Having your Amazon account suspended may not only be upsetting, but it can also have severe financial consequence for your e-commerce business.

As an Amazon Seller, if you have read any forums or attended conferences about selling on Amazon, undoubtedly you will have heard stories of Sellers getting ‘shut down’ or ‘blocked’.  In reality it would be Amazon ‘suspending’ your account for any number of reasons.

It is reported that the top 5 reasons Amazon accounts are suspended are as follows:

1. Inauthentic account
2. Selling prohibited items
3. Negative feedback
4. Opening a new account after being suspended
5. Rights owner notice complaint (Trademarks)

It is further reported that 50% of Sellers accounts which are suspended take 3-4 days to be reinstated, with 30% taking longer than 5 days. Again, depending on the price-point and volume of units you are selling, 3-4 days can impact your bottom line, not to mention the significant amount of work and time it may take to get your account reinstated.

Amazon believes in a safe and enjoyable experience for buyers with clear rules, and will suspend sellers if they violate any of their seven community rules:

1. Adhere to all applicable laws and abide by all Amazon policies
2. Maintain current account information
3. Never misrepresent yourself
4. Always act in a manner that ensures a trustworthy experience for Amazon customers
5. Never list products that may cause harm to Amazon customers
6. Never engage in any misleading, inappropriate or offensive behavior
7. Act fairly at all times

Sellers take to Google when their account is suspended for help, and some of the first ads are for attorneys and solicitors claiming to have a 100% success rate for getting Amazon accounts reinstated.  If you choose to go down this path, it might be months if not years before you see any results.  However we would like to stress that most suspensions can be sorted by contacting Amazon through your Sellers Central account.

So if you are using an attorney/solicitor, or waiting to hear back from Amazon, what do you do about the loss of revenue during that time?  There is some good news! Fairly new to the market is Insurance for Amazon Sellers.  A year ago Insurance Business Magazine reported that Lloyd’s of London would be offering insurance to third party sellers on Amazon.

Amazon suspension insurance is provided by InsuraTech and underwritten by Lloyd’s of London.  We always suggest you speak with your current insurance provider, or a variety of providers, to make sure you are getting the coverage you desire and need.

For more information about Amazon Seller accounts, contact E-commerce Direct on info@e-commercedirect.com call us on+44 (0) 2381 920 246 or ++1 (888) 567-0464.  You can also talk to us through our live chat, also available on our website.