There is never a good time to get your Amazon selling account or listing suspended. But in Q4, the results of a suspension can be even more devastating.
In this webinar, former Amazonian and ecommerce expert Chris McCabe from eCommerce Chris together with our own Ecommerce Marketing Manager Liz Fickenscher, discusses why sellers are getting suspended now, and what can be done about it.
Topics we cover:
- The top 3 reasons for Amazon account suspension right now
- Challenges sellers and brand owners face when appealing suspension
- Tips for avoiding suspension
- What to do when you can’t get a resolution fast enough
The speakers:
Chris McCabe,
eCommerce Chris
Liz Fickenscher
Ecommerce Marketing Manager, Teikametrics
Timestamps:
[1:48]
Meet Liz and Chris.
[3:50]
The reasons for Amazon suspensions have changed in the past few years.
[9:02]
Copyright complaints are hot now.
[10:56]
Used sold as new complaints don’t actually really mean that Amazon thinks you’re selling something used.
[12:35]
It can be counterproductive to panic and appeal a suspension without understanding how to handle the appeal.
[15:17]
The line of appeals for verification suspensions is huge right now.
[21:04]
Chris says, “If you’re relying on a support rep to interpret policy for you, then you’re already in trouble.”
[24:05]
Reviews abuse is another major reason for suspension, and we may see more of that because of recent changes to the policy.
[26:04]
Often Amazon needs to do two things, but only does one. Chris explains what to do.
[33:55]
Don’t continue to sell on a listing that has dozens of sellers and the listing is constantly changing because you can’t maintain the integrity of that listing.
[40:59]
There are things you can do to manage IPI, like regularly checking your stranded inventory.
[46:39]
If you get a policy violation you need to write an explanation why you violated it and how you’re going to resolve the problem. Don’t avoid notifications on your account health. If you’re asked for a Plan of Action you need to send one, but only send a Plan of Action if you’re asked for one.
[51:06]
Escalations are a request for a new review and need to be written as a unique document, not a copy of a Plan of Action.
Watch the full replay:
Key Teikaways
The top three reasons for Amazon suspension right now are:
- Copyright complaints – real and otherwise
- Used sold as new complaints – this doesn’t always mean that Amazon thinks you’re selling used items
- Listing compliance, adding seller-specific language to a detail page/ PDP abuse
The main challenges that sellers and brand owners are facing regarding appeals are:
- Delayed responses — performance is taking longer to respond right now, and when they do, it’s often just to say they’re still reviewing it
- Not understanding the issues — do you know what you’re doing wrong?
- Not following the rules — are people still trying to get reviews the wrong ways, creating non-compliant ASIN variations?
- Not getting the right teams to listen — are these abuse issues? This is where it can help to get a professional involved
Tips for avoiding suspension right now:
- Keep an eye out for bad behavior, and document it as it happens (competitor attacks and more)
- They don’t reinstate an ASIN or respond when you submit a pre-POA? Don’t just forget about it. One ASIN can lead to a whole account suspension
- Often, sudden suspensions were in the offing for a long time, but warnings were ignored, or ASIN-level appeals were pushed aside when they seemed too difficult to handle
What to do when you’re not getting a response fast enough:
- Make sure you don’t do any hasty appeals or guesses in a POA – you have the best chance of getting favorable results with a thoughtful, thorough POA that includes all the information you need to get a resolution
- Escalate to the appropriate team, and place — are they not replying? Get help
- Get info from Account Health Services on your responses – if not, why not? Already denied? Keep trying
- If you can’t get any movement, consult a professional like Chris
