June 24th, 2024
Any seller will tell you that getting your Amazon account suspended is a costly and time-consuming ordeal to overcome. Poor account health can quickly escalate, leading to indefinite loss of selling privileges.
When listings become invisible, sellers must scramble to resolve issues and recover their losses as sales come to a halt. These challenges can be catastrophic for many businesses and have even taken down some of the largest Amazon brands.
Fortunately, preventing an Amazon suspended seller account is easier than ever! With Amazon Account Health Assurance, you can prevent deactivation in a few simple steps.
What is Account Health Assurance?
Amazon’s seller-friendly program, Account Health Assurance, helps Seller Central sellers in the US and Canada address their Amazon account review without deactivation. This program ensures that your Amazon seller account will remain active as long as you actively work with Amazon to resolve their issues.
To qualify, you must maintain a consistently high Account Health Rating (AHR) of 250 or higher for at least six months. Sellers are allowed a maximum of 10 days within this period where their AHR falls below 250. Once you meet the criteria, you will be automatically enrolled in Account Health Assurance and notified via email.
Since Amazon suspends thousands of seller accounts every year, it’s crucial to take advantage of this resource. To get started, log into your account and check to make sure you have an emergency contact listed. This must be added to your account to keep you in good standing and ensure any Amazon account issues can be resolved quickly.
With Account Health Assurance, an Amazon submission under review remains protected. When issues arise, an account health specialist will reach out to explain the issue and how it can be resolved. If Amazon’s team can reach you within 72 hours and work with you to establish a plan for the Amazon account under review, your selling account will not be deactivated.
What is an Amazon Account Suspension?
When we were kids, suspension often meant a call home and a few days off from reading, gym, and math classes. For Amazon sellers, however, suspensions come with far more severe consequences. Amazon's strict rules are essential to maintaining great account health, and while misunderstandings can happen, staying in contact and working to resolve issues is crucial to safeguarding an Amazon account at risk of deactivation.
With Amazon account suspension, your listings become invisible, and customers can't buy your products. Depending on the Amazon suspension appeal you file, the process can take several months. You can appeal until Amazon makes a final determination, which could result in reinstating your account after completing the necessary steps or, in the worst-case scenario, permanently disabling your account.
How to Review Amazon Business Account Health
Amazon account health can be mystifying to new and seasoned sellers alike. Amazon doesn’t list the reasons for their suspensions publicly, which can make it difficult to anticipate until it directly impacts you.
Whether you work alone or invest in Amazon appeal services, it’s vital to understand the rules and why they are important. To prevent suspensions and ensure your Amazon account health, you should regularly review Amazon’s policies and conduct a routine Amazon recent orders review to identify potential issues.
If you don’t have the time or manpower to review your Amazon business account health, consider partnering with an ecommerce consultant or Amazon Recovery specialist who can troubleshoot Amazon account issues.
Some common reasons for Amazon account suspension include:
- Suspected fraud
- Poor performance
- Sale of banned items on Amazon
- Frequent late shipments
- Mislabeled products
- Manipulated product reviews
- Owning or using multiple linked accounts
- Selling deceptive or misleading products
- Intellectual property issues
Maintaining a Healthy Account
Amazon account health is a primary focus for many sellers. Amazon draws in 310 million customers worldwide, giving many businesses the traffic they need to survive and thrive.
Seller accounts should be closely monitored by your business or a reputable ecommerce consulting agency. Some things to look out for include:
- Customer service performance
- Product policy compliance
- Shipping performance
Reviewing your product catalog regularly is a must. Sellers often overlook older products no longer intended for sale, which can lead to an IP complaint. If you receive an Intellectual Property Violation or Restricted Product Warning, you could end up with an ASIN violation or incur a negative score against your account. Deleting products you no longer plan to sell will boost your inventory performance score.
Keeping track of documentation is another important way to ensure your Amazon account health and avoid Amazon account suspension. Fill out paperwork clearly and accurately before you upload it to your Amazon account application. Double-check that your business name and address are the same across all documents and update any inaccurate information.
Stay on top of Amazon policies and policy changes. If you have questions or concerns about the rules and regulations, review Amazon’s policies and code of conduct. Hiring an experienced ecommerce consultant can help you stay on top of any changes and adhere to Amazon policies as closely as possible.
Keep open lines of communication with Amazon and your ecommerce consultant. It can be easy to let warnings slide through the cracks if your contact information isn’t up-to-date or you aren’t checking your inbox regularly enough. If you are responsive and prompt, you can deal with issues before they result in your Amazon seller account terminated indefinitely.
The Downside of Amazon Account Suspension
The implications of an Amazon submission under review or an account suspension can vary greatly. Not only do you lose access to your Seller Central account and miss out on sales, but it can bring you back to square one. But how exactly can that affect sellers?
Reputation
An Amazon account suspension can have negative results on your reputation as a seller. When customers search for your products, they can see your listings are no longer available, which can compromise brand trust. Some shoppers may turn to other sellers' listings and buy comparable competitor products instead.
Feedback & Reviews
There’s no doubt about it; feedback can significantly improve your Amazon account health. It takes time to build up a positive reputation, and with an Amazon suspension, all your hard work can be lost. The worst-case scenario (other than complete deactivation) is that your feedback score can be reset to zero.
Legal Implications
Fraudulent behavior, copyright infringements, and other serious violations can lead to legal action. They can also cause you to be banned from Amazon in the future.
To prevent these escalations, it’s important to contact Amazon customer support to resolve miscommunications.
Is your business regularly reviewing your Amazon account health? Our experts are here to help. Awesome Dynamic closely monitors hundreds of seller accounts across various industries and is well-versed in Amazon’s policies. Keep your account healthy and reduce your workload by contacting our full-service team. Reach out for a consultation to keep your business on track toward your goals.