amazon Seller News – Amazon Prime Day Brings Potential Enforcement Issues For Sellers
At the end of June, Amazon is once again hosting their Prime Day event. These events usually bring out a massive uptick in customer spending as buyers look for deals that prepare them for the second half of the year. While this event carries lots of potential for seller growth, it also has the risk of exposing you to potential enforcement issues on Amazon. In this blog, we walk you through several enforcement issues stemming from customer reporting, including how you can resolve suspensions through the creation of Amazon Plan of Action (POA) appeals.
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What Does Amazon Inauthentic Mean?
One of the most common issues to stem from customer complaints is that of inauthentic products. These are complaints that your products were not sold as they were advertised, meaning that a customer expected the product to be different at their door and then reported you for the difference. Although these can coincide with issues of counterfeit products, inauthentic complaints alone account for enforcement issues in which a seller’s products may be different in person compared to what is advertised on their storefront.
Even a single report from a customer can be enough to shut down an entire product line, with multiple reports occasionally leading to account wide suspension for sellers. The reason for this is that Amazon places customer satisfaction as the company’s top priority above all else. Meaning that any issues of potential customer deception are treated with extreme scrutiny placed on sellers.
Reinstating products with inauthentic issues can be especially difficult because of this. However, for sellers that use Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA), one tool that can help to clear up these violations is called a bin check. This sends an actual Amazon employee to your inventory to inspect its authenticity, often helping to resolve issues without the need of creating and submitting appeal documents.
Amazon Copyright and Intellectual Property Suspensions
Another major area of concern with reported issues is that of intellectual property, and just like inauthentic products, a single report can occasionally be enough to shut down an entire product line. With intellectual property issues, you are dealing with four major areas of protected brand identity on Amazon:
While counterfeit product violations stem from a coinciding intellectual property issue, they are specifically the result of an accusation that your products are attempting to deceive customers. Although suspensions from intellectual property issues typically arise from brand reporting, customers have been known to report products that they believe are attempting to deceive them.
These suspensions are also especially dangerous because they can spiral into full blown lawsuits if not handled properly. Depending on the size of the brand which you are accused of copying, they may pursue further action against you through a Cease and Desist letter, or other forms of litigation.
Another area of intellectual property law on Amazon that is key for sellers to know is the detection of potentially violating content by Amazon’s automated brand tools. These detections do not trigger an immediate violation, but do warn sellers to remove content that has been flagged as violating intellectual property law.
Amazon Appeal Submission – POA Plans of Action
When it comes to resolving suspensions on Amazon, creating Plans of Action are the most common route to reinstatement. As Amazon’s preferred way of presenting your case for returning to their platform, POAs consist of three written sections and any documentation that supports your case.
The written sections begin with a root cause analysis of what led to your suspension, or what you believe led to your suspension. Next is the immediate corrective actions sectoin, which details the measures you have taken to resolve the issue to the best of your ability, including issuing customer refunds, removing violating content, and other actions relevant to your suspension. Finally, the last section discusses measures you have implemented to prevent future suspensions from occurring on your account.
If your first appeal submission is denied, you have the option to create additional appeals, or use legal tools to help you escalate your case. It is vital that sellers understand, however, that Amazon uses all provided documentation when evaluating whether or not to reinstate a seller, meaning your first Plan of Action could help or hurt your case for reinstatement in the long run.
Contact Amazon Sellers Lawyer Today!
That is why it is key to get your first POA submission right! The team at Amazon Sellers Lawyer has been focused exclusively on helping e-commerce sellers for over a decade and has seen thousands of cases through to completion. With the combined experience of our entire team, we are constantly looking for ways that help get sellers their accounts back as quickly as possible.
If you are currently suspended on Amazon and not sure of your next step, contact us today! You can fill out our online form linked here or give us a call directly at 212-256-1109.
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.