5 steps Amazon Sellers should take if Account is Suspended
As an increasing number of consumers turn to Amazon for their shopping needs, the company has made an effort to tighten up their selling regulations.
Amazon sellers must take this into account to avoid complaints and suspensions if they hope to maintain a consistent revenue stream through the company.
The most common reasons for suspensions include a poorly scored late shipment rate, order defect rate, or pre-fulfillment cancellation rate.
The formula that Amazon uses to determine its late shipment rate is shown in this image provided by Sellbrite.com:
Since Amazon prides itself on prompt delivery, late shipment rates of over 4 percent can trigger suspensions as they often lead to customer dissatisfaction.
Another more simple metric that Amazon uses is order defect rate (ODR), which measures the amount of negative reviews and order problems that a seller encounters. Sellers must keep order defect rate in mind because the recommended ODR to avoid a suspension is under 1 percent.
The last and least common of these suspension metrics is pre-fulfillment cancel rate, meaning how frequently a seller cancels an order before a shipment can even be placed.
Here is another graphic from Sellbrite explaining the formula Amazon uses:
If sellers can preserve a pre-fulfillment cancellation rate of below 2.5 percent, their account should not be threatened by suspension.
How do Sellers Avoid Suspension?
The most common reason for a seller’s suspension is the report of inauthentic items.
As Brett Sondike, director of client services for Amazon Sellers’ Lawyer explains, “There are many sellers buying from retail stores and outlets at a discount and selling them right back on Amazon. However, the receipts given by store like Wal-Mart, Target, Thrift Stores, etc., many times are not showing the details that Amazon is looking for. It helps if they have a UPC barcode. This way Amazon can look it up and see if it relates specifically to the item in question.”
In addition, Amazon provides guidelines for sellers on their website that help them avoid penalties called the Seller Code of Conduct and Principles. While the list of principles continues to change as the company expands, here are the main principles that Amazon has outlined:
● Adhere to all applicable laws and abide by all Amazon policies.
● Maintain current account information.
● Never misrepresent yourself.
● Always act in a manner that ensures a trustworthy experience for Amazon customers.
● Never list products that may cause harm to Amazon customers.
● Never engage in any misleading, inappropriate or offensive behavior.
● Act fairly at all times.
If sellers can follow to these guidelines and maintain product integrity, they should avoid suspension.
What do I do if my Account was Suspended?
5 steps Amazon Sellers should take if Account is Suspended:
Step 1: Make sure you know why you were suspended
Logically, knowing why your account has been suspended is the first step. If you do not know what you did wrong, you’ll be unable to correct your mistakes or fill out a successful appeal.
Amazon should send you an email with a breakdown of exactly why you’ve been suspended. After carefully reading through the email, you will gain a better understanding of which policy you are infringing and what corrective action to take.
“We see accounts suspended due to one relatively small complaint,” Sondike said. “Some people think that if you’re a big-time seller, you may be immune to suspensions unless you have a bunch of violations. That is not necessarily true.”
Additionally, if you learn that you are involved with a larger infraction such as having linked accounts, forged documents or review manipulation, you will get an indefinite suspension letter and may not be able to appeal.
Step 2: Gather all Relevant Documents
To win an appeal, you must provide proper documentation between you and Amazon as well as any invoices or receipts that may be applicable.
Receipts can prove the authenticity of your items if there are claims of inauthenticity, while they also legitimize yourself with a clear paper trail. Try to get as much together as you can. With more information and proof that you have that shows you’ve been doing things correctly, you’ll have a better case at reinstatement. Leave no stone unturned.
Amazon has tons of sellers, so they do not bother with sellers who choose to be non-transparent, regardless of how much revenue they bring in. If you do not feel comfortable being open and transparent with Amazon about your enterprise, it is not the website for you.
Step 3: Devise a Plan of Action
Once you have figured out exactly why you were suspended and gather the necessary documentation, you are ready to devise a “Plan of Action.”
A “Plan of Action” is simply an appeal process by which a suspended individual tells Amazon how they will attempt to correct their violations that were deemed suspension worthy.
Amazon provides suspended users with the proper forms and sellers are given 17 days to submit an appeal stating how they plan to correct their violations. One may write a “Plan of Action” themselves, and may or may not be successful.
While Amazon promises to handle each appeal process with a careful eye, chances of filing a correct appeal are helped greatly by a qualified, professional firm like Amazon Sellers’ Lawyer.
With a licensed attorney and team of account analysts composed of former sellers with experience dealing with suspensions, those who turn to the ASL team can feel much more confident about their appeal.
Although reinstatement cannot be guaranteed, the ASL team has the highest level of experience in dealing with Amazon suspensions on a case by case basis, meaning that we have seen everything and know how to write a successful appeal.
Step 4: Write a Successful Appeal
While writing your appeal, you must clearly address your intent as a seller and tell Amazon how you plan to correct your selling processes that caused the violation.
Make sure you are as specific as possible, leaving out any sort of fluff or overt emotion. Amazon reviews a multitude of appeals every day and does not have patience for anything but clarity in your appeal.
Try to steer clear of talking about whether the suspension is just or not. Whether or not the issue is truly the seller’s fault, Amazon is not a democracy and there is no innocent until proven guilty.
Gary Ward, a paralegal at Amazon Sellers’ Lawyer, suggests that sellers “Clearly address how the violation will be fixed and what you are doing to make sure it does not happen again in the future. Show Amazon how you will act to better serve Amazon’s — not your — customers.”
Appeals take approximately one to three days to write once you have diagnosed the problem with your account, so plan accordingly.
Step 5: Learn from Your Mistakes
After writing an appeal and hopefully having your selling privileges reinstated, users must keep in mind not just how to avoid previous infractions, but future ones as well.
Ward says that users should “be vigilant in keeping up to date on Amazon’s policies and reply to any and all emails that note any issues, suspension related or otherwise.”
If a seller stays informed on Amazon’s ever-changing policies, they are less likely to break rules unintentionally. If you are a seller and do not have the Amazon Seller cellular app, download it immediately as it allows you to respond to buyer feedback and account notifications from anywhere.
“Don’t assume anything and follow up on everything,” Sondike says. “There are a high amount of inauthentic claims filed, so the best method of avoiding them is to buy your products from an authorized distributor.”
Making sure that you stay on top of things post-suspension is critical because Amazon is less likely to grant sellers a second appeal.