In today’s eCommerce world where ample of people sell online, Amazon sellers go through various ups and downs to establish their brand, win the trust and loyalty of their customers and get the sales going. And, so every Amazon seller knows how important it is to avoid the account suspension. Receiving a performance notification indicating that your seller account is restricted or suspended can be dreadful to business and to reinstate the account is often tricky and challenging.
With the increase in Amazon seller account suspensions every year, everybody wants to know what are the reasons Amazon account gets suspended. Here are several circumstances that can result in seller account suspension:
Amazon Seller Account Hackers:
Many Amazon seller account suspension are often the result of hacking of the seller account. There has been an increase in cases where seller accounts are hacked & bank account information is changed, and funds are transferred to the hacker’s account. In such cases, Amazon suspends the account on their own if they notice the suspicious activity and puts the fund on hold. This is done so that the seller does not suffer any payment loss and once the issue of hacking is resolved, the suspension is removed from the account, and the seller is given the selling rights again.
Sale of Restricted Products:
Amazon restricts the sales of a certain type of products in the marketplace. Amazon’s policy states that “The sale of illegal, unsafe, or other restricted products listed on these pages, including products available only by prescription, is strictly prohibited.” Amazon has also provided a list of the restricted items which cannot be sold on the marketplace. Also, sellers participating in FBA should review the FBA product restriction page which shows the list of products which are not eligible for FBA selling.
Link: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html?itemID=200164330&language=en-US&ref=mpbc_200277040_cont_200164330
Note: The above link has taken from Amazon for reference purpose.
Inauthentic Complaints:
Inauthentic complaints are the most common type of account suspension faced by Amazon sellers. As told by Amazon, they take product authenticity complaints very seriously and so when some buyers make baseless complaints about their purchase, Amazon often suspends the seller account with one or more claims of buyers without any prior intimation to the seller.
Copyright Infringement:
Another type of suspension of Amazon account is caused due to Copyright infringement which is a type of intellectual property issue which means using images or text belonging to someone else when creating an Amazon product listing. For a seller to use those images or text, he /she must have the approval from the rights owner. Without prior approval, if a seller uses any images or text belonging to someone else then the owner can register a complaint with Amazon and they will suspend the account with a performance notification stating the same.
Amazon Sellers Accused of Unauthorized Sales:
Another Account Suspension is based on intellectual property infringement caused due to the selling of unauthorized products without the prior permission of the Registered Brand Owner. If a seller starts selling a product without the permission, the brand owner can register a complaint with Amazon and then Amazon has to take strict actions against them of suspending the account.
Operating Multiple Amazon Sellers Account:
Amazon being a vast marketplace has specific policies which sellers should not fail to abide. One such policy is Amazon sellers cannot operate multiple seller accounts without Amazon’s prior approval. A lot of sellers have a legitimate business which needs a second account, for that seller has to apply for an exception to this policy. If a seller is found violating this policy, then Amazon without given a prior intimation will suspend both of the accounts.
Poor Customer Service Score:
Amazon takes care of the customer experience and customer service more than anything and so it has raised its performance target score for the sellers. The performance target score of sellers are on the following metrics:
- Order defect rate: <1%
- Pre-fulfilment cancel rate: <2.5%
- Late Shipment Rate: <4%
If any of the following metrics are not fulfilled, then Amazon considers a bad customer service performance and with a performance notification suspends the account. To further reactivate the account, a seller has to contact Amazon seller performance team via mail to get the selling rights back.
Guiding Buyers Out of Amazon:
There are ample of Amazon sellers who sell their Amazon listed products on websites and different marketplaces such as Shopify, eBay, Walmart, WooCommerce, etc. They, therefore use Amazon as a promotional platform and guide the buyers from Amazon to their Website or other marketplaces to purchase. If Amazon finds this out, you will be first given a warning, and your account will be put under review. After the warning, if the seller does not stop this activity then Amazon suspends the account by taking all the selling rights.
Use of Underhand methods to get Feedbacks and Review:
Although this has been kept hush-hush, Amazon is sure that there are still many sellers who go and buy positive reviews in exchange of product. Recently, Amazon has suspended a lot of seller accounts who indulged in manipulating reviews and feedbacks. According to a new policy, it is not just suspension of Amazon account, but the sellers are sued and have to face the lawsuit as well.
Invalid Credit Card:
There are a lot of instances where your account is suspended because of the Credit card issues. Some of the problems faced related to the credit card are:
- Update the credit card information
- Payment failure or Invalid card
After receiving performance notification for updating your card information or to enter new card information Amazon suspends the account till they receive the information for the same.
Taxation Changes:
Sellers should be aware of the constantly changing taxation policies. These policies differ country wise and if sellers are not alert, their accounts can get suspended. Recently in Germany, it is mandatory for VAT registered businesses to provide further confirmation to marketplaces such as Amazon. German authorities have made a clear statement that every account will be reviewed to spot any early registration date.
Note: Since Jan 1st, 2019 it’s mandatory for all businesses in Germany to register for VAT.
Conclusion:
Amazon always tries to make the marketplace more customer-friendly and so the sellers are put under the tight scrutiny. Amazon sellers have to be more careful in following the policies and guidelines and make sure that they don’t violate them knowingly or unknowingly. If by any above reasons, your Amazon seller’s account is suspended then you should not be discouraged and reach out to us at eStore Factory to get professional help.