In the face of a deliberate or unintentional violation of Amazon policy, some have Amazon Seller Account Suspended.
This is a big problem because reactivating your Amazon account can be difficult in some cases, especially if you don’t know the reason for the suspension. So, to learn more about how to reactivate your account, don’t miss this post!
Here, you will learn more about the reasons that led to the suspension and blocking of your account. If you sell products on Amazon, you will need to read and understand the portal’s terms and conditions of use so that you understand what actions you can and cannot take. We will explain how to unblock your Amazon account so you can continue making profits.
Terms and Conditions on Amazon
1. Promotional messages
The seller is responsible for customizing all promotional messages, and default text must be used on the product detail page for eligible items while the promotion is active.
2. Commissions for Orders with Promotions
Once a promotion is created, a commission is charged on the total sale price. This fee includes the price of the product and any shipping, gift wrapping, or other charges. And depending on the category, the seller has a minimum commission that can apply to all products in the customer’s order.
3. Promotional Offer Restrictions
Amazon restricts promotional offers to the following products:
- Books, Music, Video and DVD (Media);
- Products related to breastfeeding.
The seller also needs to choose the type of promotion they will carry out, explaining the conditions of the promotion.
4. Setting Prices on Products
Another action to be taken by the seller is to set the prices of their products correctly.
5. Correct Product Description
The seller must include the correct description of their products and promotions, thus avoiding future problems. This means, for example, defining a promotion period for a certain product. Another example is creating a promotional code or a message for your promotion (optional).
6. Precautions When Modifying a Promotion
The seller must be very careful when changing the promotion, it is not possible to modify information such as:
- Type of promotion;
- Conditions for qualification;
- Customer benefit;
- Start date, after the promotion begins;
- Product selection list name;
- Mandatory promotional code configuration;
- Change notes.
7. Coupon Qualification Criteria
To qualify for coupons, a seller must have a rating of at least 3.5. Sellers who have not received customer review ratings will also be eligible.
Therefore, products must meet criteria such as:
- Products with no reviews are qualified without any average rating taken into account;
- Products with reviews must meet the average criteria;
- Products with 1-4 reviews must have at least 2.5 stars on Amazon ;
- Products with five or more reviews must have at least three stars on Amazon.
And then there’s the issue of products that don’t qualify for coupons, like:
- Products in used, collector’s or refurbished condition;
- Adult products;
- Sexual well-being;
- Powdered milk (Baby);
- Potentially offensive, embarrassing, or inappropriate content on the product detail page.
In other words, any seller who violates these rules may have their account suspended
Common Causes of Amazon Account Suspension
Any seller who does not comply with the guidelines established in the platform’s terms and policies may have their account suspended.
Amazon account suspension will occur when the seller violates Amazon’s terms and conditions in addition to selling products such as:
- Advertisements that violate intellectual property, such as copyright, trademarks, industrial designs, among others;
- The sale of products with infringing potential, that is, products that are replicas or counterfeits;
- Sale of illegal products, such as firearms or low-caliber weapons (even non-lethal ones), ammunition and explosive materials,
- Weapons and ammunition (bullets) for airsoft practice without additional documentation;
- Electroshock weapons with an electric pulse, including training collars;
- Tools or services that allow you to modify weapons;
- Grenades, explosives, missiles, detonators, lighting rockets, fireworks, among other products of the same type;
- Products that do not describe the contents of the packaging;
- Personal and legal documents such as: property or vehicle ownership titles and employment certificates, among others;
- Consultation services, document management, such as titles or certificates of authenticity for any product;
- Uniforms, medals, and credentials of any public force;
- Fauna, flora, and derivative products;
- Digital or physical tickets;
- Pesticides and toxic and flammable items;
- Lottery and Gambling;
- Hallucinogenic or prohibited substances, narcotics;
- Human organs, bones, and limbs;
- Objects of historical and cultural heritage;
- Charitable products, among others.
There is a list of products that cannot be sold under penalty of suspension or blocking of the seller’s account.
Furthermore, as provided for by law, in order to sell some products permitted for sale on Amazon, it is sufficient that they are registered, approved by national regulatory agencies, and considered legal products, such as the need for the ANVISA “seal” in conjunction with the Health Surveillance Agency.
Amazon may change its Prohibited and Restricted Products Policies at any time, and such changes will be made with 30 days notice posted on the Platform.
The platform is not responsible for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from products outside the market or items listed in the Policy. Therefore, if the seller violates the policies, he/she may be reported and, as a result, have his/her account suspended.
If the platform policies are violated, the seller will receive an email with a system message. Therefore, the seller needs to check whether their cell phone or email notifications are active to ensure communication with the MarketPlace.
Why is my Amazon account suspended?
We have seen that Amazon has a list of prohibited actions that sellers cannot commit on their accounts, and if they commit such actions, they may be suspended or banned.
To prevent fraud, the marketplace has rules defining such actions as inappropriate and prohibited; therefore, the algorithms penalize the seller who violates these actions.
These algorithms allow visibility for sellers as a whole. The system makes a calculation that brings the first product results.
This tool aims to better meet the user’s needs, and to do so, Amazon analyzes the top positions using some ranking criteria.
The seller can look for actions that improve their page, such as correctly classifying products to give the customer more confidence in their purchase.
The rules established are intended to prevent fraud and problems with customers. Therefore, the reasons for account suspension may be:
- Lack of accurate information for Amazon and customers;
- Failing to act fairly and failing to use Amazon resources or services correctly;
- Harm or abuse another seller, their listings or ratings;
- Influence customer ratings and reviews;
- Send unsolicited or inappropriate communications;
- Contacting customers other than through buyer-seller messages;
- Trying to bypass Amazon’s sales process ;
- Operating more than one Amazon selling account without a legitimate business need.
Sellers who break the rules may have their accounts suspended . Find out more below how to resolve the suspension or blocking of your Amazon account.
Causes of Amazon account banned
Account banning is a more severe penalty that the seller can suffer, and it can be given for non-compliance with their terms of service. Therefore, following this document correctly is essential to avoid problems with your account.
To prevent Amazon account suspension or blocking, the seller cannot let the defect rate of their order (feedback) exceed 1%. Also, the pre-fulfillment cancellation rate should be less than 2.5%. Another way of prevention is not to leave the shipment late.
If, upon analyzing the situation, the seller understands that the suspension or ban is unfair and unjustified, the seller can try to reestablish a relationship of trust with the platform, proposing alternatives to resolve the problem by providing a detailed action plan, such as inventory management.
To do this, the seller needs to write an action plan explaining how they monitor their account and ensure that the situation never occurs again.
Then, he needs to submit the appeal and wait for verification from the Amazon team .
If you are not sure what you are doing, seek help from a lawyer. After all, presenting a wrong or incomplete answer can create an even bigger problem.
I’ve been banned or suspended on Amazon: what should I do?
Having your account suspended is a difficult situation for sellers, as it paralyzes all sales and progress of the seller account on the platform. Remember that Amazon usually always acts in favor of customers, seeking the best for them when it comes to service, so the seller must always be aware of failures and errors.
If, after sending the appeal with arguments proving that there were no errors on your part, the seller ‘s account still remains suspended or banned, they may still try other means to resolve the problem.
For example, sending an extrajudicial notice to Amazon!
Through the extrajudicial notification, the seller will explain the situation, arguing that there were no errors/failures on his part, thus asking for the activation of his account.
The notification must be sent by AR so that in the event of any action, the seller can prove that he tried to resolve the impasse amicably and out of court.
The notification must include the date, location, account date, events, and the seller’s rights and situation regarding the problem, such as the request to activate the account.
Unfortunately, in many cases, this communication is inefficient, and the account suspension problem is not resolved amicably.
Conclusion
In this article, I explained the rules for using an Amazon account and the causes of suspension and banning. We also seek to explain the seller in their search to prevent potential problems with the platform.
It is very important that you, as a seller, understand and apply good practices required by the platform and by the E-commerce Law and the Consumer Code.
Remember that these rules are intended to prevent possible fraud that harms the seller and the customer, so if the seller acts in accordance with the law, there will be no problems with your account.
And if you are penalized by suspension or banishment in the wrong way, you have the right to file a lawsuit, if attempts at an out-of-court resolution have been unfeasible.
Therefore, it is important that you seek guidance from a lawyer specializing in digital law, because the lawyer will indicate the best strategy to be followed according to your case.
With account recovery, the seller can proceed with the delivery of products that were not delivered due to the unjustified suspension of the account.
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