How to fix a Suspension

We’ve all been there. Watching... waiting for something to go wrong with our Amazon accounts.

And sure enough, something eventually does.

Jeff loves to keep us on our toes. But somehow, his team doesn’t understand why or how he does it…

They’re supposed to be the Seller “support” team, but they just end up confusing the situation.

The reality is you need to know how to fix your issue before you even talk to the seller “support” team, otherwise, you’re in for a long and bumpy ride of back-and-forth without anything getting done.

That’s one of the most important lessons we’ve learned from our years of experience with Amazon.

Let's say you get hit with a listing suspension. It happens. And when it does, it can be disastrous. You need to take immediate action to prevent missed sales opportunities which can have a huge impact on your bottom line as well as your BSR.

What are your options? 

You could do some online research and try to fix it yourself. If it’s something simple this could be a good option. If it’s not, do you want to risk it? Your listing being down is costing you money every single hour.

You could hire a full-service agency and have them take care of account issues as part of the service they provide. The problem with that is that they’re expensive - putting out fires isn’t their job, they’re interested in your account growth. That’s what you pay them for and that’s what they want to be doing. It’s not a sustainable strategy! 

You could try your luck with some Upwork freelancers, boasting experience, or special contacts at Amazon. You need to ask yourself then; ‘is this person truly an “expert”’? Do you want to gamble your livelihood on someone you don’t know that you can trust? And, just like the one-off service, you’ll do half the work and then wait for the “expert” to resolve the issue.

We’ll let you in on a little secret strategy of ours. This is how our agents go about recovering a suspended listing. So make a quick cup of coffee and note this down:

1. 1. Go raise a case (hail mary) in Seller Central and ask “support” what they think the reason for the suspension is… we know 99% of the time they won’t tell you or even know themselves. But every so often they give you a golden nugget! 

That didn’t work? It was worth a shot. If you want something done right, do it yourself! Or, the next best thing, learn from a team of ex-Amazon employees, genuine Amazon experts. Here’s the process they use:

1. 1. 1. Complete initial steps depending on the suspected violation
         1. Product policy: Sanitize the listing.
         2. Authenticity claim: Annotate and upload invoices to the account health dashboard.
         3. IP violation: reach out to the brand owner.
         4. Product Safety issue: Prepare a Plan of Action and submit an appeal.
         5. Hazmat: check for hazardous ingredients and prepare SDS or SDS exemption sheet.

What if this doesn’t work?
Don’t worry, we’re not out of options yet.

If Amazon confirms that the listing is compliant and still suspended, delete the ASIN for 24 hours to reset, then reupload. It sounds scary but it works.

Still, having issues?

Now it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work! Get ready to pick up your phone and start harassing Seller Support for a resolution. 

After reading this, I’m sure you’ve realized there’s no real magic pill.

And don’t believe anyone that tells you otherwise.

But remember, it pays to know the steps to reach a resolution. If you can tell the seller “support” agents exactly how to solve the issue it becomes as simple as following up and guiding them through this exact process.

Recap

Let’s recap one last time:

1. 1. Review your listing and try to understand the core issue.
   2. Consider listing edits and flat-file updates to support the case you’re raising to seller “support” with actions you have already taken
   3. Appeals and cases: don’t let up! Keep pounding away until your case is hammered home.
   4. Call, call, call: get on the phone with the seller “support” team until they understand how to fix the issue.

It may not be glamorous but we’ve seen this exact process work time and time again … even with the most challenging suspension issues!

I hope you’ve found this helpful, and I wish you never have to worry about a listing suspension.

But if you do, we’ll be here for you.