Amazon Success Blocks Solution: How to Write an Amazon Suspension Appeal and Plan of Action

You're probably here because you've received a notice from Amazon that says your selling privileges have been removed. Needless to say, for any seller who plans to be a big Amazon success, this issue is detrimental. You may have failed to meet the required seller performance metrics, violated some policies or ignored hiring Amazon suspension appeal service. And now, you're figuring out how to appeal to get your account or listing back as soon as possible.

What information should I include in my appeal? How exactly should I write it?

If you're asking yourself these questions, read on. We will guide you on how you can write an appeal to Amazon. 

Note: Following this guide won't guarantee your account's reinstatement and has no impact or whatsoever on your Amazon success strategy. But it will give you higher chances when you know what you need to do. 

What is an Appeal?

You make an appeal when you want to reverse a decision. In this case, we want Amazon to lift the suspension on your account or listing.

To make a strong appeal, you need to understand what went wrong so you can come up with the best solution. Include this solution in your Plan of Action (POA).

What is the Goal of your Plan of Action (POA)?

When writing an appeal, show Amazon that you're taking this matter seriously. Find out the root cause of the problem. Take the necessary actions to resolve the issue. And set up a system or process that will prevent the issue from happening again. 

Your goal is to give Amazon all the information they need to make an informed and confident decision to reinstate your account.

Recklessly submitting an appeal to Amazon can ruin your chances of getting your account back. Take time to do your due diligence. Make your POA thorough and based on your findings.

How do I structure my Amazon Appeal letter?

Here's an outline that you can use as a general guide in writing your appeal.

Introductory Paragraph

Introduce yourself, including your seller name. Tell them a bit about your business and let them know what your appeal is about - briefly and clearly.

Description of Issue/s

Describe the issues that lead to your account suspension. Explain the process you used to identify the problems. And then give a concise account of why and how the issue happened. Include relevant data and supporting documents.

Power Tips

• Stay professional. Having an emotional outburst on your appeal won't help you.
• Keep explanations concise. Focus on the issues and facts.
• Don't complain about Amazon or blame the customers. Own up to it and focus on finding out the cause and details of the problem.
• Use bullet points or numbered lists for quick and clear communication.

Plan of Action 

As soon as you’ve pinpointed the problems, your next move is addressing them. You need a solid action plan that addresses each violation stated in the suspension email and avoid the common mistakes in product listing next time.

Provide Amazon with the following details.

• Policy or metric breached
• Cause of the breach
• Action (taken or will take) to resolve issues
• Action plan to prevent the issues from happening again (include tools, systems or procedures)

Here's an example.

Scenario: The notice from Seller Performance indicates that your selling privileges have been removed due to a high order defect rate.

Policy or metric breached: Our order defect rate is 4%, exceeding Amazon's target of 2%.

Based on our investigation, we found the following causes.

• During the previous two months, you have received two refunds due to delayed deliveries. Both were one day late.
• Three A-to-Z complaints last month for slow email response times (28 hours, 26.2 hours and 26.7 hours)

We will solve the issue by:

• scheduling time every day (at 11 am and 4 pm) to respond to all buyer correspondence.
• increasing internal KPI for response time, from a maximum of 24 hours to 12 hours.

To ensure this issue won't happen again, we will be:

• monitoring customer response rates
• hiring additional temporary staff during the peak season, from November 1 to January 20
• working towards fully outsourced fulfillment within six months

Power Tips

• Include as much relevant information as possible such as tools, systems, processes, procedures or supporting evidence where appropriate.
• Use bullet points or numbered lists for quick and clear communication.

Closing Statement

Summarize the actions you've taken to solve and prevent the issues from reoccurring. Express your commitment to outstanding customer service and to abide by Amazon policies. Don't forget to include an explicit request to have your selling privileges reinstated.

What do I need to do after writing my appeal?

When you're satisfied with what you've written, go to Amazon Seller Central and submit your appeal. After that, wait for their response.

Final Reminders

You might get tempted to appeal as soon as you read the suspension notice. It is a natural reaction because getting suspended can turn your Amazon business success dream upside down. But rushing the appeal without proper preparation would do more harm than good. 

Take the time to investigate and analyze the issues so you can come up with the best solutions. And lastly, make your appeal professional, easy to read and understand. Writing an appeal takes time and concentrated effort. Given how busy you are, dropping everything just to focus on it can put your other priorities at risk. 

Let, Seller Interactive help you. We have a dedicated team that can do all the work for you. 

Learn more about our proven Amazon reimbursement service as well.