It happens again and again that marketplace sellers are locked out of their accounts by Amazon. This often has serious consequences for the online companies concerned. We explain how you can react to a suspension.
The suspension of Amazon user accounts applies to the end user, the only purchase goods, as well as the dealers, the goods via Amazon or sells the Marketplace.
However, the explanations for the bans are very different. The deactivation is often carried out without notice.
Reasons for customer accounts suspension
The customer account is often suspended with the apparent reason that the consumer has returned too many shipments. In truth, it is not the number of returns that is decisive, but whether Amazon suspects misuse of so-called concessions. As concessions, Amazon Account Suspended describes the services that it offers its customers over and above the legal obligations. So if you, for example, make use of your statutory right of withdrawal 1000 times and send the ordered goods back within two weeks, your account should not actually be suspended. Different things can look like if goods are returned by Amazon within the 30-day right of return or if there is a presumption that a large TV is only ordered to watch the World Cup final and will be returned after the final.
Reasons for Merchant Accounts Suspending
For traders, suspension an account is usually much more serious, because suspension the trader’s account can endanger the existence of the entrepreneur. During the blockade, one of the most lucrative sales channels often breaks down. Amazon’s explanations usually differ – depending on the reasons given by the consumers.
Too many returns
Amazon usually blocks accounts when a retailer has to accept returns particularly frequently. From the logistics giant’s point of view, there are two main reasons for this:
- On the one hand, there is a commercial component, since returns generate additional costs and insofar as a retailer with particularly high return rates is less profitable for Amazon. As a result, however, the retailer is also informed very early that he is unprofitable.
- However, the second and probably more frequent reason is different and more unfortunate for retailers: In order for Amazon to maintain its high customer satisfaction values and its great popularity, the company must ensure that no fraudulent marketplace retailers operate on the platform. The performance of the dealers, also with a view to the returns, is therefore checked regularly. If this check reveals that a particularly large number of customers are returning the goods as “not as advertised” or “used instead of new”, then Amazon suspects that the retailer is systematically sending the wrong products. Here, too, the company is overly cautious and blocks accounts sooner rather than later. This is particularly unfortunate for the store operator, as it is ultimately not in the hands of the retailer which products are returned for what reasons and, in the case of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), Amazon makes the decision as to which returned products will be sent again become.
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Data security
In some cases, the reason for the closure is data security. It is said to have happened that customer accounts were taken over by third parties who then offered the stock at very low prices and diverted the sales to their own accounts. However, if two-factor authentication is not activated, Amazon can be alerted by a login process with a new computer and the account can be suspended.
Possible legal violations
If a shop uses protected content that it is not allowed to use, such as copyrighted product photos or protected brand names, then the person entitled to these property rights can prohibit its use. This is usually done via a property right notification on Amazon.
Verification problems
After all, customer accounts are repeatedly suspended, at least temporarily, due to verification problems. The background to this is that Amazon usually processes the payments for its dealers and end customers. Therefore, Amazon is to be seen as a payment service provider for merchants. Payment service providers are subject to the so-called, Know-your-customer regulations. This standard serves to combat money laundering and requires the companies concerned to hold detailed information about their customers and to be able to provide them in the event of irregularities. Usually Amazon makes use of a regulation for standard small customers. After that, dealers are allowed to who do not generate a lot of sales and do not show any abnormalities are listed as customers without being checked. If sales increase and verification is necessary, then Amazon interrupts the customer relationship until the verification process is complete.
Reaction to the suspension of the Amazon account
The first and most important task for the retailer is to first find out what the reasons are for the suspension. The notifications by Amazon usually do not contain any differentiated justification. Therefore, contact must be made with Amazon. This communication turns out to be very difficult, since the retailer without his customer account can only communicate with Amazon via a contact form and thus cannot establish a direct conversation. Communication is also made more difficult by the numerous different departments and different contact persons, some of whom do not seem to be networked with one another. In some cases contradicting information is given.
If the reason for the suspension is known, a comprehensive, sober statement should be made. In this, the dealer can and should propose a comprehensive package of measures (so-called action plan) in order to permanently eliminate the violations accused of him.
This communication can take quite a long time and the dealers are mostly dependent on their customer accounts, because this is the only way to order things from them.
Anika Sharma