English
中文 (中国)
Last updated on July 25th, 2023
Written by Ken Zhou
Amazon maintains strict policies all vendors and buyers must adhere to ensure optimal platform experience. Due to its zero tolerance for rule infractions, the platform frequently suspends many Amazon seller accounts for various reasons. If you have experienced this, you may wonder how to reactivate your Amazon seller account.
Getting your Amazon seller account deactivated can be unpleasant, especially if you've invested so much in establishing your Amazon business. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that you can successfully recover your suspended account. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try; it is still possible to reactivate your seller account.
From navigating the errors to reinstating your account, we'll discuss everything you need to know about account suspension in this article. So, keep reading!
Amazon seller account suspension means Amazon removes your selling privileges if it has grounds to believe that you violated the platform’s rules. Account suspensions can be classified mainly into two categories:
The major drawback of an Amazon account suspension is that all the costs associated with the seller's products, such as supplier fees, storage costs, employee salaries, etc., will continue to drain your capital resources until the issue is resolved.
The first thing that you should do is to understand why your seller account got suspended. Many potential answers exist, so you should thoroughly review where things have gone wrong.
Most Amazon sellers work on their appeal letters for their suspended Amazon account as soon as they see it's suspended. This practice could be more efficient. They need to find out the underlying reasons for the suspension first, as this will help them craft their appeal letters.
So if you have encountered an Amazon seller account suspension, you must first try to understand what happened. Some of the common ones are seller performance and buyer complaints. Look for these signs as you conduct your investigation.
In some cases, Amazon sends you a suspension letter. It will contain the reasons they suspended your account. However, you have to investigate these claims and see if they are valid. Here are the possible reasons they may include in the notice:
You're Selling Prohibited Items
Once you start selling on Amazon, you agree to the company's terms and conditions. This includes understanding what products you can sell on the platform. There are a lot of items on the list of restricted products, but here are the most common ones:
| 🔗 Check the complete list of restricted products for an extended version of what is permissible for selling on the platform. |
You're Selling Counterfeit Items
Aside from prohibited items, Amazon is serious about counterfeit items. Counterfeit items are fake or imitation pieces of any product. The item categories with the most counterfeit sellers are movies, DVDs, beauty products, and electronics, among many others, usually sourced from third-party sellers with little to no positive reputation.
Even if you're not selling restricted items, as long as your products were tagged and reported as counterfeit, it can also be a reason to get Amazon account suspensions.
Check with your manufacturers or wherever you're sourcing your inventory. Amazon is strict on this rule, so you must ensure you have a trusted source for your products, as it can be a reason for losing your selling privileges.
You've Received A Lot of Negative Feedback
Customer obsession is one of the pillars of Amazon's values. This means that the company is pro-customers over anything else. They often go to lengths like extending their returns policy to please buyers on the platform.
Unsurprisingly, Amazon would take their customers' negative feedback very seriously. While getting negative reviews on products is inevitable (and can even be useful), too many of them will grab Amazon's attention and potentially flag your account for suspension.
You Have Duplicate Accounts
As a big marketplace accommodating millions of sellers, Amazon strives to prevent sellers from using duplicate accounts. You should only have one Amazon Seller Central account. Otherwise, you can get a suspension notice.
Amazon takes serious measures to ensure that every seller has just one account. This includes:
| 💡 With Amazon’s strict policies regarding seller accounts accessed from a single IP address, note that anyone within your household accessing the internet through the same wireless connection can be flagged as a potential second account. |
You Opened a New Account Without Addressing the Previous One’s Issues
Some sellers want to avoid the hassle of making an Amazon seller suspension appeal letter and resort to opening a new account instead. But doing so after getting your previous seller account suspended will only lead to another suspension or rejection of your appeal.
Here’s a sample scenario of one of our clients and their issue with multiple accounts.
Still having doubts about how Amazon can identify you as the same seller? Amazon will always find a way to suspend your account. You might have attempted it before, but it is guaranteed that you will fail to thrive with a new account.
Amazon account reinstatement involves regaining a suspended account’s selling privileges on the platform. Suspended sellers must submit an appeal and await Amazon's response, which may take several days. If the appeal is approved, the account is reinstated, enabling sellers to resume their business operations on Amazon.
Here’s the three-step process to proactively reinstate your suspended Amazon account.
Understand why you got suspended. Most of the time, Amazon details this in the suspension letter they send you. Some reasons are selling prohibited items or counterfeit products, having a lot of negative customer feedback, and having duplicate accounts.
When writing your Amazon seller suspension appeal letter, do not let negative emotions get in your way. If possible, work with an agency or someone with experience writing suspension account appeal letters for best results.
When writing your letter, include all the data you've gathered from your investigation. Present it in a way that conveys objectivity instead of accusing Amazon of wrongdoing. Do indicate your plans to resolve the problem and avoid the issue from recurring.
Once you have the letter plus all documentary evidence, submit them for review. Click Reactivate Your Account in the suspension notice you received on Seller Central. A form will appear where you must provide your plan of action (POA) and contact details. The Amazon Account Health Team will then review your submission.
The POA is a detailed document outlining the steps you will take to address the issues that led to the suspension. It should demonstrate your understanding and willingness to solve the problem.
According to Amazon's guidelines, your POA should address the following:
Below is a template that can help you in drafting one.
Provide a brief explanation of who you are, accurate contact information, your business seller name, what you sell on Amazon, and why your account was suspended.
Give a detailed description of the suspension issue(s), detailing how you identified the root cause and why it occurred.
Even if you feel innocent, take full responsibility for the issue. Describe the actionable steps you plan on taking and actions you have already taken since the suspension period. Provide an in-depth explanation of the long-term changes you or your team members are making to prevent recurring issues.
The concluding paragraph should reiterate briefly the steps you plan on taking to resolve the issue, after which you should request politely to have your seller rights reinstated as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, your appeal letter is general, conveying your remorse for any mistakes made and request for Amazon's consideration. The letter should also provide a summary of the situation. This shows that you take the situation seriously and are committed to resolving the issue.
Like your POA, you must put a lot of effort into your suspension appeal letter, as it will make or break the fate of your Amazon business. Consider the following tips when writing one.
It's perfectly understandable to want to say a lot in your appeal letter. However, it's best to keep it short and precise. You don’t need a long story to prove your case. Amazon also receives thousands of appeal letters every day. The last thing they want to read is a lengthy explanation with unnecessary rants.
The Amazon Seller Performance team would appreciate it if you were straightforward and conveyed your points clearly and concisely. State what is only asked of you to write.
In some cases, you need to point out where you have been falsely accused. However, remember to present it in a way that conveys objectivity instead of accusing Amazon of wrongdoing.
Even if you felt you were accused wrongly, you should take full responsibility for the issue. You would be better off this way, as it is the fastest way to reinstate your Amazon marketplace account.
It's difficult not to write a heartfelt POA when your business is at stake. The recommended tone, however, would be to sound as objective as possible about your action plan and keep emotions aside.
Be professional and fact-based. If you cannot fully dissociate from your emotions, hire an agency with experience writing suspension appeal letters. This way, you're sure that everything will be written professionally.
Ensure you have all the evidence, like correspondence, screenshots, and invoices, to justify your claims. You may also want to highlight these documents in your letter, so it will be easier for the performance team to analyze your appeal.
The timeline for Amazon suspended accounts and reinstatement processes can vary depending on several factors. While there is no definitive answer, understanding the common scenarios can help manage your expectations and navigate the procedures effectively. Here's a quick rundown of what you will go through.
You have 17 days to submit an appeal after receiving the notice of suspension. This includes investigating the situation and writing your plan of action.
You have over two weeks to work on these, so do everything possible. Remember that your POA is the backbone of your appeal. This will be Amazon's sole basis on whether or not you deserve an account reinstatement.
This is Amazon's official estimate of how long it will take for them to decide and notify you about your appeal. However, this is a very rare scenario because the platform deals with numerous appeals every day.
According to some sellers on Amazon's forums, some have experienced waiting for about 60 days or more before they have received Amazon's decision regarding their suspension appeals. So don’t panic if you don’t get a response in 48 hours; be patient with the whole process.
If you did your best in crafting that letter of appeal, you have a higher chance of successful reinstatement.
Account suspension poses a significant obstacle for Amazon merchants and sellers. If left unsolved, it can jeopardize your Amazon account. Knowing how to reinstate your account properly is essential to increase the chances of a successful appeal application. Show Amazon that you have learned from the experience and will never repeat the same mistake.
Struggling to handle account suspension and reinstatement on your own? Consider employing a virtual assistant to help you out. With Seller Interactive's Amazon suspension appeal and reinstatement service, our team will help get your account reinstated and perform an in-depth review of your account to identify issues.
Book a call today to reinstate your account and secure it from getting another suspension.
Last updated on December 18th, 2023 Written by Mohamed Aden For Amazon sellers, having a strong marketing strategy is crucial for boosting sales. Having a landing page for Amazon products is a strategy many successful sellers apply, and you can also do. This article will explain what a landing page is and how it can […]
Last updated on December 13th, 2023 Written by Mohamed Aden The Amazon Best Seller Rank (BSR) is a crucial metric sellers like you should understand to maximize your success on the platform. This ranking system reflects a product's popularity and sales performance against other products in the same category. By grasping the intricacies of BSR, […]
Last updated on December 11th, 2023 Written by Himanshi Raj In a bustling marketplace like Amazon, every aspect of your online presence matters, and thoughtfully chosen Amazon seller names can be one of the first steps toward building a solid brand. However, coming up with an Amazon seller name is considered trivial for most sellers. […]
