10 Ways to Avoid Amazon Account Suspension

Welcome one, welcome all!

New sellers, and Amazon stars!

We are here to talk about…you guessed it! Amazon account suspensions! But don’t worry! Today, we’re going to talk about ten ways to avoid Amazon account suspension. Over the years, we’ve seen a dramatic increase in suspended Amazon accounts because Amazon has become even more strict than it used to be! We’re not sure how many out of the 2.5 million Amazon sellers have reported that their account is suspended, but we’re sure the number is high!

However, you can still operate safely on the platform! If you follow these tips from our team, you won’t be needing our services in the first place! And trust us, nothing would make us happier than knowing your operation on Amazon is safe and secure! Just to spice things up, we’ll go through the list in reverse order:

10: Write a Decent Plan of Action

This one is specifically for those of you who have already gotten suspended on Amazon’s platform and are trying to appeal their case. If that has happened, then you definitely know what a plan of action (POA) is. Basically, it is you telling the Amazon Seller Performance team what you, as an Amazon seller, have done to prevent your suspension from happening again. You need to make sure that the plan of action is detailed and convincing. This way, you will not only reinstate your account, but also prevent future suspensions in your Amazon business!

9: Keep an Eye on that ODR!

The ODR or the Order Defect Rate is a metric on Amazon which shows which percentage of your orders on Amazon have been defective. Customers can influence this metric quite a lot. Amazon’s specification for the ODR is 1%. Anything higher than that, and you’ll have your Amazon account suspended! How can you make sure this does not happen? Offer excellent customer service, which will help you stay away from negative feedback, the main culprit behind high ODR rates. Make sure every order is sent out on time, and arrives in the correct condition!

8: Conduct Regular Inventory Audits

You don’t want to sell items that are defective or do not match the information on the listing pages. Especially if you are selling items that have expiration dates, which we do not recommend. That’s why you need to conduct regular inventory audits to make sure everything is right as rain, every product is in stock, and no customer will experience dissatisfaction when shopping from your account! Make sure you also adhere to every product safety guideline. You don’t want to sell dangerous products!

7: Don’t Touch Amazon’s No-No List!

We’ve talked about Amazon’s no-no list of products before. They are items which you are not allowed to sell on the platform. It’s a given that if you add a listing for any of these items, your account will get shut down. Which is why you should stay away from these items!

6: Watch Your Performance Metrics

The Performance Metrics are Amazon’s way of figuring out if you have been a nice seller, or if it’s time to suspend your account! Everything you do in terms of selling on Amazon affects your performance metrics, and your performance metrics in turn affect your overall account health. When it comes to Amazon, account health is as important as your own. The unhealthier it gets, the higher the risk of getting an Amazon suspension becomes.

5: Be On Time!

Most Amazon sellers tend to slack, or do not send orders out on time. Then they wonder why they have been served with an Amazon suspension! It’s called the late shipment rate, and it’s one of the most common reasons for Amazon account suspension. As was the same with the ODR, as well as the overall account health, you are under more risk of getting suspended if your late shipment rate exceeds Amazon’s specification.

4: Watch Your Seller Central!

The Seller Central is basically your mothership on the Amazon platform! It’s where you control everything, and where all of your information is stored. If you ever want to change anything on your Seller Central, make sure you fire a warning shot first! Notify Amazon about the change you want to make. They like that, and it will help you avoid an Amazon suspension!

3: List Your Listings Correctly!

If there’s one thing that customers hate, it’s getting a product that’s different from what they ordered! Amazon also hates sellers who include incorrect information on their listings, so make sure you are not one of these sellers! Everything on each listing should match the product it claims to sell. If you are selling a bag of 12 potatoes, the customer should get a bag of 12 potatoes, not one bag of 3 carrots.

2: Do Not Fabricate Invoices!

You’re probably wondering why someone would do this. Sellers tend to resort to fabricating invoices when they are hit with inauthentic complaints. We don’t know why they think Amazon will never find out, but we can assure you that it always finds out! Just be as honest as you are. Fabricating things on Amazon is not a good idea, and if will do you more harm than good!

As you can see, you can get your account suspend…oh, wait! We forgot the main thing which you can do to prevent an Amazon suspension! Drum-roll, please!

And the Oscar goes to…

1: Provide Excellent Customer Service!

Amazon, after all, is a customer-centric platform. It is even mentioned in the terms of service when you open a new account. Most basic Amazon account suspension cases happen because the customers are not happy for once reason or the other. The ODR, for example, and late shipment rate suspensions, are surefire ways of getting suspended on Amazon. If you provide round-the-clock excellent customer service on the platform, you will reduce your chances of getting your seller account suspended on Amazon!

Because we at Got Suspended Clients are also heavily protective of our clients, we will leave you with one extra tip, which we recommend taking very seriously in case you did end up getting suspended on Amazon!

Do Not Panic!

This is easily the most important thing you can actually do to prevent getting suspended on Amazon! Many sellers panic when they first get the email from Seller Performance which notifies them about their Amazon account suspension. In a rush to fix things, they try to open a new account on Amazon, which, if you do not know by now, will get suspended in a heartbeat!

Take a deep breath, read that email again, and get to work! You need first figure out why exactly Seller Performance suspended your Amazon seller account. They will need that in the appeal. Then, start writing the appeal! Remember, Amazon expects that you do your due diligence!

These tips should help you avoid an Amazon suspension easily on the platform! However, if you are not able to do so, you know where to find us! We will not only figure out the root cause of your suspension, but we will also formulate a plan of action, and run a risk assessment protocol to make sure that you never get suspended on Amazon! Drop us a call, and we’ll help get your account back from Amazon’s suspension zone!