Amazon accounts get suspended for various reasons, which can be frustrating administratively, emotionally, and most of all financially. To add salt to the wound, they tend not to give sellers much information about why. At My Amazon Guy, we help consumers or sellers get their accounts back. Let’s explore the top 10 reasons for suspension – because prevention is always better than cure.
Inauthentic Items
This issue, in particular, affects retail arbitrage players – sellers who pick up an item from a clearance section and start selling it themselves. It could be as simple as mismatching an ASIN, receiving a few customer complaints, or sending an expired product. If the product is not up to snuff, according to either the consumer or Amazon, you might find yourself in hot water.
Selling Prohibited Products
Amazon has specific prohibited categories, including drugs, alcohol, certain animal-related products, and many more. Listing items in these categories will almost certainly result in suspension. You’ll also need to walk a fine line if, for example, you sell hemp products without CBD in them.
Negative Feedback
Amazon could pull the item down because of too much negative feedback, or they could tell you as a seller that your account will be suspended until you give them an action plan to rectify the issue.
Opening a New Account After Being Suspended
If you’ve had a suspension and try to open a new account, you’ll be in the crosshairs. There are certain ways to navigate around this, like using another business tax ID, a different credit card, and new bank information that’s never been associated with another account.
Rights Owner Notice Complaints
In simple, rights owner notice complaints happen when somebody goes over to amazon.com and reports an infringement. It may be a case of a trademark being used against the owner’s will, selling expired products, or selling inauthentic issues. There typically has to be an accumulation of these infringements for suspension, but it does still happen.
Selling Counterfeit Items
If you’re selling a product that doesn’t work as well as it’s supposed to, it will generally lead to a brand getting gated. An example of this would be an iPhone charger.
Duplicate Accounts
Sellers with more than one seller central account need to request approval for a second account before opening it. Listing the same items across multiple seller central accounts is a big no-no. They need to be unique businesses selling unique products.
Late Shipment Rate
Consistent late shipment may put you in Amazon’s firing line. They’ll most likely suspend your merchant fulfilled capacities long before the suspension, but it’s best to keep your late shipping rate under 4% if at all possible.
Used Items Sold as New
Returned products sold as new or items deemed to have lousy packaging are problematic. It’s far more advisable to sell it on eBay as an open box issue or something similar.
Not as Advertised
This issue occurs if a product is wrong when delivered. It’s most common with incorrect units – if you’re trying to sell a multipack and a customer receives fewer units than advertised, for example. A safe solution is to package items together prior to them reaching FBA.
