Hi there,

I have never done this before so please do forgive me for my shortcomings. I’ve been looking online for help but can’t find any place for my concerns to be heard. I read so many threads on here but they seem not to help me… anyways here is my story, your help, support and time is highly appreciated…

I opened an account back in 20th December 2016 and got a buyer box within 15 days due to high volume selling. I was loving it, increased my stock and expanded… got my account suspended on 23rd January 2017 for listing under someone else’s listing which I didn’t know was not allowed as I am a eBay seller and know nothing about this. Anyways… 1 year later I still haven’t retrieved my account. What am I doing wrong? I sent many POA, send them my invoices and removed all my items from all stores. Every time I reply to their query, they seem to send me an automated response… I just feel hopeless- WHAT DO I DO

This is the latest email they sent me…
Hello,

We reviewed your account and the information you provided, and we have decided that you may not sell on Amazon.co.uk. Please provide the following information so that we can process your appeal:

– Greater detail on the root cause(s) of policy
– Greater detail on the actions you have taken to resolve policy issues.
– Greater detail on the steps you have taken to prevent policy going forward.
– Greater detail on how your account has complied with our policy.
– Greater detail on evidence or examples that demonstrate that your account has complied with our policy.
Please ship any open orders. This usually takes about 90 days, but funds may be held longer. Depending on your account status and activities, you may be required to complete an additional review before funds can be released. Amazon may withhold payments if we determine that your account was used to sell inauthentic or prohibited goods, commit fraud, or engage in other illegal or abusive activity.

You can see your balance and settlement information in the Payments section of Seller Central. If you have questions about those, please write to payments-investigate@amazon.co.uk.

In fact they even allowed for me to list some of the listings but the account is still suspended so I cannot do anything.

This was my latest POA I sent them prior to them sending me the above message

See below a POA in regards to infringement allegation .

{removed by Amazon}
Has been contacted and instructed to contact amazon for infringement claim.

A. explain the reason of the account’s problem:
I have been suspended from what I am aware of for infringing another listing. This violation was due to selling iPhone cases under another sellers listing. I understand that Amazon takes copyright and infringements very seriously. As a new seller at the time I was unaware that I was unable to list under another seller and thus it is surprising that Amazon has limited my account. Although I was numerously told that I could continue to sell under another person’s listing (emails can be found in my account) to my surprise my account was limited. I have it has come read, acknowledged and implemented all Amazon policies since opening the account with Amazon. I take my selling on Amazon very, very seriously and this limitation on my account felt like a stab in heart. There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding why my account has been suspended and I hope this email clarifies, identifies and ensures my account is up and running very soon.
Prior to me listing under another listing, I contact amazon seller support to clarify and ensure that I was not violating any policies (phone calls and emails can be found in my account). I was told that I can list the items I wanted, hence why I couldn’t understand how someone infringements were being violated. I have contacted amazon on multiple occasions to try to understand what the issue is as after my first policy violation I asked amazon for help to determine which listing can I list on and which one I can’t. I have also appealed these policy violations and have even have had one appeal accepted.
I have appealed to amazon on a number of occasions as I felt that there might be an abuse of the policy complaint feature on behalf of the one who made the complain.

As I new seller at the time I was selling items under someone else’s listing which i did not know was not permitted and it infringed rights of owner
Not knowing that I infringed their rights and violated amazons copyright policy
Misunderstanding of clear policies of Amazon
Being a new seller at the time
Misunderstanding when an Amazon representative allowed for me to list these items. When I spoke to amazon representative it was made clear to me that I was allowed to continue selling these items. This can be found below:
I did not know that breached the Intellectual Property Violation because I had the exact same item, which is sold by many other sellers as the product is a generic phone case, that can be bought in bulk from anywhere. Although I confirmed that I was permitted to continue and list this item with seller support(communication / cases can be seen within my account), nevertheless my account was still restricted.
We spoke to a amazon representative and they told us to email you the following details:

Greetings from Amazon Seller Support.
Hi, this is Gen, the associate you’ve spoken with a while ago. Thank you for being wonderful throughout our conversation.

As we have discussed, this is the new case ID {removed by Amazon} that I have created for you. I will be informing our performance department that,

One of the Amazon’s associate inform you that you can definitely sell the items because you are not infringing any rights. Related Case ID {removed by Amazon}

You still received an infringement report despite of what the associate has informed you. You have already contacted the seller who reported you. He said that he will be retracting it if you are going to delete your listings and you will not sell it again. You have fulfilled the request and remove the listing on your end. The other seller also emailed seller support and he confirmed that he already send a retraction. He already submit a request to Seller performance as well.

You received an email notification last 8th of October, regarding on your listings being reinstated, you have responded to it and ask if the account will also be reinstated, however, you have not received any response. Seller kept on receiving the same response asking for him to contact the other seller to retract the claim, however, the seller already did it.

You open multiple cases, email on multiple occasions, but you have not receive any response. Yes you have a response, however it is just a copy and paste of the old response.

The seller received a buy box even if he is new here on Amazon. Ratings are very good and that shows that the seller is doing his job well and he really wanted to continue selling on Amazon.

Rest assured that I have documented everything here on my end.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us and I wish you continued success with all your endeavors

Thank you for selling with Amazon.

Genalyn V.
Amazon.co.uk Seller Support

It goes on further with the following representative:

ASIN: B01JSC1LPI, B01LGWKQ0Y , B01LGWKOU6, B01LGWKI3E, B01LGWKGZY
B01MTSOFS6, B01LX0CVCK

Complaint ID:{removed by Amazon}

Please read through the case log {removed by Amazon} and {removed by Amazon} in my case logs. It shows that we were advised by Amazon team mate to continue our listings in question. When we received the claim we deleted those same listings and removed all content from our account. We have also sent a clear action plan stating this. Subramanian S. has advised me to continue my listings that were of concern… which we did and our account was suspended. When we were informed of any copyright breaches we immediately removed all the listings but the account was still suspended. When we contacted seller support- they told us that our account will be reinstated very soon… we are still waiting.

Moreover, we contacted the seller and told them to contact Amazon straightaway.

Actions I have taken to resolve infringement issues.

I have removed all affected listings
Sent all items that were pending for postage
Sent all the invoices that were requested by Amazon
Send authorisation letter to Amazon
Changed my own policies in order to be inline with Amazon policy and not allow for something like this to occur again
I contacted Amazon for clarification and based on this my business plan has changed
None of my customers actually complained about the services I provided. In actual fact all my customers are happy with the service I provided but it was a case of misunderstanding from me to list under someone else’s listing. These listings have all been removed and I have learned my lesson not to do it again
There was one listing that was infringing- that has immediately removed to ensure that I comply with Amazon policy. Showing Amazon that my account is very important to me
I immediately contacted the seller to resolve the matter and requested for him to contact Amazon directly to withdraw the complaint
The steps I have taken to prevent infringement going forward.

I read thoroughly about infringement and other breaches that could potentially jeopardise my account in the future. I got a specialised person who has been selling on Amazon for more than 10 years to help me understand the policies and procedures of amazon and solidify my reading in order for this not to occur again
I also have a dedicated team who will be verifying all listings before they are live on Amazon
Never ever to list any items that have a slightest inclination of infringing or copyrighting
There was only 1 listing that violated this policy. The 10s of other listings I had were free from any type of violation and were abiding by amazon policies.

How my account is complying with amazon policy:

Throughout my short journey with Amazon I have proved that this incident was a one off mistake
If we look at my feedback and review it clearly indicates my dedication to Amazon
There has been only 1 listing that infringe, which shows that it was a genuine mistake and it is not repeated
Completed all transaction, even though I lost out financial. As I know that it is worth it to regain Amazon’s trust in me and reinstate my account
Evidences or examples that demonstrate that my account has complied with our policy.

Followed all policies apart from 1 infringement
Posted all items within 2 days
Replied to all customer enquiries
My communication with seller central representative shows that I was very wary to breach any policy (this can be seen in my messages)
I followed the advice of the representatives showing my sincerity to a make a genuine trade
I replied to every enquiry of customers although my account was in investigation, showing that I genuinely care for my customers and my business
Therefore, I urge Amazon to respectfully reinstate my selling privileges to continue to show case my services that Amazon prides itself with. Thank you for providing us with the opportunity to progress in our lives.

— The actions you took to resolve the issues and prevent similar complaints.
As soon as the claim was made against me, I took immediate action. I contacted the seller to resolve the matter and requested for him to contact Amazon directly to withdraw the complaint. I removed all the listings that were live from Amazon. I read thoroughly about infringement and other breaches that could potentially jeopardise my account in the future. I got a specialised person who has been selling on Amazon for more than 10 years to help me understand the policies and procedures of amazon and solidify what my reading. I got rid of the stock that was breaching the infringement to avoid future damage to my reputation and status. I also have a dedicated team who will be verifying all listings before they are live on amazon. On top of this I follow a few courses about amazon and how to maintain a high standard. Furthermore I have learned my lesson not to list under other listings unless I have the authorisation of doing so from the copyright owner. All in all being penalised for this violation has made me stronger, determined and deticated to my customers, business and my team. Knowing amazon and it’s outlook on sellers, I am hopeful that they will permit me to continue my business journey with them to proof to them and everyone else that I have changed, improved my approach in dealing with their policies and customers in order to bring a stable income for my family. Please grant me this opportunity, grant me this chance and allow to progress within amazon.

– How you plan on preventing the sale of infringing content in the future.
I have a dedicated team who are specialised in listings and have worked tirelessly to ensure they know everything about infringement and other policies to ensure I do not breach any other policies of Amazon. We have a watertight system in place and hope we can show you that I have progressed in many levels. I had been selling on Amazon.co.uk for more less than a 2 months and have received 5* ratings (with one or two 4.9*) for all my transactions across all 5 countries. My transactions show my excellent customer service and exceptional sales record, where I was able to accumulate a great profit margin and bring Amazon more products. I feel that this is proof that I am more than capable of providing unmatched customer service to Amazon’s customers.

CONCLUSION:
I take full responsibility for what has happened and I will ensure that this does not happen again. All in all being penalised for this violation has made me stronger, determined and dedicated to my customers, business and my team. Knowing amazon and its outlook on sellers, I am hopeful that they will permit me to continue my business journey with them to proof to them and everyone else that I have changed, improved my approach in dealing with their policies and customers in order to bring a stable income for my family. Please grant me this opportunity, grant me this chance and allow to progress within amazon. I think there is ample evidence, reasons and explanations that will permit me to get my account reinstated. Please reinstate my account

END OF POA
What shall I do?