Correcting inappropriate listing content is a common struggle for Amazon sellers. When a product listing or ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) is restricted, sellers must understand how to rectify those kinds of errors to make the product live again.
Understanding Restrictions
Amazon frequently places restrictions on ASINs with inaccurate product claims. Internal teams leave sellers puzzled whenever instructions provided by catalog or support staff fail to give clear guidance on how to correct the relevant detail pages.
Many sellers presume that the modifications they make in Seller Central will be mirrored in Amazon’s internal systems. Unfortunately, this is not the case, especially when a listing is blocked or restricted. The changes made do not push through to Amazon’s back end, and the performance and policy teams looking at your listing only views info in their tools. Hence, what the seller sees on their listing is not necessarily what Amazon sees.
The Path to Reinstatement
To reinstate a blocked listing, the seller needs to upload the changes via a flat file and then call into the catalog to ensure the changes are reflected on Amazon’s end. If they are not, the catalog teams can manually process these changes. During this process, it’s important for sellers to confirm every change with Catalog first, as sometimes, the changes don’t take, and more follow ups are required as part of your appeal.
Sellers who are brand registered owners face additional hurdles. Although they can make changes to the listing, they often need to contact the catalog more than once to get someone knowledgeable to push those changes through. The Brand Registry and the Catalog team often point fingers at each other, leading to further confusion. Brand Registry does not have phone support, making it challenging to resolve issues quickly, as email support is often limited and templated.
Sellers must be persistent and make multiple calls to the catalog to find a representative who understands the issues and can assist correctly. General support usually doesn’t know how to make these changes or have access to the compliance team, so speaking to the catalog is crucial. The seller may also need to escalate certain matters externally while continuing to work with the catalog team.
Escalation and Resolution
Escalating through the catalog usually yields quicker results, once they transfer the case to the correct team for review. Catalog may also request a manual review of compliance issues. Remember that most people within Amazon who don’t work on catalog issues do not understand how any of this works. Forming cogent, relevant external escalations as a contingency plan is therefore very important.
We understand well that fixing detail page content when an ASIN is restricted represents a complex and often frustrating process due to the lack of clear instructions and support from Amazon. Yet by understanding the importance of flat files, persisting with the catalog team, and escalating appeals for listing reinstatement appropriately, sellers can navigate these twists and turns to successfully correct their listings.
It is essential for sellers to be proactive, patient, and meticulous in correcting and confirming listing changes. Be persistent in reaching out to the right representatives to ensure their product listings are accurate and live on the platform! The more you understand how tools, teams, and listing restrictions operate, the quicker you can fix anything that breaks.
