Amazon has become increasingly protective of people’s products a big concern for many sellers is that the hard work and money they invested in privatizing their brand will be wasted if someone else stays on their listing and profits from their painstaking sacrifice. I decided to check the veracity that Amazon was heavily punishing those who hijacked the topics. I became one myself, just to see what Amazon would actually do.
We created a temporary account, we found a product that had very good sales and we found a supplier to replace us. We bought the same product with two intentional differences from the Amazon listing: it had a different logo, and one ingredient was different. We took advantage of the listing that was selling it and started generating sales. Time to see what Amazon will actually do.
After a week and a half we received a message from Amazon that said: “We are concerned that you may be selling counterfeit products. Please send us invoices and proof that you are actually qualified to sell this product. “We send the requested invoices, we include a polite response and to see how Amazon handled the matter. A while passed and I closed the listing because it was not my intention to harm the other seller. Four or five days later we received a message from Amazon saying: “Your account has been suspended and your privileges as a seller have been withdrawn.”
This is not the first time an account has been suspended. It had already happened to me early in my career as a seller on Amazon. I was selling security products, very new to the whole subject and also ignorant. I had no idea that there are certain products on Amazon that are prohibited from selling. However I was able to get my account reactivated.
It only took a logo and ingredient change to get suspended from Amazon in two weeks and how to get an Amazon suspended account reinstated?
What does this mean for sellers?
This is actually great news. If you are selling your own brand of products, your chances of being protected by Amazon are very strong.
This is what happens that makes those who hijack the listings be suspended: The other sellers of the product take a photo of the product, send it to Amazon to prove the illegitimacy or falsification of the same and as a result the taker ends up being suspended. But worst of all, they have like 10 different listing hijackers and they will have to repeat this process over and over again.
How do you protect yourself against this fact?
The Amazon Brand Registry. It has been reopened and requires a trademark to apply. When you own your own ark, Amazon will respect it. The chances of your own brand helping you in the process are much greater. This is how you protect yourself from this problem.
If you find someone hijacking your listings and are willing to do the difficult job of proving to Amazon that they are not the legitimate sellers, Amazon will protect you and your brand in the end. I think that’s great.
When Amazon withdrew the selling privileges, this is what happened:
“Currently you have been unable to sell on Amazon because we have received complaints about the authenticity of the products listed at the end of this email. The funds will not be transferred to you but will remain with your account while we work with you to resolve this issue. “
When the hijacker receives the message, it will make him very angry. For legitimate sellers, this is sensational news. The person who has the brand will be the clear winner, as they were the ones who did the hard work and now they are making a profit. So if someone hijacks your listings, give yourself courage and face it.
I also want to explain to you how you can achieve the recovery of your account. We were able to successfully recover the temporary account. Some of you may even find yourself in this situation despite having done nothing wrong, so I want you to know how you can handle it.
Do what Amazon asks of you. Don’t take it personally and hold her against the other sellers. Do exactly what they ask of you. Amazon will ask you for exactly three things: invoices or receipts, an action plan, and what actions you have taken to correct the problem.
If you have invoices or receipts from an international provider, I recommend that you do not use those. Some people have succeeded in the maneuver, but the success rate is very low. I recommend that you go to an invoice generator and create your own invoice. What I do is find a company that produces the product that I am selling, then I look for the contact details and enter them on the invoice. This uses their logo, name, address, website and then the sum for the inventory I own of them.
This information fits very well with the product we order: the only difference is that the supplier we declare is not the one we use, which is in China. If we send that one, my chances will be much better. Using the modified invoice the result was very positive.
This is what I wrote:
“My action plan and the steps I will take to correct the problems that were identified:
For all future purchases of products, I will use as a source a vendor who accurately represents the product in the listing.
I will personally veto and test the product for quality and likeness before it enters any distribution truck and makes its way to Amazon warehouses. We now have a team of testers who will test samples of the product from each batch immediately after the batch is finished.
We have also rented a warehouse where we can organize all our products and test them before they are sent to Amazon warehouses.
I was careless in choosing a supplier and not checking the quality of all parts and such a mistake is entirely my fault. This ended up causing customers to be upset that the product was not exactly what was shown. This was equally not fair to me as well as to the other sellers in the listing.
I will no longer sell products that are listed in the Amazon catalog. I know this is not against policy if the product is generic and represents exactly what is shown in the listing, but in the past, most of my products have been from my own listings and private label with very few exceptions and this create an experience for the user who buys on Amazon.
I will make our company name a registered trademark to make it known that we are developing a unique presence on the Amazon platform. This investment will help us focus on the quality of our products as opposed to transactions on Amazon.
Before my account was suspended, I had already closed the listing and requested that all inventory be returned to me so that it would not be an inconvenience. A few returns have come in since then, so we request a return order on those products as well.
I am not at Amazon to sell products or things, but to develop a brand of products that will impress Amazon customers. If you give me the opportunity to prove my words, I will be grateful for life.
To show that I am going beyond my words, we have applied for a registered trademark in the United States with serial number [XXXXX]. They can enter the corresponding site and review the request made.
Our purpose is to build a face-to-face brand that provides natural and organic beauty and fashion products to women in their mid-20s to late 30s. This is our website (XXXXX) which shows 100% custom designed products for women. We will work night and day to create products on Amazon that customers love.
Thank you for reading our post and we thank you for the privilege of selling on the Amazon platform. “
Be humble: if you make a mistake, face it, and give them whatever they ask of you. Do the unspeakable. Show them how committed you are to making this the best possible experience. Explain everything they think is important to you.
When you’re dealing with any kind of suspension, treat it like you’re writing a resume! Do everything you can to reinforce your views and defenses. Our account, for example, was reactivated in less than 48 hours. We gave two invoices, created this plan and the letter, and instead got a message that said, “Your Amazon selling privileges have been restored.” We even went to the other seller we were testing their listings against and sent them a gift card as an apology for selling on their listings, just for the ease of my conscience.
There are two things you must not forget.
The first: Amazon will protect you if you take the right path. If you are really building a brand, a trademark, a company, they will see that intention. You will win if you are in it for the long term benefits. If you are trying to make short term profits, this will not work for you.
The days when you could make a quick buck on Amazon were there, but they are long gone. The people here are to build a legitimate business over a period of time. Not only will they survive, they will get rich in the process. Most people will just give up and not have the business mindset. If you want to win, you will need that mindset.
The second: If you eventually get suspended, don’t think it’s the end of the world. There is a great chance that you will be able to reverse the damage. Do what Amazon asks of you. Send those invoices or receipts. Use a legitimate warehousing company, I have found in the past that if I just create my invoices or receipts from a trusted wholesaler instead of a Chinese supplier, everything will work fine. Let them know your plan. What is it? They even provide you with a link to show your ideas on how to create a plan based on why your account was suspended. Show them in detail what you want to do. They want to know that you are building a brand and not just selling things. Then finally what have you done to fix the problem? Are you holding yourself responsible for the mistake? Don’t make up a bunch of excuses. They will be able to figure out what you want. Tell them the truth, be honest with them, and you will have your account back. Have a great day.
