Policy Violation- Advice please
Hi All,
I’m hoping some of you would be able to help/ advise me what the best way to approach this.
We received a policy violation on the 18th Jan, in regards to variation abuse.
The listing was removed and we thought that was the end of this, we didn’t redo it and the listing had been created over 12 months ago.
We have today received an email from amazon stating they tried to call us and couldn’t get hold of us and now with in 72 hours they want a plan of action, I’ve been googling all afternoon to see if i can find any advice online and it seems to be a little thin on the ground.
Any help/advice is much appreciated.
Many Thanks
David
Policy Violation- Advice please
Hi All,
I’m hoping some of you would be able to help/ advise me what the best way to approach this.
We received a policy violation on the 18th Jan, in regards to variation abuse.
The listing was removed and we thought that was the end of this, we didn’t redo it and the listing had been created over 12 months ago.
We have today received an email from amazon stating they tried to call us and couldn’t get hold of us and now with in 72 hours they want a plan of action, I’ve been googling all afternoon to see if i can find any advice online and it seems to be a little thin on the ground.
Any help/advice is much appreciated.
Many Thanks
David
32 replies
Seller_EJIX7rqDNQJi2
I have seen multiple threads about this very same issue on the Amazon USA Seller Forum.
It looks like Amazon did a sitewide purge of all sellers who had these violations due to variation abuse on their record.
Firstly, you should delete all listings with complains. Once you are finished, you can start working on your appeal.
From what I have seen on the US Forum, none of the sellers managed to get reinstated.
However, you aren’t suspended yet. You have 72 hours to prepare a good Plan of Action and prevent this from happening.
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
72 hours is literal, so whatever you do make sure that you post your appeal before this time expires or your account will be suspended…
There are numerous threads showing how to construct a proper POA, which should consist of 3 parts
1: What went wrong
2: What you HAVE done to rectify the issue[s]
3: What you will do moving forward to ensure that you remain compliant and this doesn’t happen again.
I can’t remember specific suspensions for variation abuse, but it should be a simple enough plan to write and enact.
Basically you have to admit what you did wrong, and why, then show what you have done to rectify this by deleting affected listings, reading the help pages and watching the Seller University tutorials so that you are more familiar with variation rules, retraining staff, checking all remaining listings etc, and then finally move on to the last section where you will describe your ongoing training of staff, and monitoring of listings/variations etc
Posting the exact notification [with any personal info redacted] may help the forum give more specific advice.
Seller_0pkMTMROIPEmY
I’m curious as to why you have this variation issue although this is not an area i’m familiar with but ASIN B01NALPR43 has three variations on the product stated that are currently live, unless the variation fell outside of this. But the POA will need to address the product detail page violation , missuse of keywords, manipulation of sales rank and fair pricing policy. This would make it somewhat more complex and may explain sellers having more difficulty getting reinstated.
ASIN B0752YM6BZ has been removed from Amazon catalogue as this in breach of their listing policy “Brother MFC-J6930DW All-in-One Business Inkjet Printer + Extra Set Of Compatible XL Inks” this would technically fall under a the bundle policy, dependant on the way in which these variations have been created.
Best practices
Do not list different products together:
Example 1: A cell phone charging cable and a portable charger, while related, are not the same product and should not be listed on the same detail page. However, products like these can be listed as bundles. To know more, see Product Bundling Policy.
Example 2: A laptop bag with handles and a laptop bag without handles are two different product styles that should be listed on separate detail pages.
Do not use variation themes incorrectly; they should only be used for their defined purpose.
Example: A color variation theme must not include any information other than color. Different phone models, for example, should not be listed within a color theme.
Sellers can create bundles composed of different products to create a new bundled product. Well-designed product bundles provide convenience and value to buyers. Adhering to the policies on this page will help Amazon customers locate product bundles more easily and prevent duplicate or near-duplicate listings.
Seller_qHzcAWcsPVCfg
I am soooooooooo close to flagging that picture post as being totally obscene ! ! ! 
Seller_47rQMKbwog1Kh
Haha Brilliant!
Just logged back into see that there had been several replies to my POA! thinking oh great! then i see a group of guys in top hats and mankinis!
I have been feeling pretty crap all day because of this POA! you guys have made me laugh and put a smile on my face!
I will definitely be coming back here more often! hopefully i can help someone, or at least make them laugh!
Thanks Guys 
