Selling on Amazon Your Listings Have Been Removed for Review

This article was written by Eric Barrett, a fantastic client who we've been working closely with to organize all of his suppliers and productions neatly in preparation for the sale of his electric current Amazon business. This is his horror story of having his Amazon account suspended. After the successful determination of getting one of his listings reinstated, I welcomed Eric to share his story of the procedure on our weblog. Enjoy.

My Account was Suspended!

Amazon Account Suspended! My Amazon FBA Listing Pause & Reinstatement Story.
I call back information technology vividly: I flipped open my MacBook Pro, pulled upwards my e-mail window and saw an e-mail from Amazon'southward Seller Performance Policy department with the discipline, "NOTICE: Policy Alarm". Fifty-fifty though I didn't know what it was about, my heart skipped a beat and I tentatively clicked on the message. Here is what it read:

Hello,

Nosotros take removed your listing considering of a buyer complaint about the condition of an item they received from y'all. Your listing will remain inactive until we can work with you to resolve the business organisation.

Complaint Type: Inauthentic Items

ASIN: XXXXXXXXXXXX

To maintain a trusted market for buyers and sellers, nosotros take immediate action when we identify a buyer complaint regarding the condition and authenticity of products.

What you tin can do

If you believe this was in fault and would like your list reinstated, email[email protected]

and permit us know. When y'all respond, include the following:

For Authenticity complaints:

1. Copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the concluding 180 days. These should reflect your sales volume during that time.
2. Your supplier'southward contact data including name, phone number, email address, business organisation address, and website.
3. Whatever additional details yous feel would be helpful.

Yous tin can remove pricing information, but make sure the remainder of the document is visible. You lot can send us a pdf, jpg, png, or gif file.

Please be assured that your distributor'south or supplier'southward contact data volition remain confidential – Amazon puts nifty effort in maintaining the confidentiality of our client's information.

For all other complaints:

A plan of action that contains the following:

1. What is the consequence that caused the complaint.
2. Steps you have taken to resolve the consequence and ensure similar complaints won't happen again in the future.
3. Any additional details yous feel would be helpful.

What happens next:

We'll review the data you send and become dorsum to you with an answer every bit presently equally possible. When nosotros respond, we may ask yous for additional details or to revise your plan of activity. If nosotros tin can confirm the data y'all provide and your program of action sufficiently addresses the complaint, we will reinstate your listing on your behalf immediately.

Please think that boosted complaints almost your listings may result in the removal of your Amazon selling privileges.

Learn more

Sellers should understand our policies regarding product status. To larn more, search "Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions", "Product Item Folio Rules", and "Condition Guidelines" in Seller Central Aid.

Yet take questions? You can ask our Seller Support squad: Contact u.s. (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/hz/contact-us/performance).

We appreciate your cooperation and thanks for selling on Amazon.

Sincerely,

Seller Performance Team

Amazon.com

Confusion City. Population: Me

Needless to say, my pulse quickened, as I've never had my Amazon account suspended! I opened my browser to confirm that my listing was really removed. When I logged into my seller fundamental account I saw this icon adjacent to my listing:

Later on confirming that my list was indeed blocked, I re-read the email no less than 10 times because I was thoroughly dislocated. The ASIN that was removed was a private label product that I had been selling for over a twelvemonth. Information technology had about 400 reviews—all 5 star reviews.How in the earth could I be selling "inauthentic" items when my private characterization product and registered US Trademarked logo Ascertain authentic? It merely didn't brand sense to me. Since I was the sole possessor, manufacturer and seller of this detail, how in the heck could it ever be considered inauthentic?

Afterward those exact thoughts ran through my head, I fired off a reply to the Amazon e-mail account that contained the required invoices, the contact info for my suppliers and my thoughts on this whole state of affairs and how it was absolutely incommunicable for me to sell inauthentic items since as the owner of the production, I alone dictate what is authentic!

I was pretty confident any logical person would sympathise my thought procedure and accept the items I provided for proof of authenticity. Boy, was I wrong!

I received this reply from Amazon not 25 minutes later I sent my email:

Thanks for responding to our request for information. However, we yet need more information regarding:

ASIN: XXXXXXXXXXX

Championship: Production NAME

What you lot can do

Email [email protected] and include the following:

Copies of receipts or invoices which:

a) Clearly identify the specific detail(southward) under review

b) Demonstrate purchase and listing quantities

c)Invoices should exist authentic and unaltered

d)The receipts or invoices should brandish required data, including supplier and buyer information, invoice appointment, and item(southward) descriptions and quantities

due east) The invoices were issued in the last 180 days.

Please notation, we DO NOT accept Commercial Invoice/PROFORMA INVOICE/Order Confirmation/Purchasing List/Contract Certificate/Delivery Study as proof of authentication.

Catch-22

At present I was worried. Specifically, about item C regarding unaltered and authentic invoices as they relate to the terminal sentence of the email. ALL of my invoices from my suppliers that were sent electronically had the word PROFORMA INVOICE on them. As well, some of the invoices were missing my full address and one was missing a date.

I was between the proverbial stone and a hard identify. One of the invoices I had was a PDF and then I couldn't adjust it, and fifty-fifty the iv invoices that were in Excel format which I could adjust, would go direct against their education of providing unaltered and accurate invoices. I really just wanted to open up the invoices in excel, delete the PROFORMA word, and add the date and accost on the invoices that were missing this data. This would run into their requirements, merely in doing so it would likewise violate their rules since I would accept to alter the invoices to attain these results.

I still couldn't believe that I had my Amazon account suspended!

What would you do?

What did I exercise?

Well, I played past the letter of their constabulary: I sent the invoices "as is" and explained that I could only transport them what I had, since every unmarried invoice I've ever received from whatsoever supplier had the word "Proforma" preceding the word "Invoice", and then that's what I sent. I didn't want to risk altering the invoice because I did a quick google search of digital document actuality which revealed plethora of information regarding forensic programs that Amazon could apply to detect out non only the time of modification of any digital file, merely the PC used to modify it, the GPS coordinates of the PC used, the writer, the time zone, the region, which programme was used, etc.

In short, information technology would be nearly incommunicable to alter a digital invoice to run into their requirements and recall it would go unnoticed past Amazon; a company of limitless resource that is near guaranteed to have some form of digital forensics application at their disposal.

After authoring an eloquent email explaining my predicament, and suggesting that if they have questions on the invoices, my suppliers would be more than happy to talk to them and verify ANY information they needed, in real time via skype, phone, or electronic mail. I again provided them with the contact info for each supplier and explained these suppliers were standing by to not only answer any of their inquiries but also to vouch for the actuality of me and my production. (I really did ask my suppliers if they would be willing to take a call from Amazon to answer questions and they all agreed!)

After proof reading my electronic mail, adding a few more instances of "please"' and explaining that I was really trying my very best to provide them with what they needed without violating any rules, I hitting the Send button and waited.

While I waited, I googled Amazon listing removal and other similar keywords. At this point I was hoping for the best, only preparing for the worst. Non even x minutes after I received this reply from Amazon and my nightmare officially began:

Hello,

Thanks for responding to our request for data. Subsequently reviewing the information that yous have provided, we have adamant that yous may not offer these items on our site. Nosotros have removed your listings for these items.

ASIN: XXXXXXXXXXX

What you can do

Refrain from re-listing these products in one case you have been notified of a restriction.

What happens side by side

Please remember that additional restrictions or complaints about your listings may result in the removal of your Amazon selling privileges.

We appreciate your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Seller Performance Team

Amazon.com

The Death of a Production

After reading this aloud multiple times to ensure I was actually reading it correctly, and in utter disbelief, I confirmed that this very brusk and terse email merely effectively ended one of my very profitable SKUs. My Amazon account was truly suspended.

I was flabbergasted. Completely floored. It may accept hitting me so incredibly hard considering that very day my largest shipment of this particular product to date had just hit Amazon'south warehouse. 3,000 new units had just arrived from my supplier in China. Over $60,000 of potential revenue down the drain in 1 savage swoop. I don't call back ever feeling that distraught and helpless in my entire business career, which is well over 25 years. I had many other SKUs that were selling very well, but I had just put a lot of piece of work into this one past designing new, expensive-looking packaging, a redesigned feature that I paid a lot of money for from an industrial designer, and a new solo ad entrada that I had only signed a multi-month agreement for.

I was now visibly shaking and feeling nauseous. I fired off another email to Amazon essentially begging them to take a step back, and recognize the catch-22 I was in with regard to the issue of invoice authenticity. I had the invoices they required, but according to their rules I couldn't change annihilation to ensure these invoices complied with their requirements. Here is the email that was sent back to me:

Hello,

Based on the information you provided, you may non sell these items on Amazon.com. We removed your listings for these items:

ASIN: XXXXXXXXXX

Please do not relist these items. If nosotros receive more complaints about your listings, nosotros may not let y'all to sell on Amazon.com.

We may not respond to further emails about this result.

Sincerely,

Seller Performance Team

Amazon.com

The judgement that read, "We may not answer to further emails about this issue" was a non-so-subtle directive for me to terminate bothering them with the same information in one case they'd already passed judgment.

In desperation, I opened the invoices in Excel, made the required changes and fastened them to a new electronic mail stating that I take included the invoices with the required parameters. I also showed how each invoice, and the quantity shipped, correlated to the number of sales that were made in that 180 day time menstruum, as requested. Again, Amazon replied quickly with the exact same email as the previous i. It seems they had made up their heed and the determination was final.

Also, practise a quick search for the supplier name on Google and make sure it doesn't come up on any of the diverse scam/fraud websites, forums, or lists. While one aroused customer can result in a "scam post" or complaint, it's the trend that you want to wait for. Do they accept multiple complaints? If so, keep looking.

Customer Service Extraordinaire

At this point, I was adamant to bear witness my innocence. I went back and look at everything that may have caused this disaster and traced it back to iii customers who received my product without the logo printed on it. It seems that the cut-rate inspection company I used in China had missed a few units that had either no logo, or a faded logo. I should take known better, every bit I usually have Guided Imports practise all my sourcing, negotiating, inspection, prep and shipping and have never had a single result in 3 years, Well, since I decided to handle the re-society of this product on my own, because information technology was but that; a RE-gild of an existing product, I got burned. This logo fiasco was enough for the customers to give seller feedback saying they had received a "generic looking" product. It turns out those words are an absolute killer. Specifically, the word, "Generic" is something that sets off the alarm at Amazon Seller Performance Section. And very loudly!

I contacted each of these customers and offered to transport them a new product at no accuse to make things right. I also implied information technology would be a nifty help to me if when they received the new production, and were satisfied, that I would exist eternally grateful if they removed the negative feedback.

This worked for 2 of the 3 customers!

My email was very apologetic and stressed that we take great pride in customer service and that fifty-fifty the exclusion of our logo on a product is an egregious fault and we will make it correct at whatsoever price. I offered my directly phone number to each of them and implored them to call me if the offer of a free replacement was not satisfactory.

1 customer did call me and was then over the superlative angry that his unit had no logo, he said a new unit wouldn't sway him to delete his negative feedback. And then I offered to refund his money AND send him a new unit at no charge. That changed his melody. In fact, he gushed about what fantastic customer service this was. Fun side note: I swear I sensed a bit of multiple personality disorder in this particular customer, every bit the mood swing was extreme on both ends of the spectrum…all in the span of 2 minutes. Merely hey, as long every bit he concluded upwards in the extreme mania/joyful phase of that pendulum swing, I was satisfied!

Time to Phone call in the Big Guns

After those 2 customers removed their feedback, I decided to hire a professional person to help me go my list reinstated. I did some more than google searches and came upwardly with ii-3 services that specialize in this verbal situation. 1 of them was Cynthia Stine, the proven guru of all things Amazon reinstatement. However, after a cursory glance at the fee structure on her site, I heedlessly thought I'd try someone less expensive. This would prove to be one of the worst decisions I've e'er fabricated. Not just did I completely misunderstand the fee's, but it turns out that it would accept been the Same cost as the amateurs I hired initially.

Honestly, looking dorsum now, I take no idea why I didn't utilize Cynthia initially, even if she was 2x every bit expensive (which was NOT the instance) as I knew how of import my Amazon concern was and that I likely would only take one additional shot at reinstatement. Especially later on Amazon stated they may non reply to further emails from me on the bailiwick. Only, for some unknown reason, my misguided propensity for thrift outweighed my desire to hire the all-time to reach this important task and I wound up wasting money on a second-rate service. And the kicker? In my quest to save money, I concluded up paying more than than I would have if I went with Cynthia first!

The starting time company I hired required a payment of $500 before they would help me. Because everything that my listing meant to me, information technology was a reasonable toll. After receiving their suggestions and requirements I was fairly confident I'd made a skillful choice. That feeling faded fast. When they helped writer the email and attach the necessary files, they forgot to adhere the invoices. When I brought this upwards and expressed business organization that the invoices still had the errors on them (Proforma, lack of full accost, missing date) they said it should be ok and I could ask my supplier for new ones but information technology shouldn't matter.

It did matter.

Amazon sent the exact aforementioned email every bit the final 2 they had sent. I was not happy.

I apace told them I was done with them and that I was very disappointed in the way they handled my state of affairs. They did not respond. I then did a few things I should have done earlier: I hired Cynthia Stine, and I registered my brand in the Amazon Brand Registry.

I knew that I was probably a LONG shot to exist reinstated at this bespeak. Later on receiving the verbal aforementioned denial reply from Amazon 3 times in a row, I didn't take high hopes at this point. However, afterward signing upwards for her service and receiving a thorough reply dorsum, my confidence was bolstered. Cynthia and her team are very particular oriented and after sending them all of my current correspondence upwards to that point, they also did a consummate audit of my seller central customer feedback and responses as well as all of the previous submittals and denials.

I was then contacted by one of her staff and he gave me a list of instructions that were exactly what I idea I would need to have a genuine chance at reinstatement. I ended up contacting my suppliers and having them re effect all of my invoices in the right format. Once this was done, Cynthia's team crafted a very detailed and professional email with a well thought out plan of activeness that they covered with me prior to writing the email.

When everything was done and ready to get, they sent a final email with instructions on how to link the required files every bit well every bit guidance on what the email should say and how information technology should be formatted to be most constructive.

REDEMPTION!

Subsequently sending off the email, the waiting game began. 48 hours later on, I received the post-obit email from Amazon:

Hello,

After reviewing the information that you provided, nosotros have determined that you may go along to offer these items on Amazon.com:

ASIN: XXXXXXXXXXX

Championship: PRODUCT Proper noun

If nosotros receive more complaints about your listings, we may not allow you lot to sell on Amazon.

Manufacturers can enroll their brand in the Amazon Brand Registry and register themselves as the brand owner. The goal of Amazon Brand Registry is to make it easier for sellers to manage their brands and list their products on Amazon.

To learn virtually enrolling your brand, search for "Amazon Brand Registry" In Seller Central Help.

Sincerely,

Seller Operation Squad

Amazon.com

Initially, I thought it was another deprival because it looks almost exactly like the last 4 emails I'd received from Amazon, with i of import difference: the word Not was not in the showtime sentence of this email!

I recollect I read that email five-10 times simply to make certain I wasn't imagining it. I was ecstatic! I immediately emailed Cynthia'due south team and thanked them for their assistance. If you can't tell, I'm VERY loftier on her service and her team. I signed up to exist an chapter for her services later I was reinstated on Amazon considering I am and then eager to help spread the word to others who may be in a similar situation and are having the aforementioned feelings of helplessness and anxiety that I was feeling.

Too, another thing I did afterwards this happened, was I reached out to Sam at Guided Imports. Since they continuously piece of work on all of my products I bring over from Prc, I idea I'd requite him a heads upward so he could implement some safeguards that would prevent this from happening to any of his customers. He was very appreciative, simply as I was appreciative that he didn't say, "I told you lot so", considering he did in fact recommend that I allow him handle the reorders due to the fact that he has seen similar situations happen in the past with other customers who wanted to handle their re-orders. Nosotros went through all processes and documentation to brand sure the invoices Guided Imports are receiving are entirely in accord with these requirements. And so rest assured, if you want to have a company manage all aspects of your sourcing, manufacturing and logistics, plus make certain something like this never happens to you, talk to Guided Imports and permit them handle the re-orders!

LESSONS LEARNED AND TIPS FOR SUCCESS

I thought I'd wrap this up by providing an piece of cake to reference list of all-time practices you lot can put in place to ensure you never have to deal with having your listing blocked by Amazon. In the interest of appeasing the ever growing "TLDR" gang, (google it) I decided to format this in a bulleted listing.

• Register your brand if you lot are selling private label products. Aside from Amazon specifically telling me to do this in one of their emails, the benefit's to doing this are:
  • Increased authority over listing content for your products: Registering your brand with Amazon gives you increased command over your products' titles, details, images, and other attributes. It also has the potential to reduce matching errors that may occur during list.
  • Amazon-issued product IDs that tin can be used in place of UPCs: Registering your brand allows yous to list your products without standard product identifiers, such as UPCs and EANs. Enrollment assigns a Global Itemize Identifier (GCID) to your products, which you tin can use in place of the standard product ID. (Although we recommend that you continue to include your products' standard IDs if they exist.)
• Stay on top of customer feedback. If you lot run into a tendency, caput it off before it becomes an issue that Amazon is forced to address. You take to have a primal understanding that Amazon's key to their existence is protecting their customer base of operations, NOT, keeping their sellers happy. Thus, sellers can and volition be suspended for actions that may or may not be their fault. The customer drives this ship. Be hyper-enlightened of this and make customer service your focus.
• If your listing is banned or suspended, practise NOT respond to them yourself. Your business is worth the investment to hire a professional. This ordinarily costs around $500 for a single reinstatement letter. A very minor price to pay to go on your listing! And of class, if y'all know by now, hire the best commencement: Cynthia Stine. Don't make the mistake I did by trying to save a buck and hiring someone else. I was extremely lucky that my mistake didn't price me my list.
• Ensure that your suppliers are providing invoices that come across Amazon'southward requirements should they ask yous to provide them. This will proactively ensure yous are well prepared if Amazon requires y'all to provide them. The requirements are:
  • Clearly identify the specific item(south) under review
  • Demonstrate purchase and listing quantities
  • Invoices should be authentic and unaltered
  • The receipts or invoices should display required information, including supplier and buyer data, invoice date, and detail(s) descriptions and quantities
  • The invoices were issued in the last 180 days.
  • Delight note, nosotros DO NOT accept Commercial Invoice/PROFORMA INVOICE/Club Confirmation/Purchasing Listing/Contract Document/Delivery Report equally proof of hallmark.
• If you sell private label products, trademarking your brand is important to retaining control over your business. This is especially helpful if other sellers try to hijack your listing. Also a requirement if you ever plan to sell your Amazon business someday. I used Legal Zoom and was very happy.
• Keep a very shut watch on your Seller Functioning notifications. That's where Amazon directly messages you for product-specific, listing specific, or account specific issues to requite you a heads up on anything that puts your account in danger of suspension.
• When ordering more than one product from a supplier, make certain they put each production on its own invoice. This will save yous a HUGE headache if Amazon requests invoices for one production, but not the other(s).
• Use an inspection company! Do not ship your products from China to Amazon without having them inspected by a 3rd political party. In that location are a few good Chinese inspection companies. Brand sure to audit your products Before they are shipped and earlier you pay the terminal invoice. There should be linguistic communication in your supplier agreement regarding defects, inspection findings, etc.
• Inspect production information to ensure it matches Amazon's policies
• Become familiar with Amazon policies & agreements (yous've agreed to them afterward all)
• Follow Amazon news to make sure Amazon hasn't updated whatever requirements

If you're familiar with all of Amazon's rules, it's easier to avoid breaking them, and you'll have more than wiggle room to negotiate when you're suspended

In the end, it was a learning experience for me. A costly one both mentally and monetarily, but at least I learned a valuable lesson and am now far more careful and diligent in my day to 24-hour interval business activities and client satisfaction focus. I wouldn't wish this situation on anyone, but if you happen to observe yourself in a like predicament, fifty-fifty after following all of the best practices, do yourself and your business a favor and retain the services of a professional who has a >90% success charge per unit—Cynthia Stine. She handles ASIN Reinstatement, Hourly Consults, and Account Suspension. Basically, if Amazon blocked, suspended, or removed your business relationship or listing, she is your best chance of success!

Did you similar this article? Make certain y'all have a look at our FBA Prep in China services folio and 1 of our near popular manufactures: How to Transport from China to Amazon FBA.

beltranthos1950.blogspot.com

Source: https://guidedimports.com/blog/amazon-account-suspended-reinstatement-instructions/

Share this post