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Last updated on June 5th, 2023
Written by Mohamed Aden
You will see a lot of Amazon suspension appeal articles online. Everyone seems to be writing about it since it's a problem that sellers have to face. Due to the pretty strict rules that sellers like you have to follow on the platform, there are quite a number of sellers who have had to deal with suspensions. If you're one of those who have encountered it, don't panic! You can solve this problem by dealing with the situation professionally.
One of the problems that most sellers encounter when they are writing their Amazon seller suspension appeal letter is that they let their emotions get in the way. If you have received a suspension from Amazon, it's understandable for you to feel strongly about it. You've put in much time, effort, and resources into building your online business, only for it to be suspended. It might even be your primary source of income.
However, what you shouldn't do is to write an emotionally charged Amazon suspension appeal. The reason for this is that you might get defensive and angry. You should keep in mind that staff from Amazon are the ones reviewing your appeal, and you have to stay away from channeling negative emotions.
What you should do instead is to focus primarily on the case at hand. If it's possible, you should let someone who has had experience with this write the appeal letter for you. This way, the letter won’t contain any strong and negative emotions. At the same time, the other entity can see to it that all facts are stated and addressed in a professional manner. This is the first step to creating your Amazon suspension appeal properly. Make sure you've gathered all the facts and convey them with a professional tone.
Writing the appeal letter is just one part of the entire process. Before you write the letter, you must first understand the reason for your suspension. This is what most sellers fail to recognize. With that, here are some of the common reasons why sellers get their accounts suspended:
If you're going to take a look at the Amazon marketplace, you'll see how much infringed items there are on the platform. Usually, businesses or brands that already have IP rights to these will file a claim against the seller. Amazon then gives the seller a warning. This warning should be enough for the first time for the seller to rectify the situation.
Ignoring the notification will merit an account suspension. It may also be due to the accumulation of intellectual property complaints filed against a seller. It's important to address the situation as soon as you get the first warning. The only way for you to rectify the situation is to file an Amazon suspension appeal. However, the more intellectual property claims you receive, the harder it is for you to get your account reinstated.
Now, this is a very common situation. Usually, sellers create a second account so they can sell more of their items. However, this is against Amazon's terms and conditions. As much as possible, you should only have one seller account. If you're planning on putting up another business account, you can apply for an exception to this policy.
Given the number of sellers on the platform, Amazon works very hard to make sure that the sellers they have are all legitimate and credible. The company goes through extensive lengths just to make sure that a seller only has one account. Amazon analyzes the IP address, bank information, email, tax IDs, and physical address to know if a seller has more than one account. This also eradicates the possibility of those sellers who have already gotten suspended to continuously create new accounts.
What happens if you haven’t created another Amazon account, but get a notice regarding multiple accounts? You have to think if anyone from your household has tried to create a seller account. Since you share the same IP and physical address, Amazon's system may have tagged you as multiple accounts. This is something that can easily be fixed with a well-written Amazon suspension appeal.
Given Amazon's strict policies, it's no surprise that the company would also limit some items for sale on the platform. Anyone who is caught selling illegal, unsafe, and restricted products should be suspended from selling on the platform. This also includes the sale of drugs that are only available by prescription.
If you're using FBA as your fulfillment method, there are also additional rules on which products you can sell. You can find this information on the FBA products restrictions page. Here, you will be able to review which products are not eligible for shipping using the FBA program. With that, it's very important that you first read these policies just so you can be sure of what you're doing.
However, if you've already received a notification that talks about the selling of any prohibited products, it's definitely suggested that you remove these from your listing as soon as possible. But if you're already in the situation wherein your account is already suspended, you must first decide on your plan of action, especially what you're going to do with the products that have been compromised and think about how to ensure that it's not going to happen again. These are the things that you would need for your Plan of Action or POA.
One reason why some sellers receive suspensions is because of inauthentic complaints from buyers. These are considered to be inauthentic since the claims weren't true in the first place. Since Amazon is very much geared towards customer obsession, it's expected that the company takes complaints very seriously. These complaints are usually centered on counterfeit products.
However, what most consumers do is that once they are not satisfied with the goods, they report the sellers to be selling counterfeit products. The moment that you are reported for such, Amazon will immediately suspend your account. There are some ways you can avoid this. One way is to be proactive in responding to negative reviews.
Usually, when customers are dissatisfied, they leave a negative review first, or they might request for a refund. Make sure that you address this as soon as possible. Next is that you should make sure that the product packaging is intact before you send it out for shipping. Most consumers usually report products to be counterfeit or fake if they receive the products, particularly the packaging, in bad condition.
When writing your Amazon seller suspension appeal letter, you have to make sure that you highlight the steps on what you need to do. This includes making sure how you're going to deal with these problems properly, moving forward.
After making sure that you understand the probable reason for your account suspension, it's now time to write your letter. The letter is very important since it's going to be your way of communicating with Amazon. You cannot appeal through a call.
You can follow this format when writing your appeal letter.
You should include in your letter what happened and when you found out that your account was suspended. Although Amazon has the records, it's best that you indicate the relevant information in your letter. You must also mention how much you've understood what went wrong.
After explaining what went wrong, you should now discuss the steps you've done to rectify the situation. These steps should address the things that went wrong. This is your way of proactively addressing the situation. It's also the part that sets your appeal letter apart.
As most sellers don't know how to properly write a letter, their letters only contain what's wrong, but they don't go into detail on what they have done to fix the situation. So you should definitely highlight the steps regarding what you've done to try and address the situation.
It's not just important that you address the current situation. Amazon would also like to see what you have planned for the long haul. If your account were to be reinstated, you should show that you're keen on strictly following the rules next time around.
After sending in your appeal letter, you just have to wait for the approval from Amazon. It usually takes at least 45 days, but it can go way beyond that. It may take you a couple of weeks or maybe even months before Amazon gets to your appeal. If your appeal has been successfully approved, you can now continue on selling on Amazon. You should be able to log in to your seller account in the usual way.
When you're writing an Amazon suspension letter, it's very easy to put the blame on Amazon. This is true, especially if you've been wrongfully accused. However, that's not the right way to go. Here are some helpful tips on what you should NOT do when writing an Amazon seller suspension appeal letter.
As much as you want to pin the blame on Amazon, it's not proper to do it this way. Be accountable for your actions and address concerns professionally. Sure, this whole situation might trigger a lot of feelings from you, but it's best not to let them show through your appeal letter.
Avoid making excuses for what has happened. Instead, own up to your mistakes and take full responsibility.
When Amazon asks for additional details or explanations, it's best that you don't immediately jump on and send in a response within minutes. Take the time to gather the information that you will need. You don't want to miss out on anything!
Since you're explaining the situation, it's very easy to go overboard and explain the situation in detail. However, you should keep in mind that Amazon does not have the time to go through such lengthy appeals and responses. Keep your responses concise, clear, and direct to the point.
One of the worst things that you might encounter as a seller would be having to deal with your account suspension. Although it might seem like it's big trouble for you, you can fix this situation by effectively writing an Amazon suspension letter appeal. Just make sure that you follow the guidelines mentioned above, and you're good to go.
Do you need help in writing your suspension appeal letter? This is something that we can help you with. At Seller Interactive, we've helped numerous clients in writing professional suspension letters and truly succeeded in getting their accounts back. To know more about this, schedule a call with a reputable Amazon account specialist today! Book a call with Likitha by sending her an email at [email protected], or [email protected].
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