Riverbend Consulting

Having problems with Amazon? Let us solve them.

  • Home
  • Suspensions
    • Account Suspension
    • ASIN Suspension
  • Account Services
    • Account Health Check-Up
    • Seller Account Protection
    • Account Management
    • Reimbursements
    • Amazon Editorial Recommendations
  • Our Blog
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Testimonials
    • Referral Program

(877) 289-1017 Contact Us

+44-161-8508-269

MENU

Our Blog

When to know you are being hooked by a phisher and how you can get free.

November 16, 2020 Leave a Comment

Not-so-Fresh Phish: How to Avoid Seller Scams

By: Adam Hoagland

 

In this digital age, account hacking and information phishing are regular concerns and annoyances like robot calls.

But this doesn’t mean they are always obvious to spot.

Here’s some tips on what to look for and what actions to take with Amazon related phishing.

 

The Phishing For Account Info Scams

Phishing is a term used when a scammer sends fake email ID posing as Amazon and tries to acquire the personal details from you.

First, they send an email containing links to the seller and when clicked the links will redirect to a whole new space which will ask for your account credentials and credit card information.

Recently Amazon has introduced a two-step verification code to circumvent the increase of phishing scams.

Phishing ExampleAmazon will never send you an unsolicited message that asks you to provide sensitive personal information like your social security number, tax ID, bank account number, credit card information, ID questions like your mother’s maiden name or your password.

Amazon will never ask you to make a payment outside of the website and will never ask you for remote access to your device.

 

How to Keep Your Account Safe

Keep Your Selling Account Credentials Safe:

It may seem obvious, but NEVER share your bank or seller account information with anyone.

Even if someone allegedly calls you telling that they are an Amazon representative and asks you to log in with the code they provide, NEVER do it.

While Amazon may reach out via phone for some issues, they will never request this kind of information.

Turn On 2-Step Verification:

This is the best way to protect your account and the process is simple too.

A seller can sign into their account only via a two-step verification code which will be a random six-digit number. This code is usually sent from Google Authenticator to your smartphones, Amazon’s registered phone number and Amazon’s registered mail ID.

If you have not enabled it yet, do it now.

Always check the URLs and email IDs:

It is very essential that you understand the difference between a genuine and fake email ID.

Emails you receive from Amazon will always end with @amazon.com. Don’t believe any other email IDs.

Some of the fake email IDs used as follows:

  • amazon-security@hotmail.com
  • sellers-performance@payment-amazon.com
  • amazon-seller-payments@msn.com

Stay Sharp to Save Time and Money:

If you stay proactive and take proper steps to protect your banking information, account details and your products, then you might not even face such situations. But still, if you are targeted, you know what to do (and what not to).

Consider changing the e-mail address associated with your seller account so that phishers can’t use this e-mail address to contact you.

For example, if your seller account uses myinfo@myisp.com, consider using a new or different e-mail, such as changedinfo@myisp.com, for your contact information.

Do not use the same e-mail address as your sign in as you do for your customer contacts.

For example, if you use myname@myisp.com as your sign in account, consider using an e-mail address such as info@myisp.com for your notification or contact e-mail address.

Identifying false (spoofed) e-mails:

You might receive emails from Amazon, such as Sold, Ship Now emails or Technical Notification emails. However, sometimes you might receive emails that are not really from Amazon, even if at first glance they may appear to be. Instead, such emails are falsified and attempt to convince you to reveal sensitive account information.

  • Review the email for grammatical or typographical errors: Watch for poor grammar or typographical errors. Many phishing emails are translated from other languages or are sent without being proof-read.
  • Check the return address: Genuine emails from Amazon always will come from an address ending in “@amazon.com.” Check the email’s header information. If the “received from,” “reply to,” or “return path” for the email does not come from “@amazon.com,” it is not from Amazon. Most email programs let you examine the source of the email. The method you use to check the header information varies depending upon the email program you use.  The following are some examples of fraudulent return addresses:
      • seller-performance@payments-amazon.com
      • amazon-security@hotmail.com
      • amazon-payments@msn.com
  • Check the website address: Some phishers set up spoofed websites that contain the word “amazon” somewhere in the URL. Genuine Amazon websites always end with “.amazon.com”, “amazonsellerservices.com” or “sellercentral.amazon.com.” We will never use a combination such as “security-amazon.com” or “amazon.com.biz.”

Phishing scamsIf you are unsure, go directly to Amazon or the Seller Central website:

Some phishing emails include a link that looks as though it will take you to your Amazon account, but it is really a shortened link to a completely different website. If you hover over the link with your mouse when viewing the message in your email client, you often can see the underlying false website address, either as a pop-up or as information in the browser status bar.

Note: The hover technique can be fooled. If you do click on a link, always look at the URL in your browser when the page opens.

The best way to ensure that you do not respond to a phishing email is to always go directly to your seller account to review or make any changes to the account.

When in doubt, do not click on a link in an email.

Do not unsubscribe:

Never follow instructions contained in a forged email that claim to provide a method for unsubscribing.

Many spammers use these unsubscribe processes to create a list of valid, working email addresses.

Help stop phishers and spoofers:

You can make a difference.

Amazon has filed several lawsuits against phishers and spoofers. These lawsuits began with sellers alerting Amazon to suspicious emails. As part of their ongoing commitment to stop spoofing, you can help them investigate spoofed emails. Send them the original spoofed email, with the complete header information, using their report phishing form.

To locate the header information, configure your email program to show All Headers. (This varies, depending on the email program you use.)

The headers we need are well labeled and will look similar to this example:

  • X-Sender: someone@domain.com
  • X-Sender-IP: [10.1.2.3]
  • X-Date: Tue, 08 Apr 2003 21:02:08 +0000 (UTC)
  • X-Recipient: you@domain.com
  • X-OUID: 1

To report a phishing or spoofed email or webpage:

Open a new email and attach the email you suspect is fake. For suspicious webpages, copy & paste the link into the email body.

If you can’t send the email as an attachment, forward it. Send the email to stop-spoofing@amazon.com

Note: Sending the suspicious email as an attachment is the best way for Amazon to track it.

Note: Amazon can’t respond personally when you report a suspicious correspondence to stop-spoofing@amazon.com, but you may receive an automatic confirmation. If you have security concerns about your account, please contact Amazon.

 

Suspicious Phone Calls or Text Messages

Report any suspicious phone call or text message to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To report a phone call or text message visit ftc.gov/complaint and follow the onscreen assistant.

If you have any questions about these suspicious emails or anything else regarding your Amazon account give Riverbend a call! (877) 289-1017


Adam provides analytical support for both our Riverbend clients and team to best asses and assist with plans of action, reports and overall best practices on Amazon. Adam has three years of Seller Support experience as an associate, lead and trainer. He has specialized in day-to-day operations, catalog inquiries, state and federal tax reviews, feeds, escalations, gating, and assisted with brand registry items. His down time is spent with his two cats and spouse enjoying streaming, gaming, pub crawls and house parties with friends.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon Appeal, Amazon seller, Amazon Seller Central, Appeal, Customer Serivce, General, Linked Account, Seller Central, Seller Fulfilled, Seller Performance, Seller Support Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon account, Amazon seller, Amazon Seller Central, Phishing scams, Scammers, Spoofed websites

Why Amazon “deal sites” put 3P accounts at risk

November 6, 2020 Leave a Comment

Sellers should avoid flipping heavily discounted items

By: Lesley Hensell

Internet deal sites let users buy heavily discounted products on Amazon. That’s why new third-party sellers embrace these sites. It’s cheap inventory to get started. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, this is a very high-risk strategy it’s best to avoid.

Why these deal sites exist

Deal sites and rebate sites are not for the convenience or happiness of the Amazon customer. These sites exist to help private-label sellers launch their products on Amazon. They are also used to increase Best Seller Rank (BSR) or gain product reviews.

There is an unspoken agreement between these sellers and the deal site customers. Most of the customers on deal sites understand that a product review is expected in return for the steep discount. When sales are made and reviews posted, a product’s Best Seller Rank rises. This, in turn, helps the product pop up higher in organic search results.

In most cases, the sellers using these deal sites are offering significant discounts – so much that they are violating Amazon policies against Platform Manipulation. As a result of these discounts, the sellers are losing money on sales made via the discount sites. In return, they hope to drive more buyers to their products.

Deal sitesWhat makes deal-buying dangerous

Third-party sellers purchase these deals and then flip them on their own Amazon accounts. But this is a risky strategy:

  1. Amazon does not always accept invoices from Amazon-to-Amazon flips that involve third-party sellers.
  2. Private-label sellers can easily file intellectual property complaints against other sellers who pop up on their listings – especially if their distribution is Amazon-only.

The private-label sellers are not going to remove their intellectual property complaints, once filed against you. This makes it particularly difficult to get the ASIN or account reinstated – whichever is the case.

What to do instead

There are lots of places to source products. Yes, they are more challenging than deal sites, retail arbitrage and online arbitrage. But they can help you develop a sustainable business:

  • Manufacturers
  • Distributors
  • Wholesalers

If you need assistance working through product lists, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit  Riverbend Consulting. Our team can help you uncover potentially lucrative sourcing relationships!


Lesley HensellLesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (18 and 12) who do most of the heavy lifting.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Arbitrage, ASIN, General, Inventory Sourcing, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Supply Chain, Vendor Tagged With: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Arbitrage, Deactivation, Deal, Discount, Inauthentic, Inventory, Q4

Selling toys and games: play by the rules

October 30, 2020 Leave a Comment

Selling toys and games on Amazon? Be ready.

By: Caitlyn Way

Every year in prep for Q4 and the holiday season, Amazon emails sellers updating them on this year’s requirements. These updated requirements usually sent to those who sell toys and games on their platform throughout the holiday season.
These requirements can vary slightly year by year. They also differ from the normal Q1-3 requirements for Toys and Games.

For MFN Sellers in 2020, the requirements are as follows:

Performance Criteria based on Seller-Fulfilled Orders (not fulfilled by Amazon)

  • Your first sale on Amazon must be prior to September 1, 2020 and does not need to be specific to Toys & Games.
  • You must have processed and shipped at least 25 seller-fulfilled orders from August 15, 2020 through October 14, 2020.
  • Pre-fulfillment cancel rates must be no greater than 1.75% from September 15, 2020 through October 14, 2020.
  • Late shipment rates must be no greater than 4% from September 15, 2020 through October 14, 2020.
  • Order defect rate must be no greater than 1% as of October 14, 2020.Amazon games and toys

If your Amazon account doesn’t meet these requirements:

Amazon encourages you to take corrective action now to be able to sell through seller fulfillment in Toys & Games during the holiday season.

We have included the following suggestions to remain eligible or improve your performance.

  • Monitor your customer metrics and take corrective action when necessary.
  • Check your orders frequently in the Manage Orders section of your account.
  • Minimize order cancellations; only show inventory for sale that you have available to ship.
  • Update your account status when you are not available to fulfill orders (for example, on vacation).
  • Ship orders and confirm shipment in a timely manner.
  • Ensure your seller policies are up-to-date.
You can also review the below Seller Central Help Pages for more information:
Holiday Selling Requirements in Toys & Games
Monitor your account health
If you have any questions on these standards for the holiday season be sure to contact Riverbend Consulting. 877-289-1017

Caitlyn WayCait provides support to our clients and our operations team. She creates meaningful monthly reports that help us identify trends in client accounts. In addition, she helps manage workflow and ensure everything runs smoothly. Cait spent two years in Amazon Seller Support, where she specialized in feeds, variations, escalations, product compliance and gating. In her off time enjoys baking and exploring with her two daughters.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, General, Seller Central, Seller Performance, Supply Chain, Toys and Games Tagged With: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon seller, Inventory, Q4, Toys and Games

Are you taking responsibility for something you didn’t do?

October 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

Amazon said you need to admit fault. But do you really?

By: Jay Morane

“I didn’t do anything, why should I admit that I did?”

In the time I worked with Amazon and while at Riverbend, this is one of the most common statements that I’ve heard from Sellers. It revolves around the mistaken assumption that you have to admit fault when submitting your appeal or Plan of Action. That is not necessarily true.

Don’t take it personally.

Do not take anything that happens with your seller account personally. Everything Amazon does is a business decision. Nobody at Amazon woke up one day and thought “Hmm, let’s get (insert your name here) and ruin their life.” There are millions of sellers on Amazon so most of the actions taken are based on algorithms and automated reviews, there is nothing personal about it.

If you did it, admit it.

If you did what Amazon says, then you need to admit fault. You may not have done it intentionally, but you still did it. Compare this situation to when you get pulled over by the police. They come up to your window and ask you “Do you know why I pulled you over?” They know why they pulled you over, but they want you to admit fault for the situation. You may not have been speeding intentionally, but you still did it. If Amazon takes an action on your account, they know why and they are looking to see what you are going to say. If you are at fault, explain why it happened and how you will prevent it from happening again. There is a difference between guilt and guilt with intent. Amazon guilt

Guilt versus responsibility

If you are not at fault, then you do not have to say you are, but you do have to accept responsibility for what happened. After all, it is your account and Amazon feels you should be responsible for what happens with it.

Sometimes it is the little things that are overlooked then the buyer breaks out their microscope and brings it to Amazon’s attention. Buyers have more free time than ever which means they are scrutinizing the items they receive more closely. They are finding the little scratch that was on their new item.

Was there something you could have done to prevent this? Updating the detail page, a better inspection process for condition, or checking for a Rights Owner.

It is tough to accept responsibility for something that may be out of your control. FBA returns going back into sellable, buyer mistakenly thinking something is inauthentic when it isn’t. These situations are harder to appeal because you, as a seller, may not have done anything wrong but because of a bad buyer experience, your ASIN or account is deactivated.

How can you get that account reinstated?

This is where may sellers try to argue principles with Amazon rather than taking responsibility for their account. Don’t. You may be right but the person who reviews your appeal is not the one who is going to say that Amazon was wrong and reinstate your account nor can they change Amazon policy. If you feel that strongly about something, write to Jeff Bezos at his email address. There is a team that actually reads those emails and acts on them. Sellers are deactivated wrongly, it happens more than it should, but arguing that point with Amazon is not going to get your ASIN or Account reinstated.

If you need any assistance with account reinstatement, or anything else give Riverbend a call (877) 289-1017. We are happy to help!


Jay MoraneJay 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.

Filed Under: Account Appeal, Account Health, Amazon, Amazon Appeal, Amazon seller, Amazon Seller Central, ASIN, Customer Serivce, FBA, General, Seller Central, Seller Performance Tagged With: Account Health, Account Reinstatement, Amazon, Amazon guilt, Amazon seller, ASIN, FBA, Suspension

The big question: Amazon gift cards

October 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

Discounted gift cards – even legitimate ones – are risky business

By: Lesley Hensell

Discounted gift cards. What’s not to like?

Everything. Because if you’re relying on discounted gift cards to buy your Amazon inventory you can find yourself in a risky situation. In this article we will discuss what is making discounted gift cards such a risky way to buy your inventory.

What makes gift cards risky

Discounted gift cards can come with lots of risks:

  1. Gift cards could be used for money laundering. Which makes them unappealing to Amazon.
  2. Sites can offer cards from members of the public. However, there is no way to ensure the validity of these cards, nor their provenance.
  3. Products that are bought with gift cards rather than a bank card or credit card, the seller cannot give proof of purchase.

Amazon gift cards

Operate like a legitimate business

If you’re addicted to this habit, stop for a moment and think about how large businesses operate.

They pay invoices using debit or credit cards, checks and wire transfers. They do not get inventory using discounted gift cards bought from strangers online.

Amazon doesn’t exist to allow wheeler-dealers to flip stuff. They want third-party sellers to operate like legitimate businesses. With excellent record-keeping, reasonable standards for invoices, payments, and bank accounts.

However it is equally dangerous for third-party sellers to purchase them with a buyer account that is potentially linked to their seller account.

Amazon’s risk management operations see this as a risky behavior that can be related to fraud or, worse, money laundering.

A better way to play with margins

So, instead of risking a seller account for a 2% or 3% discount, look for other ways to game the system and enjoy your selling account. Perhaps the best of these options is to purchase inventory with a debit card or credit card that offers rewards. Some business accounts provide 1% or more cash back. Others offer points for travel rewards, merchandise and more.

In conclusion

Purchasing discounted gift card may sound like a great way to save money. But they really can damage your credibility with Amazon!

Keep you account healthy. Need help? Ask Riverbend Consulting. or give us a call! 877-289-1017


Lesley Hensell

Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (18 and 12) who do most of the heavy lifting.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Amazon Appeal, Amazon seller, Amazon Seller Central, Appeal, Customer Serivce, General, Linked Account, Seller Central, Seller Fulfilled, Seller Performance, Seller Support Tagged With: Account Suspension, Amazon, Amazon account, Amazon appeal, Amazon seller, Amazon Seller Central, Gift cards, Risk Management

  • «
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 21
  • »

Search

Categories

  • 3P
  • Account Appeal
  • Account Health
  • Amazon
  • Amazon Appeal
  • Amazon seller
  • Amazon Seller Central
  • Appeal
  • Arbitrage
  • ASIN
  • Attorney
  • Blackmail
  • BSR
  • Bundles
  • Business Solutions Agreement
  • Captive Team
  • Customer Serivce
  • Dropshipping
  • Editorial Recommendation
  • FBA
  • Fulfillment
  • Funds
  • Gating
  • General
  • Global
  • Inauthentic
  • Intellectual Property
  • Inventory Sourcing
  • IP
  • Lawyer
  • Linked Account
  • Liquidation
  • POA
  • Price Gouging
  • Private Label
  • Quality Control
  • Ranking
  • Related Account
  • Restricted Product
  • Returned
  • Reviews
  • Seller Central
  • Seller Fulfilled
  • Seller Performance
  • Seller Support
  • SFP
  • Supply Chain
  • Suspended
  • Toys and Games
  • Trademark
  • USA
  • VA
  • Variations
  • Vendor
  • Verification
  • VIP
  • Virtual Assistant
  • Warehouse
  • Warehouse Deals

Archives

  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017

Categories We Serve

Automotive Parts & Accessories

Appliances

Baby

Beauty & Personal Care

Books

Cell Phones & Accessories

Clothing, Shoes & Jewelry

Computer

Electronics

Garden & Outdoor

Health, Household & Baby Care

Home & Kitchen

Luggage and Travel Gear

Luxury Beauty

Office Products

Pet Supplies

Sports and Outdoors

Tools & Home Improvement

Toys & Games

Video Games

(877) 289-1017

+44-161-8508-269

New Jersey • Texas

© Riverbend Consulting 2021 | Privacy Policy | Site Map |

Digital Marketing by Paid Search Consulting

  • Home
  • Suspensions
    • Account Suspension
    • ASIN Suspension
    • Back
  • Account Services
    • Account Health Check-Up
    • Seller Account Protection
    • Account Management
    • Reimbursements
    • Amazon Editorial Recommendations
    • Back
  • Our Blog
  • About
    • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Testimonials
    • Referral Program
    • Back