Why Does Amazon Suspend Thousands of Accounts Every Year?

Amazon holds the rank of the world’s top ecommerce platform. They dominate ecommerce in the same way Google dominates the search space. And with that dominance comes a certain amount of respect. Sometimes protecting that respect and it’s brand means Amazon will suspend seller accounts.

As seller consultants and Amazon reinstatement specialists, we are often asked why Amazon suspends so many accounts each year.

They operate in their own proprietary cloud of secrecy and do not publish any official reports detailing suspended accounts or why suspension action was taken against them.

While we can’t point you to a top 10 list of official suspension reasons, we can lean into our experience as Amazon seller consultants to give you some of the reasons we have personally encountered while working with clients.

Here are 6 common reasons for suspension that are pretty easy to recognize if you know what you’re looking for.

1 and 2.  Counterfeit Products or Questionable Product Quality

Amazon does not abide third-party sellers offering counterfeit products. They also restrict products that do not deliver as promised. Amazon considers both scenarios a lack of authenticity. They won’t stand for it.

They don’t compromise when it comes to counterfeit products. They should never be sold on Amazon or elsewhere. As for products deemed inauthentic because they don’t deliver as promised, the simple solution is to improve them or stop selling them. Sellers shouldn’t sell products that make promises they can’t keep.

Amazon does not want to be known as a company that sells junk. So if a product receives too many complaints in terms of quality, a suspension may be in order. We have seen this more than once as Amazon reinstatement specialists.

Honesty and transparency win the day.

3. Breaking the Rules

Any ecommerce platform that welcomes third-party sellers must have a set of rules governing use of the site. Amazon is no exception. Their list of rules for third-party sellers is rather extensive. Break one rule every now and again and you might get off with a warning. Break numerous rules consistently (or even a single one multiple times) and an account suspension is likely.

4. Violating the Law

Above and beyond breaking Amazon’s rules is violating State, Local or Federal law. This is something Amazon absolutely will not tolerate. Things like fraud and money laundering are crimes that could come back to bite Amazon if they do not take steps to prevent it. Any seller suspected of breaking the law can expect a suspension – at the very least.

5. Black Hat Practices

Third-party sellers compete against one another on the Amazon platform. They are allowed to do so using a selection of white hat practices approved by Amazon. They are not allowed to use black hat practices – like paying customers to leave good reviews. Amazon will suspend accounts for engaging in such practices.

6. Consistently Poor Customer Experiences

Last on the list are consistently poor customer experiences. Amazon’s number one priority is to make customers happy. They expect third-party sellers to make every effort to do the same. When a seller performs poorly and receives too many complaints about negative customer experiences, Amazon may suspend the account.

As Amazon seller consultants, we can promise you that a suspension doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your selling career. With some exceptions, there are usually ways to overcome suspensions and get back to selling. Helping you do that is our job as Amazon reinstatement specialists. If you’ve been suspended, let’s talk.