As an Amazon seller in India, keeping your account active and active is of utmost importance for business success. Amazon Seller Account suspension can be devastatingly disruptive to sales as well as to brand reputation.
From complying with Amazon policies and guidelines to understanding suspension reasons, this article provides actionable steps you can take to reduce risk. Whether you are an established seller or a starter to selling on Amazon, the following tips provide knowledge to maintain a compliant account.
Steps to Avoid Amazon Account Suspension for Indian Sellers
Indian Amazon sellers must navigate complex regulations that involve strict product standards, limited direct sales options and opaque suspension policies that could freeze their accounts on short notice.
Indian sellers seeking to reduce suspension risks should become regulatory masterminds by staying ahead of the curve and adhering strictly to regulations and ensuring meticulous compliance. Prioritizing product quality while cultivating customer trust are also invaluable strategies against suspension risk.
Here are some tips on how you could prevent the Amazon seller account suspension and continue selling on Amazon without any troubles.
1. Collect and Submit only Updated Documents
Establishing your Amazon Seller Account requires providing all necessary paperwork. Each document plays a pivotal role in establishing credibility and legitimacy as an Amazon seller.
For Indian Amazon sellers, your checklist should ideally include your GST Certificate, PAN Card, Bank Passbook and FSSAI License as well as SDS/ Lithium Battery related documentation if any products involve battery use. It’s not enough just having them; their accuracy must also be ensured for maximum effectiveness.
Make sure your documents are clearly scanned and uploaded, without any shadows or obstructions that might hinder their viewing by Amazon. They pay special attention to details!
Verify that your business name and address match what’s on your bank statement, Aadhar Card and PAN card – any discrepancies could lead to your Seller Account application being rejected – an unpleasant hiccup that can easily be avoided with some double-checking.
2. Be careful of Amazon’s policies and guidelines
Ensure strict adherence to Amazon’s policies and guidelines, which encompass a wide range of areas essential for sellers. These include:
- General Policies
- Intellectual Property
- Shipping Services Level
- Tax
- Product and Listing Requirements
- Code of Conduct
- Restricted Products
- Additional Programs
- Selling Globally
To know about all the guidelines, visit this Amazon seller policies.
Stay updated on changes to these guidelines as they go through regular revisions, usually via email notifications. It can be easy to overlook updates or delay reviewing them, but staying informed is crucial.
Abandoning these changes increases the risk of violating Amazon’s content guidelines and safety policies, heightening the chance of account suspension significantly.
Amazon’s product safety team takes swift and firm action when it comes to enforcing these policies, and may take direct action by suspending your Seller Account without first issuing a warning and then demanding you provide an action plan within 72 hours.
Your ability to sell products could be seriously hindered if they do not comply with Amazon’s policies while verifying that any content created for sale on their marketplace is accurate and not misleading.
To minimize interruption and maximize sales of your products on Amazon, take measures such as complying with their policies while verifying accurate descriptions for everyone.
3. Be mindful of the Product Restrictions
Given Amazon’s strict regulations regarding the sale of various products, you could run into difficulty selling alcohol, Kindle Accessories, Animals and animal Products, Automotive Parts, artwork, Clothing Items, Cosmetics, Skin/Hair Care, Currency, Drug among many other categories.
Visit the Product Restrictions page using your seller central account to read about them more.
If your product falls within any of these restricted categories, it would be prudent to refrain from listing it – doing so could damage the health of your account and lead to suspensions.
Before making any decisions regarding product removal, it is critical to conduct a risk evaluation and weigh its value. While you might find the risk acceptable, consider what could happen if your account were suspended, preventing the sale of any products. Is taking such risks worth taking during such a busy season, especially after such a grueling year.
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4. Check Your Amazon Account Health Rating (AHR)
Account Health Rating (AHR) measures your account’s risk of deactivation due to policy violation, and displays on each marketplace where they sell globally.
The Account Health Rating (AHR) is a colour-coded score from 0 to 1000 that provides near real-time status of your account’s health, informing you if any marketplace selling accounts are at risk of deactivation. When policy violations arise in association with selling accounts, points are subtracted; when successfully addressed they gain points back.
If your AHR is green (considered “Healthy” with a score ranging from 200-1,000), your account is secure and meets the policy requirements. A yellow AHR (“At Risk” with a score of 100-199) indicates potential risk for deactivation. An AHR in red (“Unhealthy” scoring 99 or lower) means your account is either eligible for deactivation or has already been deactivated.
4. Careful with Your Keywords
Keywords in Amazon listings can be a potential minefield of suspension risks, depending on their use. Common violations include misrepresentation and trademark infringement by using keywords for brands or products you don’t sell, exaggerated claims, keyword stuffing and keyword stuffing.
Also at risk are manipulation tactics like targeting competitor keywords, brand keywords, hidden keywords or aggressive bidding strategies which target competitors.
Violations of Amazon policies relating to offensive language, illegal products or misleading information provided through keywords can trigger immediate suspension. To stay safe:
- Use Keywords Precisely: Choose accurate descriptors to reach your intended audience.
- Don’t stuff: Integrate keywords that sound natural throughout your listing.
- Be honest: Refrain from exaggerations or misleading claims, and regularly check Amazon’s guidelines to ensure compliance.
Responsible keyword usage will allow your listings to reach the appropriate target audience while remaining compliant with Amazon, ensuring you achieve success on this platform. Transparency and accuracy are at the core of its success.
5. Don’t Delay the Shipments
Amazon requires sellers to meet specific performance targets, including maintaining a late shipment rate below 4%. Essentially, out of every 100 orders fulfilled independently, only four can surpass the delivery date to maintain a positive customer experience. Whether using ‘Easy ship’ or ‘self-ship,’ ensuring timely delivery aligns with customer expectations.
Aside from timeliness, the condition of delivered products is crucial. Damaged, broken, or incorrect items result in negative feedback. Therefore, partnering with a reputable logistics service or utilizing Amazon FBA for shipping is critical to uphold delivery standards and customer satisfaction.
6. Avoid Cancelling the Orders
In certain situations, you may need to cancel customer orders, perhaps due to reasons like being out of stock or facing shipment issues. However, similar to the impact of a high late shipment rate, frequent order cancellations could lead to stringent measures from Amazon against your account.
Customers generally dislike order cancellations, as it disrupts their shopping experience and undermines their trust in the Amazon marketplace. To avoid such consequences, it’s crucial to maintain well-stocked inventory and establish reliable, reputable relationships with shipping partners. This proactive approach will help ensure a smooth customer experience and protect the credibility of your Amazon account.
7. Adhere to Product Codes
For any Amazon seller aiming to conduct business, having UPC/GTIN codes for their products is imperative. These codes act as distinct product identifiers, aiding Amazon in effectively monitoring individual items within its marketplace.
However, some sellers mistakenly acquire UPC or GTIN codes from unauthorized sources or print them independently, instead of obtaining them from legitimate channels. UPCs are designated for each business and its products, and any discrepancy in the information provided can lead to listing removal and potentially, suspension of selling privileges.
8. Careful about Sales Spikes
Sales that spike drastically may trigger Amazon’s algorithm and cause your seller account to be suspended, though there may still be ways around this situation. Why? Amazon should verify the product and the reason for the spike to ensure its legitimacy. The verification process of Amazon is called velocity review.
Thus, identify and assess sources, evaluate capacities and implement control measures such as stock limit control, pre-orders and upgraded shipping services, communicate with Amazon about these developments, monitor trends and adapt. Remember that customer satisfaction and abiding by rules are crucial elements to avoid suspension while turning this surge into an opportunity.
9. Don’t indulge in any Black Hat violations
Amazon takes a firm stance against sellers employing unethical tactics to boost their sales, manipulate rankings, and deceive the algorithm for financial gain. Activities such as Misuse of Ratings, Feedback, or Reviews, Misuse of Sales Rank, and Misuse of Search and Browse functionalities are strictly condemned.
Prohibited behaviors include engaging third parties to enhance ASIN rank or reviews, sending unordered packages, soliciting or accepting false orders, self-ordering products, and compensating buyers for purchases, including through claim codes.
Sellers found indulging in these practices will face strict repercussions, including suspension from listing products on Amazon.in
How to Retrieve your Amazon Seller Account from Suspension?
Reactivating your Amazon account requires specific info and a convincing Plan of Action (POA). Here’s the gist:
- Gather Business history proof, expected Amazon sales, other store info, recent order tracking, and tax IDs.
- Craft a strong POA:
- Clearly explain the issue (e.g., non-delivery).
- Provide evidence like tracking numbers or receipts.
- Outline steps taken to fix it and prevent future problems (e.g., improved shipping, customer communication).
- Show commitment to excellent service and prevent future violations.
- Remember: Be professional, factual, responsible, and proofread.
As per the sellers from Amazon Seller Forum, on average, it takes about 15-30 days to verify and reinstate your seller account. Hence, try your best not to fall under suspension since it would affect your sales significantly affecting your business.