Amazon’s appellate process for account and listing deactivations for third-party sellers can be very frustrating. When a seller’s plan of action (POA) is rejected, Amazon will send you the same boilerplate email without specifying why your appeal was denied. However, there are tools and resources available to assist sellers in understanding what caused their account deactivation or listing level violation, why their appeal was denied, and what is needed to move forward. One way that we have found to be helpful is by utilizing the Amazon Account Health Team. In this blog, we will discuss what the Amazon Account Health team is, as well as the appellate process for sellers, and how the two can be used in tandem to move forward with the Amazon appeals game.
The Amazon Account Health Team Explained
Maintaining good seller account health is important to successfully selling on the marketplace. Amazon measures the health of a selling account based on how well sellers are adhering to the mandatory policies and targets established for sellers on its site. This information is displayed on the Account Health dashboard within Seller Central.
The Account Health section is divided into three sections namely 1) customer service performance 2) product policy compliance, and 3) shipping performance.
The Customer Service Performance metrics include:
- Order Defect Rate (ODR): THE ODR is a way for Amazon to measure the customer service standards of a seller. It does this by looking at claims made by unsatisfied customers, negative feedback, and chargebacks.
- Invoice Defect Rate: The invoice defect rate is a measurement of the number of orders placed by Amazon business customers for which there is not a downloadable receipt or invoice within one business day following confirmation of shipment.
The Product Policy Compliance section contains all listing-level violations. These listing-level actions may be taken due to third-party violations including intellectual property rights owners, buyers, and Amazon. This page tracks the following violations:
- Suspected Intellectual Property Violations
- Received Intellectual Property Violations
- Product Authenticity Customer Violations
- Product Condition Customer Violations
- Product Safety Customer Violations
- Listing Policy Violations
- Restricted Product Policy Violations
- Customer Product Reviews Policy Violations
Lastly, the Shipping Peformance metrics include:
- Late Shipment Rate (LSR): The LSR measures the percentage of orders where shipment confirmation occurs after the expected ship date. It is important to note that LSR only applies to seller-fulfilled orders.
- Pre-fulfillment Cancellation Rate (CR): This metric measures the number of orders a seller cancels during a seven-day time period.
- Valid Tracking Rate (VTR): The VTR measures the percentage of packages (with some exceptions) shipped by a seller that have a valid tracking number.
Using the information provided through these metrics, Amazon gives each seller an Account Health Rating (AHR), which can be Good, At Risk, or Critical. Accounts listed as being At Risk or Critical may be at risk of deactivation.
For any questions or concerns relating to potential or actual account suspensions, sellers may speak to the Amazon Account Health team. They are able to access records that a seller may not otherwise be privy to, such as the notes of the Seller Performance Team. A seller is only able to speak with a member of the Amazon Account Health team by requesting a call through Seller Central.
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The Amazon Appeals Process for Sellers
Having a suspended account can be devastating for an Amazon seller. After all, it is their livelihood, and every day of suspension is money lost. Because of this, most sellers are eager to have their accounts reinstated so they can continue business as usual and submit their POA as soon as possible. Too many times, however, the POA is rejected for no discernible reason.
Plan of Action (POA) Explained
A POA is a seller’s way of informing Amazon of the steps they are taking to resolve the issues that have led to the account suspension. Prior to creating a POA, a seller must be certain they understand exactly why their account has been suspended. Depending on the reason, the seller will need to conduct internal audits to pinpoint exactly where and why the issue(s) occurred. Only then can they adequately address how this problem will be remedied and the steps the seller is taking to prevent it from happening again. A generic, simple POA is typically not enough for reinstatement; Amazon wants to see that real thought and effort was put into the POA before allowing the seller back on their marketplace.
Having an Amazon seller attorney assist with interpreting the reasons why the account was suspended, as well as conducting an internal audit and creating an actionable POA, can be extremely beneficial for an Amazon seller. A seasoned attorney at ESQgo will know what to look for and how to best prepare a POA so that Amazon is likely to reinstate the seller’s account.
Utilizing the Amazon Account Health Team In the Amazon Appeals Process
When a seller’s POA has been rejected without a clear reason why, and requests for clarification are met with silence or copies of the same rejection template being sent multiple times, sellers can feel overwhelmed and at a loss on how to proceed. It is at this point that contacting the Amazon Account Health team can be extremely beneficial. They can only be contacted via Seller Central, but once a seller is in touch with them, they can speak with a live person via phone. Of course, like most things with Amazon, the process is not as simple as asking Seller Support for an Amazon Account Health team member. This route will only end with the seller receiving a generic email regarding creating a POA. A seller wanting to speak with a member of the Amazon Account Health team should:
- Log into their Seller Account
- Under “Performance” on the top banner, click “Account Health”
- Click “Help”
- Click “Check Account Status”
- Click “Contact Us”
The seller will need to leave a contact number along with a very straightforward message that instructs the Amazon Account Health team member to call them for help with an appeal. No further information is needed.
Once a seller receives a call from the Amazon Account Health team member, they can ask for clarification on why their POA has been denied. The team member will have access to the seller’s appeal history and will be able to identify the areas of concern for the Seller Performance Team. This information can be crucial to understanding the shortfalls of the POA that was submitted and what needs to be changed so that the POA will be more compliant.
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Speak With An Amazon Seller Attorney At ESQgo About Amazon Appeals
If you are an Amazon seller and you need help with the appeals process, contact an Amazon seller attorney at ESQgo. We are lawyers that represent Amazon sellers so they can concentrate on protecting their interests and growing their business. We may be reached by calling 888-600-1925 or via our contact page.
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