[Updated for Feb. 2016]
With tens of thousands of Amazon selling professionals in our readership base, we are positioned well to keep tabs on bigger trends effecting sellers. By now we’ve all heard the horror stories about suspension. It’s scary to get a notice from Amazon saying that they’ve suspended your selling privileges.
While the odds of a permanent suspension are very slim IF it’s handled correctly, it is still a scary process to go through.
If it happens to you or someone you know, we are here to help as much as possible. Please know that the majority of suspension can be overturned if handled properly, but you should know all your options!
Here’s what we are doing about the suspension trend in our community:
- We are partnering up with top experts in the arena of “suspension reversal & prevention.” The good news is, the vast majority of suspensions ARE overturned and we have resources on hand ready to assist. Don’t try to handle it alone. Don’t panic and reply desperately to Amazon (that can make things harder to fix).
- Consider using a “Keep it clean” service like this one: https://md961.isrefer.com/go/GCSC/JimC/ This service proactively monitors your account for any possible violations.
- A special report about preventing suspension and managing suspension has been developed by Cynthia Stine and is available right now using THIS LINK – the report is by a trusted partner of mine. This report is one of the many valuable tool we include for all of our ProvenAmazonCourse.com students as well for reference.
- You can take some simple steps to help prevent suspensions. For example, be prepared to provide legitimate proof of purchase invoices and receipts for all your inventory. Monitor your reports closely for negative trends (bad products that generate consistent complaints, etc.).
- We continue to teach multiple income stream strategies! For example, there are millions of products, experts, small businesses, charities etc. that aren’t on Amazon yet! Learn how easy it is to get them onto Amazon with their own account, and get paid a “cut” using our brand new course at ProvenProductPartnering.com.
- For more great ideas on how to “compliment” your Amazon business consider my best selling (and continually updated) book “Silent Sales Machine”. That book has been about online income diversification from day one. Our entire community is built upon the premise that multiple income streams online are better than one because reliance on any single “big boy” website like Amazon, eBay, Google, Youtube etc. is risky. Get the book on Amazon, or at SilentSalesMachine.com
Finally, if you or someone you know is suspended on Amazon please send proof of that suspension to us and we’ll get the suspended seller free access to our eye opening course from ProvenProductPartnering.com as our way of showing support and helping them be aware of the need for income diversity with Amazon. We’ll also direct them to an expert who can advise them and assist with reinstatement.
Suspension is the least of my worries. I’ve recently had all of the products I was selling come under fire of people piggybacking on my ASIN. I went out of my way to “private label” my items and yet they have basically stolen my listings. Amazon will do nothing about it, even though I did test buys of their products and reported them as fakes.
Wow, thanks Jim, for offering this service! And free access to the Proven Product Partnering course to help those who have been suspended? You are amazing!
Thanks Serena – I’m all too familiar with the panic that comes with being even temporarily suspended from a service you rely on. This is our way of showing support for those who are seemingly randomly slapped with an outage.
I’m so sorry Steven – I do feel good that you’ll get through this. Patience and caution are called for here. Once they give you notice that they will accept no further appeals, it’s gets a lot harder to make any progress. Take careful, well informed steps from this point forward.
Here’s a link to the service we currently endorse for assisting with suspensions:
mysilentteam.com/amazonsuspension.html
Yes, that’s our referral link, but we did a lot of homework on choosing our “go to” candidate for this service. They pay us a small finders fee for clients we refer. They get great results and give great advice.
I continue to be impressed by how you operate in this community. Grateful to be part of it!
Thank you for that! This is my life’s work – my “calling” if you will. I take it quite seriously and appreciate the feedback from readers like you more than you likely realize.
I take this stuff VERY personally. This is my life work and my passion. I love serving entrepreneurs and often that means making them a bit uncomfortable and challenging them to LEAD instead of FOLLOW.
Jim Thanks for being willing to help suspended seller accounts get re-activated. I now too know that online diversification is a MUST! I listed a Retail Arb product and after about 180 sales I started getting returns. The original seller who I listed my product up with changed his product and pictures. I didn’t realize it. Three buyers reported incorrect product being sent out and now Amazon has suspended my account. It’s going on 3 weeks now and I am not sure If I’m making any progress with seller-performance group. Feels like I’m getting the run around. I clearly emailed them what my plan of action is to rectify this problem. Again thanks. You are the first teacher that I have ran across to address this issue and I am really looking forward to digging into more of your information.
Thanks so much for this, Jim! Question – is there a place in the PAC training that shows the correct way to go about opening a second Amazon selling account. I have looked around and am unable to find it. Any direction would be great! Thanks so much for all you do!
There ISN’T a safe way to open a second account UNLESS it’s done with Amazon’s permission. It’s against their policy! Please contact their seller support if you have a good reason to open a second account. With our ProvenProductPartnering.com course we teach you to have numerous accounts set up in the names of each of your client/partners to diversify your risk. That IS allowed – and it’s brilliant!
We’ve had tremendous success getting accounts restored with Amazon in all but the most extreme cases.