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“But it was almost the same thing as the detail page.” The important word there is “almost” and that is also the word that will result in the ASIN or your account being deactivated.
Almost the same can lead to a “not as described” or “inauthentic” complaint from the buyer. It could also result in a “counterfeit” intellectual property complaint from the rights owner. Anyone who has had that happen will tell you they are not as much fun as you think and to avoid them whenever possible.
I would love to tell you there is a 100% guaranteed way to avoid those issues but that would not be true. I can tell you there are steps you can take to substantially lower the risk of those complaints thereby diminish the potential risk to your ASINs and/or your account.
Be honest with yourself. Look at the item you are listing, then look at the ASIN you are considering listing it under in Amazon’s catalog. Does it match EXACTLY?
By exactly, I mean in every detail from the packaging to the item itself with no variance between what is in your and what is shown in the images on Amazon.
These are just a few examples and are not a complete list.
If you list on someone else’s mistake that does not protect you from being enforced. It is your responsibility to make sure the ASIN Listing you choose is correct. Saying that you did not create the listing is not an excuse.
That is a recipe for disaster and deactivation. Even if the item looks identical and you are certain they are, if the detail page and ASIN has a brand associated with it that is not your brand, you cannot list under that ASIN. It may have been a generic item when it was manufactured but the other seller put their brand on it so it is no longer generic.
Look for other ASINs that may already exist that are identical to your product. The best way to search is by using the UPC that is on the item you wish to sell. Instead of searching by title or name of the product, use the UPC when adding a product. This will return more accurate results BUT you still need to review the information to confirm it is an identical match. The UPC may be the same but there may have been packaging refreshes or updates that could lead to buyer confusion or mistaken assumptions.
Something that sellers often forget is that you are knowledgeable about the product you sell. You know the slight differences in packaging or product variances and understand that they may not have an impact on the overall performance of the item. Buyers may not have this level of expertise and if they are buying the item as a gift, they may know nothing more than the name of the item and rely solely on the title.
Do not fill in gaps or connect dots in your head that a buyer may not do on their own. The listing should exactly reflect the item that you are shipping in every aspect and detail, period. This is not something that Amazon will debate or compromise on.
Amazon buyers are scrutinizing their purchases more closely than ever and by listing your items correctly, you can do something to protect your account. Take steps now to prevent actions later.
If you have questions about your Account Health contact Riverbend Consulting or give us a call, 877-289-1017. Our team will be happy to help!
Jay is a strong advocate for the sellers and goes above and beyond to use his skills to help in every way he can. Jay has experience in Amazon Seller Support/FBA as well as the Amazon Account Health Team. There he worked with sellers to assist them in understanding the metrics and policies related to their Account Health as well as assisting them with reinstatement. Jay enjoys spending time with his wife and has been known to tell Dad jokes on occasion.
Congratulations! You have decided to take the plunge and become an Amazon seller. Now you start the verification process!
Whether you’re a small business trying to get more traffic, or you want to utilize Amazon as a way of making some extra income. Whatever the case may be, Amazon is a lucrative platform for any seller.
When starting the verification process, many sellers get trapped in a seemingly endless loop with Amazon that doesn’t give you all the information you need to get started on their platform.
Amazon will tell you to provide a utility bill; typically, they want piped gas, electric, or water/sewer. They will also accept internet bills, and very rarely will they accept a cell phone bill – it has happened, but it’s not often. They will also ask for your business license if applicable. That’s it and is a seemingly straightforward request that should not be difficult to verify.
Welcome to the absurd, convoluted side of Amazon. It would appear a utility bill and, if you have a business license, would be the only things necessary to verify your account, but here are a few things they have left out:
LLC, Articles of incorporation, EIN, etc.
Is your account information based on your business, or do you have individuals listed in the Account Info as well? Add those individuals’ IDs to prevent hiccups. Do you not have a utility bill for the business? Ensure the person the utility bill’s name is under is also listed in the account info on Seller Central.
Everything needs to correlate to you or your business. So why doesn’t Amazon tell sellers this information?
From my experience at Amazon and as an Account Manager at Riverbend, Amazon loves the idea of less is more, especially when “helping” sellers. When it comes to seller accounts, they put all accountability on the seller, and the expectation is you already know what you should provide. They have policies and forums that you can ask and verify this info.
While I strongly encourage all of you to keep Amazon policies bookmarked to your browser and doubly encourage all of you to read through them, this can be one less headache for new sellers.
Happy Selling! I wish you all the success in your new venture. If you have you questions about being an Amazon seller contact our team at Riverbend, we are happy to help! 877-289-1017
Sam applies her impressive tenacity to get Amazon seller accounts and ASINs reinstated. She enjoys research and looking beyond the surface layer to help sellers solve their issues. While working at Amazon, Sam was involved with the AWS and SES teams looking for fraudulent account activity and unauthorized account take over. Sam is an avid reader, urban explorer and friend to all dogs.
Amazon is making some improvements! Specifically to Seller Central to help sellers stay on top of their online enterprise. The Account Health Dashboard’s Policy Compliance Scorecard is for sellers to monitor their violations and appeal ASIN suspensions.
The Account Health Rating feature rates your seller Account Health metrics in three colors. Green for “good.” Orange for “at risk.” Red for “critical.” It is meant to give sellers a visual of their policy violations and encourage them to take action if too many pile up.
While it is helpful at times, it also leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
The violations reflect your policy violations over the last 180 days, or six months, at which point they will disappear.
This is a complicated answer but usually, no.
The exceptions are if Amazon has stated in the performance notification that the violation will be removed with a successful POA. Or if Amazon has made a mistake.
If a buyer returns an item and leaves a comment stating, “I’m used to wearing a heavy jacket and this one was too light” but Amazon interpreted the word “used” as a condition complaint. They will likely remove the violation with a successful appeal.
Also, if a rights owner retracts their intellectual property violation complaint, the violation will likely be removed from your Policy Compliance Scorecard.
Generally speaking, you want to remain in the green.
There isn’t a hard and fast answer about a specific number of violations that will cause your account to be suspended.
If you continue to accumulate similar violations over six months, neglect to appeal them, and aren’t actively improving the root cause of the complaints, there is cause for concern.
Be proactive, not reactive!
It’s possible.
Amazon doesn’t want to suspend sellers who are prioritizing their account and Amazon’s policies. Don’t wait for your account to be at risk before you implement some proactive measures to maintain the viability of your account.
If you have questions about your Account Health contact Riverbend Consulting or give us a call, 877-289-1017. Our team will be happy to help!
Kayleigh relentlessly fights for clients with suspended Amazon accounts. With a degree is in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Kayleigh is inquisitive, process-oriented and pays close attention to detail. When she isn’t being a superhero to Amazon sellers, she enjoys crafting, reading, baking, taking voice lessons or participating in races and obstacle courses.
Amazon has recently relaxed their policies on sellers having multiple selling accounts. Meaning it isn’t required for sellers to obtain authorization from Amazon to open a 2nd or 3rd account.
However, it would be wise to use caution when opening another seller account.
Many sellers have seen this change in policy to test the waters of their Amazon accounts by creating a 2nd or 3rd account they don’t intend to utilize by selling inventory.
They view it as a throwaway account.
There are many possibilities of what could go wrong with your throwaway account that can cause a domino effect on your other accounts.
Remember, Amazon technology is smart.
Even thinking, “How will they know I did XYZ?” they do. They have brilliant algorithms that are continually running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
When you are creating a second account keep these things in mind-
Suppose you create this throwaway account to see what happens when you fudge pricing or add inventory you don’t have, whatever it may be, you can still be deactivated for policy violations.
If one account goes down, all accounts will go down for being related to it.
The same goes for multiple accounts that are not throwaways.
You’ll also want to verify the email address and password you use to sign up for this 2nd account is something you can remember.
If your main account gets deactivated for being related to the 2nd account, you’ll need to be able to access the account to resolve the issue that caused the suspension.
You can’t do that if you can’t access it. Amazon, for privacy reasons, won’t provide that information. Not being able to access your extra account can be detrimental to your main seller account, especially if the Amazon platform is your livelihood.
Utilize seller forums, Seller University, bookmark Amazon policies, and read through them, and of course, contact your friendly Riverbend Consultant team if you have questions or concerns about how specific functions work within Seller Central. We’re here to help! 877-289-1017
Sam applies her impressive tenacity to get Amazon seller accounts and ASINs reinstated. She enjoys research and looking beyond the surface layer to help sellers solve their issues. While working at Amazon, Sam was involved with the AWS and SES teams looking for fraudulent account activity and unauthorized account take over. Sam is an avid reader, urban explorer and friend to all dogs.
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