What To Do When You Are Suspended

I have seen it countless times. One minute an Amazon business is thriving and making great profits. Then, BOOM! Amazon suspends the account.

It can be both terrifying and maddening.

It causes incredible anxiety, and in their panic, sellers start making desperate decisions.

Losing your head when Amazon suspends you is natural, but acting out of emotion can only make things worse.

Hundreds of clients have come to me in this heightened state of emotion, convinced they are going to lose their businesses. Yet, I have been able to help nearly every single one of them get reinstated, so long as they were willing to follow one, simple piece of advice: adjust your mindset before taking action.

Reacting to a suspension with fear, anger, or desperation is the most surefire way to lose an appeal.

Approaching the situation with the proper perspective goes a long way toward guaranteeing reinstatement.

Here is the basic advice I give every seller who comes to me with a suspension:

First, STEP AWAY and give yourself some time to catch your breath. Don’t write your Plan of Action when you are upset or angry. Do whatever is necessary to get your emotions under control. Distract yourself. Go for a run. Hit the gym. Engage in a healthy activity that will reset your brain. In doing so, you will be able to adopt a positive mindset. Use this an an opportunity to affirm yourself that you can solve this dilemma one way or another.

Secondly: Once your emotions are under control, you are ready to be proactive. Use the downtime away from selling for contemplate the reasons for the suspension. Evaluate your operation from top to bottom. Physically investigate your inventory. Look at your budget, and analyze your finances.

Third, Formulate a plan on how to fix what is broken before even thinking about responding to Seller Performance. Develop alternate strategies in the event your selling privileges are lost for a month or more. Begin your Plan of Action by thoroughly researching the root causes, as this is the most important step in the process. Be exhaustive in your digging. Look at your feedback, returns, account health cases, messaging, and sales reports. ONLY write your POA after determining the root cause, after having looked through every area of your account.

Although it may seem like it, an Amazon suspension is NOT the end of the world. You can recover from it. In most cases, as long as sellers adopt the proper attitude, not only will they be reinstated, but their businesses will thrive like never before.

You simply need to view your suspension as an opportunity, rather than a crisis. This is the perspective you must adopt for long-term success.

If this is your second or third suspension, keep in mind that all suspensions are different. Don’t assume you will be reinstated a second time if you were successful on your own the first time. Second and third suspensions can be much more challenging to resolve.

If your first POA is denied on the first attempt, consider the help of a professional. Keep in mind, not all suspension service providers are equally proficient or successful. We have achieved reinstatements in 98% of cases.

If you are dealing with a suspension, feel free to schedule a time to review your situation at any stage by contacting us here.

Also, check out my new book Amazon Plans of Action: Proven Tactics for Winning Appeals here.