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Three Strikes And You’re Out, In The Amazon Game

by Chris McCabe | Mar 9, 2016 | 17 comments

You may have wondered why Amazon keeps asking you for “more information” when you submit a Plan of Action that gives them exactly the information that they have asked for, usually multiple times, in the past.  Well here’s another wrinkle to this appeals quagmire:  What if they suddenly stop asking you for that information and mention something altogether new and different that never before appeared in either your suspension notification or your recent correspondence with them?

You may relate to this recent seller situation below.  Amazon suspended an eventual client of mine for too many buyer reports of “inauthentic” items deriving mostly from their complaints over the condition of their orders.

Three times they received this response after covering every conceivable area of their inventory and any possible failing or weakness showing up on their Amazon account around this subject.

Thank you for responding to our request for information. However even while we review your account, we still need more information regarding your plan of action for “inauthentic” complaints before we can reinstate your selling privileges.

Amazon appeared satisfied with the final revised Plan of Action covering authenticity because they moved on to a new, never previously mentioned subject at this point.

Thank you for responding to our request for information. However, we still need more information regarding your plan of action for  Item Not as Advertised, Incomplete Item and Incorrect Item complaints before we can reinstate your selling privileges.

Once the seller sent in a new POA which may have fallen short in one or two of these new areas, they immediately received this response regarding future POAs.

You have not sent us an acceptable plan to address the problems with your account. This is against our policies. As a result, you may no longer sell on Amazon.com, and your listings have been removed from our site.

Amazon teams, in this case Product Quality, moved them from suspended to blocked yet still allowed them to appeal the block and gave them yet another “Appeal” button.  It started all over again.  They already took three shots at reinstatement because they were asked three times for more information about “authentic item” complaints, so by the time they submitted the final POA addressing everything newly mentioned, they apparently only had one chance left.

I got involved and got them reinstated, so in this case we created a good ending.  But what can you do to prevent this from happening to you? And what does Amazon get out of spinning you in so many circles?

How does this Happen?

  1. They get to pass the buck.  Another investigator will be on the hook for the reinstatement if things go wrong afterwards and you’re blocked again, not the person looking you over.
  2. They don’t have strong capacity for audits and investigation quality reviews, they’re too busy keeping up and dealing with escalations from other poorly handled cases.
  3. Training programs are weak or uneven across the various global offices.
  4. Management is not scrutinizing possible needs for SOP changes or implementing such changes to any real effect
    There’s no set number of appeals in their SOPs — they say it’s three to me, but when they ask for something entirely new does that reset you to zero? No.

What Can You Do?

Hire an account consultant first,  before taking numerous shots at reinstatement yourself.  Don’t think someone can come along and magically fix everything with one email after you spend two weeks trying to sort this all out yourself.  This is a process that takes time, effort, energy and expertise.  Start with someone who knows the process from the get-go.  These teams are unpredictable and don’t always ask for what they say they want.  Confusion and chaos ensues, and you stay suspended in the meantime.

 

17 Comments

  1. Al
    Al on March 29, 2018 at 9:45 pm

    Hi,
    Amazon suspended my account by sending me email saying “you have sent us documents that may be manipulated or forged ”
    So now this Invoice for 1 ASIN in question I sent back on Jan 17th at that time they said the same thing “forged or manipulated” but just blocked the listing and I was allowed to sell, I don’t know why they all of a sudden now removed me from selling permanently pending appeal. There is been no bad review or feedback that I received but I don’t know if another seller made a complaint that they are acting on or just what reason of suspension after month and a half of that Invoice date
    So I am not sure if this could be successfully appeal or not as I have sent in an Invoice.
    Thank you

    Reply
    • Chris McCabe
      Chris McCabe on April 9, 2018 at 11:31 am

      Hi, you’d need to address why they think any documents you sent them had been edited or altered. This won’t have anything to do with bad reviews or bad feedback, they must have tried to verify the info on your invoice by contacting the supplier and received a bad response.

      The appeal will need to address what happened on the invoice or why the supplier, when contacted, didn’t respond positively. Otherwise, they’ll likely ignore it and deny.

      Reply
  2. Erin
    Erin on July 14, 2017 at 6:07 pm

    We have submitted numbers plans of action covering every possible change that we can make as well as invoices, all with the same response. Today we got the final response stating they have decided not to reinstate our selling privileges and they may no longer respond to our messages. We were suspended for an inauthentic complaint. We have been selling for several year and have excellent seller metrics. Do we still stand a chance of being reinstated?

    Reply
    • Leah McHugh
      Leah McHugh on July 30, 2017 at 7:44 pm

      The short answer is there is still a chance of reinstatement even if you have been final worded.

      The longer answer is that it depends on the specific situation. Without seeing your communication with Amazon or your documentation we can only give general, “it’s possible” information.

      But yes, we have helped people get reinstated after they have been final worded.

      Reply
  3. Crystal
    Crystal on December 15, 2016 at 9:43 am

    I have been suspended due to selling Ikea products.
    It was my mistake for not removing the listings and trying to sell of the remaining items before I stop selling the items completely on Amazon.
    I only have sales receipts from Ikea and no invoices.
    In this case, is it fine if I send them the receipts and just tell them that my items are inauthentic ( though they are not cause I bought them from Ikea)?
    I have been asking in a lot of blogs but none replied to my comments .I am so lost now.

    Reply
    • Lexie
      Lexie on February 11, 2017 at 11:18 pm

      Hi Crystal. I am in the same situation as you now. I received buyer complaints regarding authenticity of two items I purchased from nationally known retail chains (Best Buy and Boscov’s Department Stores). My account was suspended yesterday. I, too, am lost because I know these items are authentic. Please respond if you have had any updates to your situation.

      Thank you.

      Reply
      • Leah McHugh
        Leah McHugh on February 12, 2017 at 4:26 am

        Hi Lexie,

        We actually talked about this recently- you can check out the video here.

        Ultimately, there is a difference between what you call authentic and what Amazon calls authentic. Amazon wants to see invoices from verifiable wholesale suppliers- they don’t consider retail receipts valid supply chain documentation. If you don’t have that, you need to admit that, and show Amazon that you are now sourcing from verifiable suppliers.

        I’d recommend checking out our online course. It will take you through the exact steps Chris uses to handle his client’s appeals to get your account reinstated.

        Reply
  4. Jackie
    Jackie on November 30, 2016 at 11:17 am

    Hi Chris

    We need help with our suspend account, Amazon continuing send same message to ask more information which we had done. Everything just go over and over again.

    Reply
    • Leah McHugh
      Leah McHugh on December 1, 2016 at 9:18 pm

      Hi Jackie,

      If you’d like to work with Chris the first step is to book a consultation here https://www.ecommercechris.com/consultation/

      Reply
  5. james
    james on November 2, 2016 at 9:08 am

    I just got a authenticity suspension and the email above after 3 responses from me.All of this is over a phone case I had listed which I haven’t sold in a year.I removed all phone cases and I am really in the dark on what they want to hear.This was my last response and I’m thinking I got one shot left.Any help??/

    We removed anything we can not verify and have removed anything questionable or borderline and will never resell again.
    We have NO copyright,name brand or trademarked items and will NOT be carrying any.
    We have Never intentionally misled any buyer intentionally and our metrics show that.
    We are focused on jewelry and handmade items.
    Please reinstate the account,there will be no further issues.

    Reply
    • Leah McHugh
      Leah McHugh on November 7, 2016 at 10:44 pm

      James,

      There aren’t any details here of why you got an inauthentic complaint.
      You need to put together a POA which explains the root causes of the inauthentic complaint, and what you have done to ensure it will never happen again. I would suggest you check out our online course. It shows you what Amazon is looking for in a POA and how to find the information you need.

      Reply
  6. Debbie
    Debbie on April 8, 2016 at 12:20 pm

    Good morning. I am need of little help from you. I am helping a friend figure out why seller central suspended her account. Without any reason. We are having difficult time communicating with them. She has 100% feedback and low ODR SCORE. she provided all the necessary receipts to provide authentication proof of purchase they asked for. Yet they keep sending same exact emails asking for action plans. Is there anything or refer us to anyone for help please. All the help you can provide be highly appreciated. Thank you.

    Reply
    • Chris McCabe
      Chris McCabe on April 14, 2016 at 4:57 pm

      Hi Debbie,

      I help people in your friend’s position, but I would need more information. Please refer her to https://www.ecommercechris.com/contact/ to get in touch.

      Chris

      Reply
  7. Bryan
    Bryan on March 30, 2016 at 6:50 pm

    Good insight Chris. Thanks for sharing your expertise on this. Being a former Amazonian, your opinion holds a lot of weight in my view.

    Reply
    • Chris McCabe
      Chris McCabe on March 31, 2016 at 8:03 am

      Thanks Bryan!

      Reply
  8. D
    D on March 10, 2016 at 9:09 am

    Thank you Chris.
    Although I agree with most of what was said above however I had several experiences in helping people dealing with suspended accounts and in one case which the seller qas suspended because of inauthentic claims, he asked to provide invoices for about 20 products and did so he got the same response 4! Times we need more information regarding your plan of action etc. After the forth time the responded they need a POA for not as advertised and them they want a POA for broken item received too make the story short after 3 months and 25 long emails with invoices pictures POA etc they actually got him reinstated. What my conclusion is that there is no limit of 3 times or so for responding to PA as long as they are not saying this is a final decision further correspondence regarding this issue will not be answered you have a chance.

    Reply
    • Chris McCabe
      Chris McCabe on March 10, 2016 at 2:15 pm

      Hi David,
      While there is no set number of appeals in Amazon’s standard operating procedures, the “unofficial” number I have been given from internal sources is 3. There are exceptions, especially, if the person reviewing your account can see that you received the same response from Amazon over and over again. The key takeaway here is that you’re better off getting an expert involved before you submit sub-par plans of action. The sooner you start corresponding with Amazon they way they want you to, the easier and the faster it will be to get your account back.

      Reply

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