Amazon Account Health Assurance: Avoiding Suspension & Maintaining a Healthy Account

December 14th, 2022

Amazon account health assurance

Keeping your Amazon account in good standing may be a time-consuming process, but the alternative certainly isn’t pretty. Poor account health can result in suspensions, which disrupt your selling privileges indefinitely and brings sales to a halt. 

With invisible listings, sellers have to hustle to find ways to resolve their issues and bounce back from their losses. These challenges can prove to be catastrophic for many business owners, and have taken down some of the largest brands on Amazon.

Fortunately, maintaining a healthy account is not only possible - it’s easier than ever! Amazon has launched a new program that can help you prevent deactivation in a few simple steps. 

What is Account Health Assurance?

Amazon’s new seller-friendly program, Account Health Assurance, helps Seller Central sellers in the US and Canada address account health issues. This program ensures that Amazon will no longer deactivate the seller account as long as they are actively working with Amazon to resolve their issues. 

In order to qualify, you must maintain a consistently high Account Health Rating (AHR) of 250 or higher for at least six months. When you become eligible for Account Health Assurance, you will be enrolled automatically and will receive an email notification.

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 issues can be resolved as quickly as possible.

With Account Health Assurance, when an issue arises, an account health specialist will reach out and 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, 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 our reading, gym, and math classes. Unfortunately, the consequences can be far more painful for Amazon account sellers. 

Like any ecommerce platform, Amazon has rules that must be followed in order to maintain great account health. While misunderstandings can happen, keeping in contact and working to fix issues is a pivotal part of staying in the game.

When your account is suspended, shoppers can’t view your listings or purchase your products on Amazon. Depending on the reason for your suspension and the number of appeals you file, it can take several months for a suspension to be complete.

You can appeal your case until you receive a final determination from Amazon. They may choose to reinstate the account after completing the necessary steps or even close your account permanently.

How to Avoid Account Suspension

Amazon account health can be mystifying and daunting 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 enlist the help of a professional, it’s vital to understand what the rules are and why they are important. To prevent suspensions and ensure your Amazon account health, you should regularly review Amazon’s policies. Some common reasons for suspension may be:

  • Suspected fraud
  • Poor performance
  • Sale of restricted products
  • 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 edge 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 may overlook older products that are no longer intended for sale, which can result in an IP complaint. If you receive an Intellectual Property Violation or Restricted Product Warning, you could end up with an ASIN violation and even experience 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 suspension. Paperwork should be filled out 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 abreast of any changes and work with you to adhere to these 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 escalate to an Amazon suspension.

The Downside of Amazon Suspensions

The implications of a suspension on Amazon 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

Suspensions 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 lead to mistrust. 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 more 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 prevent any miscommunications. 

Concerned about your Amazon account health? Our team of seasoned experts are here to help. Awesome Dynamic closely monitors hundreds of seller accounts in a wide variety of industries and is well-versed in Amazon’s policies. Keep your account in good standing and reduce your workload by contacting our full-service team. During our free consultation, we'll walk you through the process and work with you to develop a plan that is catered to your business and goals.