I have observed sellers devastated situation whenever they receive an email notification from Amazon which states that their Amazon account is under review.
This blog post is for all those sellers who have been questioning themselves “why is my amazon account under review?” I will try to accommodate all possible reasons for which your account can go under review and share fixes as well.
Why is My Amazon Account Under Review?
Let us look for all the possible reasons that take your account under review.
1. Accuracy of information:
The seller needs to make sure that the information it provides to Amazon and customers are accurate from the start of the account. This means that all the information that Amazon requires should be accurate.
In the start, Amazon requires details to set up a seller account and if the seller provides anything that is not accurate then the account application goes under review.
If the seller adds a listing and the product is not exactly what it says on the listing then the customer will complain and returns the product.
Amazon team will initiate the process to check customer complaints and if the customer is right then the seller needs to adjust the details otherwise account will go under review.
2. Exploiting Amazon’s Features/Services:
The seller needs to operate the business legally and should not exploit Amazon’s features and services at all times.
There have been reports that the sellers have been reported manipulating sales through wrong practices such as paying customers externally and increasing sales artificially.
Increasing the prices of the product after receiving an order.
Increase detail page traffic artificially using bots or paying for clicks so Amazon will assume that this seller is good and much more.
3. Damaging other Seller/Competitor Ratings or Listing:
Sellers have been reported to pay customers externally in return for buying competitors’ products and posting negative feedback and reviews. This way the seller is trying to damage its competitor’s listing and influence buying behavior.
Due to this Amazon start observing the seller and if confirmed the account can go under review.
4. Unsolicited Communications:
The seller can only communicate with customers through buyer-seller messaging service and that communication should only be related to fulfilling orders or anything related to that. Marketing communication is prohibited.
If Amazon notices anything unusual in communication then the account can go under review.
5. Customer information:
Seller receives customer information such as phone numbers and addresses to fulfill orders. The seller is required to keep it confidential and use the information only for fulfilling orders.
If the seller tries to use this information for marketing or anything and the customer file a complaint to Amazon, then the account can go under review.
6. Circumvent the Sales Process:
The seller should not try to divert or direct customers to another platform/website by any means. If the seller has been caught trying to divert the customers to another website then Amazon can suspend the account.
7. Multiple Amazon Accounts:
Seller is allowed to maintain only one Amazon account unless there is a legitimate business requirement such as another brand with another business name or you manufacture different products and have separate companies.
If the seller has multiple accounts even with a legitimate business requirement then all accounts are at risk as Amazon will deactivate all accounts when any account violates Amazon policies.
8. Price Fixing Laws
Price fixing is between multiple sellers. If multiple sellers decide to sell a product at a certain price that exploits customers or creates a barrier to entry for new sellers. This type of behavior violates Amazon’s policy.
if Amazon detects it then the seller’s account can go under review.
How will Amazon let you know that your Amazon account is under review?
Amazon sends an email notification to the seller normally and notifies that the account is under review. Selling privileges will be restricted or removed. Below is an example of how Amazon notifies the seller.
This notification is frustrating for the seller if the seller has done nothing wrong. Sometimes there is a system glitch but that is rare.
How Does One Resolve an Account Suspension?
Account under review is also known as account suspension and this only happens when the seller has done anything wrong. This can happen for a variety of misconducts by the sellers. Several reasons have been mentioned above.
Sellers need to appeal to Amazon regarding the situation and submit a Plan of Action. The plan of action should contain a clear understanding of what they did wrong according to Amazon policy and how the seller can rectify it.
To submit the appeal seller should do the following,
- log in to the Amazon Seller Central dashboard.
- Click on Performance
- Click on Performance Notification
- Click on Suspension Notice
- Click on Appeal
The seller has to keep cool when submitting an appeal to Amazon and not panic. The seller has to understand that there is no loss to Amazon when suspending an account. All loss is of the seller.
The seller has to write to appeal professionally admitting the mistake that has been done with or without intention. Acknowledge the issue and provide how you can rectify or adjust the problem to continue selling on Amazon.
Do not send follow-up messages every few days as this does not speed up the review process. Wait for the Amazon team’s response and then move forward according to it.
How Long can it Take to Get Resolved?
If the account has been suspended then the seller has to appeal to get the account back. The timescale depends on the severity of the issue and how well the seller has responded to rectify the situation.
If the appeal is successful then the resolution can take 2-5 weeks maximum.
Conclusion:
Selling on Amazon comes with many benefits but if you violate Amazon’s policies then your account can go under review.
This blog post has mentioned several reasons that can lead to account suspension. After reading this post you can understand why is your Amazon account under review and how to resolve it.
If you would have any queries related to your Amazon account, you can let us know by commenting below.
