As an Amazon business owner focused on growing your business, you might find this goal challenging as you dive deeper into selling.
Sooner or later, you’ll realize that managing your Seller Central account can be more complicated than you’d expect.
Amazon focuses on making shopping smooth for customers. This means you must keep up with Amazon's changing rules to run your business well.
Often, sellers feel ready to grow but face setbacks from Amazon, like negative reviews, listing removals, or issues with Seller Support. These problems can slow down your efforts to expand.
If you need help with Amazon Seller Central, you're in the right place. Read on to learn how to keep your Amazon account in good shape and tackle potential problems with solutions.
Common Seller Central Problems
At Seller Candy, we wanted to know the biggest challenges Amazon sellers face in Seller Central. After solving over 7,000 issues, we found out what troubles sellers the most. Their most frequent pain points are:
You might not face all these issues, but chances are you've encountered at least one. The kind of problem varies with the type of business you have on Amazon.
Resellers often run into issues with pricing, missing descriptions, inventory mistakes, and IP (intellectual property) violations.
Brand owners might find updating listings' content hard. They also face challenges with Amazon's Voice of the Customer and returns, as Amazon always puts customer satisfaction first. Suspended listings can also be confusing and hurt sales.
Let’s go over the most common Seller Central problems in more detail:
You must master Amazon Seller Central to succeed in the UK/EU markets. On this journey, you may face many challenges, from meeting rules to handling shipping problems, that can slow down your success.
Let’s go over the most common Amazon Seller Central issues regarding UK/EU markets:
Online sellers in the UK and EU need to stay sharp with policy updates. The big news is that Amazon's Responsible Person service ends on March 31, 2024.
This service made following safety rules easier by having a go-to person for all compliance matters. With its closure, sellers must quickly find new ways to meet regulations.
Online sellers in the UK and EU face a big challenge: Every country has its own set of laws and rules, especially when selling on different online platforms. Europe's countries each bring their own rules, and finding them can be tough.
For example, France requires electronics to be recycled (WEEE) and requires producers to take responsibility for their products (EPR). It also has unique rules for food supplements.
To sell well, you must research thoroughly. Sometimes, you may need expert advice to navigate these complex rules.
Amazon has strict rules about what can be sold. This is especially tricky for sellers in the UK and EU. You must know these rules to avoid having products removed or your account suspended.
Take Melatonin as an example. Germany allows it up to 0.5 mg, and the UK government bans the sale of it through 3rd marketplaces. It can be sold only through a prescription from a pharmacy or equivalent.
Ignoring these rules can lead to big issues, like lost sales or account suspension, even in the US, for repeated errors.
It's wise to seek expert advice for products with specific ingredients. A good advisor can help you understand any issues with your product's ingredients.
Lastly, online sellers must adhere to Amazon's labeling and packaging rules. Amazon is strict about keeping its platform organized.
If you ignore these rules, your listings might be suspended, and you could receive negative reviews. Ensure your products are correctly labeled and packaged according to Amazon's standards to avoid these problems.
Amazon lets sellers list almost anything, which can be tough for brands selling common items. When your product does well, hijackers might add their products to your listing. They could even take over the Featured Offer or change your listing's details, which is a big problem if you've spent time optimizing it.
The best first step is to create your brand with a unique name and make sure it's registered with Amazon. If a hijacker tries to piggyback on your product's success, you can report them to Amazon for copyright, patent or trademark infringement and get their product removed.
Listings on Amazon can be blocked for many reasons, such as selling something not allowed, listing errors, wrong information, or issues with pricing and rules. Amazon will tell you when there's a problem, but fixing it is usually your job.
Amazon requires sellers to follow its rules to sell on their platform. These rules are part of the Amazon Seller Agreement, which also lets Amazon manage the sellers' products. If Amazon thinks you’re not following the rules, it can remove your products from the site.
Sellers have reported that Amazon removed their products for reasons such as:
First, check your Seller Central dashboard under “Inventory” and look for items marked as “Inactive.” This will show you which products have problems. Some issues, like pricing or needing more details, you can fix yourself.
For bigger problems, like counterfeit claims or banned products, you'll need Amazon's help. Before you contact the Amazon Seller Central support team, make sure you have all the necessary documents first.
To avoid getting your listings blocked or hidden because of quality issues, remember:
Sometimes Amazon's system combines listings it thinks are similar without telling you. It can also separate products that should be together under one main listing. This can mess with your sales, especially if you rely on collected reviews from all the related products.
You need to contact Seller Central support to sort this out. If your brand is registered with Amazon, you have more power than a regular seller. This makes it easier to sort out your listings.
Amazon charges fees for storing and handling your FBA products. Sometimes, Amazon's staff might record the wrong size or weight for your items, which can raise your fees.
If you see your fees increase, check your product's recorded size and weight in FBA. If there are mistakes, ask Amazon Seller Central support to measure your items again.
Amazon restricts some products or categories, often due to sensitive ingredients. This is known as "gating."
If your product gets incorrectly ungated, talk to Amazon Seller Central to restore your listing's restricted status. What regularly happens is that resellers get gated on an item they previously could sell.
Keep in mind that you can’t solve your problems in Seller Central with shortcuts or secret methods! It's better to do your homework before you reach out to Seller Support for help.
After many successes and failures, we've refined our approach to tackle any challenge. Here's some advice to help you with your next issue in Amazon Seller Central.
1. Review the ProblemWhen you're busy growing your business and handling daily tasks, problems can feel huge. First, step back and understand the issue. Ask yourself, what's causing the trouble? Start by looking at any alerts about your performance.
2. Try to Fix It YourselfOnce you know what's wrong, see if you can solve it before reaching out to Seller Central. If you contact them too soon, you might get a standard reply telling you to try fixing it yourself. You'd be surprised how much you can do on your own and save yourself time and effort.
Amazon Seller Central provides a range of tools designed to help sellers manage their accounts more effectively. Familiarize yourself with these tools to navigate and troubleshoot common issues, from inventory management to performance analytics.
It might be tempting to call Seller Support immediately when there's a problem. But, if it's not impacting your sales right away, take some time to work on it first. Here's who to talk to for specific issues:
4. Escalate if Needed
You can escalate the issue if Seller Support isn't helping fast enough. You might consider informing Amazon's Seller Performance Team or the Better Business Bureau.
Don't expect an instant answer, but keep working with Seller Support. Stay patient; your goal is to get a specialist to look at your case.
If you're looking for an easy way to handle sales on different platforms, Expandly is a great option. This software helps you keep track of your inventory, orders, and listings in one place, including on Amazon.
Also, selling in the UK/EU can be tricky because of different rules. Global E-commerce Experts can offer you the advice and help you need to follow these rules. If you have questions, you can contact them directly on their contact page.
You need to put in a lot of effort to sell on Amazon, particularly when contacting support for listing issues. Not all support agents can solve your problems. Here are tips to get a better response from Seller Central support.
Before you talk to Amazon, prepare all the information. This prevents too much back-and-forth with the agent, which can be annoying and waste time. Try to have everything you need ready.
Don't just accept what support says. You might get standard replies that don't solve your problem. Research your issue first. Then, tell the support team how you think it should be fixed. Leading the conversation helps get faster answers. Use the search function within Seller Central to find relevant help articles or contact options.
Be clear, brief, and kind. Give details. The support team members are people too. They value polite and calm conversations and are likely to help you.
Keep calling! Just opening a case might not be enough. Follow up by calling daily for updates. You need to stay persistent.
Need More Help with Amazon Seller Central?
As we said, there's no magic way to handle Seller Central. It takes regular effort to fix issues and time to keep your account running well. It's easy to focus on growing your business and forget the daily upkeep that prevents problems.
However, if you want a solution that handles all the Seller Central tasks for you, you're in the right place. We'll manage everything in Seller Central, giving you the help you need so you can concentrate on what's most important to you. Reach out today!