Dealing with account health issues can be frustrating—even for seasoned Amazon sellers. Account deactivations or the removal of product listings may adversely impact your brand reputation and bottom line, and the process of resolving your account health issues can feel like an uphill challenge.

Below, we discuss common account health issues sellers encounter, and outline the steps you can take to resolve them—so you will be well on your way to getting your account health back on track.

When Amazon deactivates a seller account, it removes selling privileges and may withhold any funds that may be in the account. Account deactivations can occur for a variety of reasons, and may occur as a result of the following events that are in breach of Amazon’s policies:

● A seller operates multiple seller accounts without a legitimate business need. This is in breach of the Seller Code of Conduct, which stipulates that sellers can only maintain one Seller Central account for each region in which they sell, unless there is a legitimate business need to open a second account. As such, this action can result in account deactivation.

● A seller increases the price of a product after an order is confirmed. In this situation, the seller has failed to act fairly and lawfully, and has misused Amazon’s features or services. This action is in breach of the Seller Code of Conduct, and can result in account deactivation.

● A seller asks a customer to write only positive reviews. In this scenario, a seller has attempted to influence or inflate a customer’s ratings, feedback and reviews. This action is in breach of the Seller Code of Conduct, and can result in account deactivation.

The first step towards getting your account reinstated is to understand the reasons for deactivation. Amazon notifies sellers of an account deactivation through Performance Notifications in Seller Central, as well as via email. It is important to read the message thoroughly to get a clear understanding of the details relating to your account deactivation, and the steps you need to take to submit an appeal.

Next, you need to create your plan of action. It should address three key questions:

● What was the root cause that led to the issue?
● What actions will you take to resolve the issue?
● What steps will you take to resolve further issues?

You can use the following guidelines to craft your plan of action:

● Be concise and objective: Your plan of action should be factual and concise. Focus on facts and events relevant to the issue, rather than providing an introduction of your product, business or customer.

● Provide an explanation for all issues: Certain deactivations may occur as a result of a combination of issues. For instance, a High Order Defect Rate may arise from negative feedback and undelivered orders. You need to identify and address each root cause in your plan of action. Your explanation should be brief, and written in bullet points.

● Include supporting evidence for all items: Make sure you include supporting evidence for all products or ASINs under review. Examples of supporting evidence include invoices, receipts and sales reports. You can locate the list of products at the bottom of the original notification you receive. Remember to check the time frame requested for the documents, as you may be required to show invoices generated within the past 365 days for certain products.

● Highlight key areas in your supporting documents: Highlighting or marking out important areas within your documents can help make your response more relevant. Examples of areas to highlight include ASINs, Supplier Contact details or clauses within your Terms and Conditions.

The final step is to submit your appeal letter. Access Seller Central, and navigate to Performance > Account Health. At the top of the Account Health page, click on Reactivate your account. Follow the instructions on the page, then click on Submit to send your appeal to Amazon.

After your submission, keep an eye on your email for responses from Amazon. If you have received a request for more information, click View Appeal in Account Health to submit the required documentation or information. You may expect to receive a response to your appeal within two business days.

Policy compliance issues can occur—despite a seller’s best efforts to follow best practices and adhere to Amazon’s product policies. If there is any component of a product listing that does not meet Amazon’s requirements or comply with its policies, the listing will be removed until the issue has been resolved.

Common reasons for the removal of product listings include:

● A seller fails to comply with Amazon’s product detail page rules
● A seller has been reported for the infringement of intellectual property rights
● A seller has listed a restricted product
● Amazon has received complaints about the product condition
● Amazon has received complaints regarding the authenticity of a product

Understanding why your product listing was removed is key, and a careful reading of the performance notification should provide the details. You may find it helpful to refer to resources on the Programme Policies page for further information on Amazon’s policies and requirements.

Next, you need to prepare the required documentation for your appeal. Depending on the nature of the issue, you may have to provide invoices or receipts from your supplier, authorisation documents, or contracts and delivery orders from manufacturers or the brand owners of the products.

Once you have compiled all the necessary documentation, you can access Seller Central to submit your appeal. Navigate to Performance > Account Health. Under the Product Policy Compliance page, click Appeal to submit an action plan for each issue. After your submission, monitor your email closely for responses from Amazon.

If you are not able to find a solution to your account health issues after reviewing your Account Health Rating and Performance Notifications, you can reach out for support from Amazon.

You may browse the Amazon Seller Forums, and glean insights from other sellers who have encountered similar issues. You can also reach out to a dedicated Amazon Forums support team (via the Account Health section) with your questions, and receive a response within 24 hours.

Alternatively, you may contact the support team through Seller Central. On the Help page, scroll to the bottom and click Get Support. You will be presented with two options: Selling on Amazon and Advertising & Stores.

After selecting an option, you will be directed to a different page containing a search bar and a list of questions. If none of the questions listed on the page pertain to the issues you are facing, you can then click on the dropdown option titled “Other account issues”. Select your preferred language, and choose from two options—email or phone—to communicate with the Amazon support team.

Under certain circumstances—such as when urgent issues arise—the Account Health support team will initiate communication via a call. Through the call, the support team aims to provide personalised advice to help sellers mitigate issues relating to account deactivation.

To avoid missing out on important calls from the support team, it is recommended that you share your contact information with Amazon. Access Seller Central, and navigate to Settings > Notification Preferences > Notification Options > Emergency Notifications to update your contact number.