My account has been suspended. Amazon has removed my selling privileges
Hi,
I would really appreciate if someone could help me with this.
Some time ago I came across an unbranded product in Amazon that was selling quite well, and which I found in Alibaba. I checked the features and the photos and they were identical so I decided to buy a joblot of them to sell on the existing ad. I did some research and it’s something legal and even recommended by Amazon in order to get rid of duplicate products (If I’m wrong please let me know) so I went ahead and sent a package to Amazon FBA to sell on the ad.
After a few sales a buyer sent me a threatening email saying that my product is fake, that I should remove my inventory or they will leave bad reviews of my store (with the help of some friends), they will complain to Amazon blah blah. So I responded that I wasn’t doing anything illegal and ignored the threats.
Later on I got some bad reviews which I successfully got rid of by contacting Amazon and explaining the situation. But a week ago, after another threat giving me 24 hours before taking “legal actions”, I got my account suspended for complains about the authenticity of the products.
This is very frustrating because I have been literally for months trying to get an answer from Amazon if it’s legal to sell an unbranded and identical product on another seller’s ad, and never got a proper response. If I have done something wrong, they should have told me and if not, my account shouldn’t have been suspended.
I sent my first appeal, they requested for invoices of the product so I sent them the invoices and the last response is that I should send them an updated plan of action that explains “greater detail” of the issues, actions and steps.
I don’t want to screw it up so I would like to send a correct appeal this time. Could someone help me? Any help would be appreciated…Thanks a lot.
My account has been suspended. Amazon has removed my selling privileges
Hi,
I would really appreciate if someone could help me with this.
Some time ago I came across an unbranded product in Amazon that was selling quite well, and which I found in Alibaba. I checked the features and the photos and they were identical so I decided to buy a joblot of them to sell on the existing ad. I did some research and it’s something legal and even recommended by Amazon in order to get rid of duplicate products (If I’m wrong please let me know) so I went ahead and sent a package to Amazon FBA to sell on the ad.
After a few sales a buyer sent me a threatening email saying that my product is fake, that I should remove my inventory or they will leave bad reviews of my store (with the help of some friends), they will complain to Amazon blah blah. So I responded that I wasn’t doing anything illegal and ignored the threats.
Later on I got some bad reviews which I successfully got rid of by contacting Amazon and explaining the situation. But a week ago, after another threat giving me 24 hours before taking “legal actions”, I got my account suspended for complains about the authenticity of the products.
This is very frustrating because I have been literally for months trying to get an answer from Amazon if it’s legal to sell an unbranded and identical product on another seller’s ad, and never got a proper response. If I have done something wrong, they should have told me and if not, my account shouldn’t have been suspended.
I sent my first appeal, they requested for invoices of the product so I sent them the invoices and the last response is that I should send them an updated plan of action that explains “greater detail” of the issues, actions and steps.
I don’t want to screw it up so I would like to send a correct appeal this time. Could someone help me? Any help would be appreciated…Thanks a lot.
113 replies
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
Did the original listing, that you added yourself to, have a brand name on it?
If so then even if your item is identical in every other way you should not have listed your generic, unbranded item, on a page which had a brand name in it.
If the listing said
“Quasimodo’s Gargoyles”, for instance then even if your “Gargoyles” are identical in every way except the name, you should have created your own listing.
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
As it has been already stated, your product needs to exactly match the listing, in every detail. You can’t just order some generic items from Alibaba and list them against someone’s established private label listing to undercut them and make quick money. This is not only against the Amazon policies, but the sellers will then logically do everything to get you off their listing.
Now, since you have been suspended over concerns about the authenticity of your products, the standard way would be to appeal by providing valid invoices.
However, as your items don’t match the detail page and Alibaba invoices won’t be accepted, you will need to delete your entire inventory and then submit a Plan of Action in which you admit your guilt.
Here is an example appeal addressing this suspension reason and your situation, you can write a similar one based on it, but definitely don’t copy full sentences:
Seller_L3E8iknKXqZNV
My commiserations to you.
Amazon now accept that generic products with no branding on the product cannot be piggybacked if the seller who lists the item places a brand name on their listing.
So if 1 million sellers with 1 million brand names sell widget-A there will be 1 million listings for that product.
I suggest you start your own branded listing once this is settled.
Seller_FnJT8GoodqsLT
i am not entirely sure that what is being stated is quite correct. It is my understanding that to make a product branded the brand must be displayed on the product or packaging somewhere and if this is not the case then they have simply added a brand name to the title which doesn’t mean a thing if the product they are supplying is simply a generic non branded item and the fact that they threatened to come at you with the tactics you mentioned would suggest to me that they have no authority over the product at all. I would guess they probably got them the same place you did
Seller_mY5hFdS0EYkYz
Not necessarily. First, there are so many fake products produced in China so there is no cachet to showing you have an invoice from a Chinese manufacturer.
The mistake you made was to try to sell your product on the original seller’s listing instead of coming with your own ASIN which you would get with an original EAN This is called hi-jacking and is a big No No. The original seller will do everything to shut you down including leaving bad reviews on your listing. And sending threatening letters to you.
I’d close down your listing and start again with your own brand, ASIN and listing.
Seller_L3E8iknKXqZNV
yes amazon do generally want to see an invoice from the manufacturer of the product.
and if you buy from the manufacturer you will probably have no competitive edge as you will be paying the same price as every other seller.
hence many sellers buy from other sources to take advantage of how manufacturers price their products across different world market places.
Seller_M7OI2W2v9zeUc
Thank you all for your help so far, I really appreciate all of your comments. I’m actually learning a lot from them.
I have created a draft for my next appeal (thanks @Kika for your example letter). Could I have your feedback?
A couple of points:
- I’m not sure if I should delete the listing from my Amazon account. Maybe they need it for reviewing the appeal or as an evidence of the authenticity problem?
- Once I send the appeal, should I attach again the invoices sent in the previous appeal?
And here is the draft:
Dear Amazon Seller Performance Team,
Thank you for allowing me to appeal my seller account’s suspension due to Customer Product Authenticity Complains.
I understand that I have come in contravention of Amazon’s policies. First of all I would like to apologise, and stress that I’m determined to make sure this does not happen again. For this I have created the following plan of action:
Issue that caused the complaints:
- For the last couple of weeks, some customers expressed concerns regarding the authenticity of the product with ASIN XXX purchased from my store. I failed to address these issues in a professional and timely manner.
- Due to my inexperience as a seller on Amazon, I believed that selling a product which looks identical and has the same features as the one advertised on an existing ad was acceptable. Now I know that this is not true when the product ad has a brand on it, even if neither the box, nor the manual nor the product shows the brand.
Actions taken to fix the problems:
- I made sure I had no more inventory of the product in Amazon FBA, being ready to remove it immediately if there was any stock remaining.
- All buyers’ messages have been answered, I have offered a full refund of the cost and any other concerns have been resolved for maximum customer satisfaction.
- The listing for ASIN XXX has been removed ##DO I HAVE TO DO THIS?## from my account’s inventory and will not be listed again.
- I have carefully read all the Amazon policies, in particular the ones concerning authenticity, inventory sourcing, Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions Policy and Amazon’s Anti-Counterfeiting Policy. I am now confident I will not violate any of these policies again.
Steps to prevent similar complaints in the future:
- All inventory will be sourced from reliable sources and they will be displayed on ads created by myself.
- I will seek a permission from the brand owners to be able to resell their products on Amazon.
- All units will be thoroughly inspected to make sure the condition is perfect, with no defects which could lead to customer complaints.
- Before listing any items, I will carefully check that the products perfectly match the description and pictures in every detail. Any discrepancies will be resolved by updating the listings.
- I will follow all Amazon policies and guidelines.
- I would like to reiterate that I understand that Amazon values customer experience extremely highly. I would like to add that I’m really determined to continue selling on Amazon and am hopeful that as a relatively new seller this can be put down as a mistake. I hope Amazon can forgive my misstep on this occasion, which taught me a lesson and which will make me a better seller.
I believe that these solutions are effectively addressing the problems mentioned by the Seller Performance suspension notice. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to reinstate my selling privileges.
Thank you for your time reviewing my appeal and I am looking forward to continue selling on Amazon.
Sincerely,
Gargoyle’s Den
Seller_BpBw0CUtaI2vS
Hi I am just reading this thread. I had the same issue with my account, however I was lucky enough not to have my account suspended but needed to explain an item I was selling which I had ‘piggybacked’ on as the rights owner had complained to Amazon that I was selling on their page. Upon searching in the brand registry this particular rights owner who was registered on Amazon as a brand had not actually registered their Trademark with gov.uk therefore this was the pinnacle of my case and of course Amazon/the rights owner withdrew their case and I was allowed to continue selling on the item. So make sure you check on gov.uk first to ensure that this particular brand has been registered as a trademark otherwise they do not have a leg to stand on and you can use that as your appeal.
Seller_Cijrd1e699k09
The thing I’ve learned is that Amazon will not stick up for you for playing by the rules. You should have been okay selling the item on that listing, but that doesn’t matter. The biggest rule on doing stuff like this is check if there is only ONE seller on that listing. If there is, then chances are that seller will give you a lashing if you sell on the listing. If there are multiple people then you should be okay. You haven’t broken the rules, but Amazon don’t care unfortunately.
The same thing happened to me where I was selling a BRANDED item on a BRANDED listing. My product had the exact same brand, and I bought it from the manufacturer and owner of this brand on Alibaba. However, the person selling it on Amazon felt it was his product, and my stock was frozen, even though I was following Amazon’s rules to the tee. I ended up having to do a removal order of my stock and create my own listing, which is essentailly AGAINST Amazon’s rules. However, they didn’t help me in teh slightest, and said the only way I could sell on that listing is if the brand owner rescinded their complaint. Meanwhile, it wasn’t the brand owner that lodged the complaint but rather the other buy POSING as the brand owner. And then the really frustrating thing for me was that my supplier from Alibaba refused to help me as they said that I should have sold on my own listing (despite that being against Amazon’s rules).
So what have I learned? Amazon is not on your side. They will not hear your plight and sort it out for you fairly. Never list stock (no matter how genuine that stock is) on a listing that is being sold by only one person. Even if the seller name doesn’t match the brand of the product. If you want to sell it, you have to create your own listing with your own GTIN number.
Sorry! If you have no luck with your appeal, drop me a private message.
Leanne
