Appealing the Removal of Selling Privileges
Selling privileges are commonly removed for:
Poor performance : Your customer metrics-- order defect rate , cancellation rate , or late shipment rate --do not meet our performance targets Violations of our Selling Policies Violations of our rules about Restricted ProductsAppealing your removal
If your selling privileges have been removed, they may be eligible for reinstatement upon appeal.
Here's how to appeal:
Step 1: Determine why your selling privileges were removed
Read the notice you received from Amazon to determine whether your selling privileges were removed due to poor performance or for one or more violations of our selling Policies & Agreements .
Step 2: Evaluate your selling practices
Review your customer metrics and identify those that do not meet our performance targets . Evaluate your selling practices for those that may result in buyer dissatisfaction. Review your inventory for items that are in violation of our Policies & Agreements .
Step 3: Create a Plan of Action
Create a "Plan of Action," outlines the steps you will take to correct the problems you identified in Step 2. Providing a precise Plan of Action that effectively addresses the problems improves the chance that your selling privileges will be reinstated.
Step 4: Send your appeal to Amazon
Once you have created your Plan of Action, send it to Seller Performance with your request for reinstatement.
Log into your seller accountClick Performance Notifications on the Performance linkFind the notice you received about the removal of your selling privileges, and click the Appeal button.Click the Appeal decision button.Enter your Plan of Action details in the form provided.Click Submit appeal to send your completed appeal to Seller Performance.
Step 5: Watch your e-mail for a decision from Amazon
After receiving your Plan of Action, we'll notify you of our decision by e-mail, usually within 48 hours. We review all appeals carefully. However, submission of an appeal does not guarantee reinstatement of your selling privileges.
Creating a Plan of Action
Your appeal should always include a Plan of Action that:
Shows you have identified the problems in your selling and/or inventory management practices.Addresses how you will change your practices to resolve them.
Below are a few examples to illustrate this.
Performance Issues
Example 1: The notice from Seller Performance indicates your selling privileges were removed due to a high order defect rate.
Action: Check your customer metrics page to determine which metric (negative feedback, A-to-z Guarantee claims, and/or credit card chargebacks) does not meet our performance targets . As you evaluate your account, you may want to read all of the feedback comments left for you by buyers. If comments reflect a lack of response from you to buyer e-mails, your Plan of Action may include scheduling time every day to respond to all buyer correspondence.Example 2: The notice from Seller Performance indicates that your selling privileges were removed due to a high late shipment rate. Your customer metrics show that the late shipment rate does not meet our performance target .Action: After you've shipped your orders and confirmed 100% of the shipments, you could review your feedback and order fulfillment practices. You may find that the shipping lead times you set may have been too short. Your Plan of Action may include changing those lead times to something more realistic for your fulfillment processes.Example 3: The notice received from Seller Performance indicates that your selling privileges were removed due to a high pre-fulfillment order cancel rate. Your customer metrics show that your cancel rate does not meet our performance target .Action: Review your inventory management and/or inventory control processes. You may find that your high cancel rate is due to being chronically out of stock for listed items. Your Plan of Action may include monitoring your inventory daily to make sure you never list items you cannot ship immediately.When evaluating your selling practices, here are some areas you may want to review:Setting shipping lead times: Are you setting shipping lead times that are too short?Communication with buyers: Are you effectively responding to buyer questions and doing so promptly and politely?Stocking inventory: Are you consistently running out of inventory and cancelling orders?Listings: Are you describing your items accurately in your listing comments?Policy Violations
If your account was suspended or blocked for violations of our policies, review your inventory to determine whether it includes Restricted Products . Compare your selling practices with our Selling Policies .
Example: The notice from Seller Performance indicates that your selling privileges were removed for selling promotional versions of media (prohibited on Amazon.com).
Action: You could review your inventory and your inventory intake process. You may find that your supplier includes promo CDs in their shipments. Your Plan of Action might include immediately removing those items from your inventory, and then making changes to ensure you review your inventory regularly to remove promotional media.
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