Amazon Seller News: New Retraction Seeking Techniques
For sellers that face suspension as a result of a direct complaint about their store, one of the fastest routes to reinstatement is getting a complainant retraction. Unless Amazon has launched a separate investigation, getting a retraction can quickly remove the violation from your account, and get your products reinstated. In this blog, we walk through some common complaint types and the major retraction seeking techniques that are helpful for sellers.
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What Are The Reasons For Amazon Account Suspension
The most common complaint types that lead to suspensions on Amazon can be divided into three major areas:
- Intellectual Property Complaints
- Inauthentic Complaints
- Used Sold As New Complaints
Intellectual Property Complaints are one of the most common causes of suspension, consisting of trademark and copyright infringement, patent violations, and counterfeit products claims.
- Trademark: Pertains to a products protected logo/identifying marks
- Copyright: Pertains to protected textual aspects of a brand’s identity
- Patent: Pertains to design based aspects of a piece of work
- Counterfeit Products: Claim that you are imitating a product which has protected intellectual property aspects.
In any of these cases, retractions can be an expedited way of ending the investigation into your product or Amazon seller account.
The next major area is inauthentic complaints, which are allegations that the product you are selling does not match to what is being advertised to customers. Whether it be from supply chain issues, or normal product variation, these complaints can suspend an entire listing if not dealt with.
Used sold as new violations pertain to the claim that you have passed a used product off as new without informing the customer. Because Amazon takes customer satisfaction, and complaints, so seriously, doing this can lead to product and account suspensions.
Retraction Seeking Techniques
Seeking retractions for Amazon suspensions requires direct communication with your complainant. Depending on the nature of your case, it may be advisable to have this contact handled by a third party with experience in negotiating.
For smaller complaints with customers, seeking retraction can be done through offering refunds, replacement products, or providing evidence that the product they received was what was ordered. When handling complaints from brand owners or larger scale issues, using outside counsel can help to ensure that your case has a positive outcome.
Recently, the Amazon Sellers Lawyer team helped secure retractions for several of our clients by handling all direct contact with the complainant. In one case, our client was willing to exit the product space and wanted the violation removed from his account, so we used this as a negotiating tactic to secure a quick resolution to the issue.
Amazon Appeal Submissions
If you are not able to get a retraction for your account complaint based suspension, the next step is moving to the creation of an Amazon Plan of Action (POA) appeal. These appeals are composed of three written sections and supporting evidence for your position. First, sellers are meant to detail the reason behind their suspension, then discuss the actions they took to correct these suspensions, ending with a section on how they plan to avoid future suspensions.
Though it is not necessary to win an appeal on your first try, it is important to consider that Amazon’s enforcement team looks at all submitted appeals when evaluating a case. This means it is vital to understand that any piece of writing or evidence you submit to their team will be used for all future appeals. Working with experienced professionals who know how to navigate the entire appeals process can create a major advantage for independent sellers looking to get back business as usual.
Contact Amazon Sellers Lawyer Today!
If you are facing suspension on your Amazon seller account and are looking for an expedited resolution to your case, contact Amazon Sellers Lawyer today. Our team has over a decade of experience helping sellers like you seek retractions or move to escalation appeals if it is necessary to win your case. Give us a call today at 212-256-1109 or 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 seven 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.