Listing removed - inauthentic complaint

Hi,

A buyer contacted Amazon directly complaining about the packaging of a product saying it was fake. I assured them it was genuine and offered a full refund if the item was returned but they didn’t want to pay postage.

I sent a prepaid returns label but they then were not happy it wasn’t tracked. After several messages exchanged I gave them a 50% refund and said they could either keep the item or return for the other 50%.

They said they would return it but to date I haven’t had it back - the following day they also left negative feedback saying the item was fake. Everything I sold during these past days was Merchant Fulfilled (after I made a few sales I upgraded to Professional).

I had an email 3 days later:

pq-offer-review@amazon.co.uk
Selling on Amazon: Your listing is under review - action required

" Hello,

Why did I receive this message?
In order to ensure the authenticity of items for sale on Amazon, we are reviewing your inventory for the ASIN listed below. Your listings are still active, but we would like to work with you to complete our review. When you reply to this email, do not delete this code: {amazon.pqref.28bb314a6e238428f5ae80b5dce59e90}

• ASIN: XXXXXXXXXXX
• TITLE: XXXXXXXXXX

What happens now?
Within 7 days, please reply to this email with the following:

• Copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the last 365 days. These should reflect your sales volume during that time.
• Contact information for your supplier, including name, phone number, address, and website.

You can send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered. We may call your supplier to verify the documents. You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible. We will maintain the confidentiality of your supplier contact information.

How do I send the required information?
Please submit this information by replying to this email. When you reply to this email, do not delete this code: {amazon.pqref.28bb314a6e238428f5ae80b5dce59e90}

What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not hear from you within 7 days, or we are unable to confirm the information you provide, we may remove your listings.

Learn more about our policies in Seller Central Help:

• Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions
• Condition Guidelines

Sincerely,
Seller Performance Team"

I could still sell, including this ASIN but there was nothing showing in Account Health. It seems there was a bit of a delay as a few hours later I see a defect in Account Health under Policy Compliance : Product Authenticity Customer Complaints. I think at the time it was also showing my account as ‘at risk’?

There was the option to appeal here, which said to list the ASIN I needed to request approval and submit documents:

"At least one purchase invoice for products from a manufacturer or distributor. Must meet the following requirements:

• Include document date (date must be prior to the Policy Warning notification or enforcement)
• Includes your name and address, matching the information in your selling account
• Include the name and address of the manufacturer or distributor
• Show the combined purchase of at least 10 units
• Omit pricing information (optional)
• Please note that we may verify your submitted documentation by contacting product vendors you identify in your application"

So I called Seller Support and explained about the pq-offer-review email and Account Health defect - do I respond to one, the other or both - they said it would be best for me to appeal/respond to both.

The problem is, my invoices are older than 365 days and whilst the product was bought from a bona-fide supplier in business over 50 years, it was not bought from the manufacturer or an authorised distributor. I don’t have a letter authorising me to sell the product and I didn’t know about those rules unfortunately.

I sold the product before any approval was required and even before Amazon themselves who came along and undercut me. So over the years I’ve just sold a few now and then when they were out of stock - lately Amazon and others had no stock presumably due to the pandemic.

I replied to pq-offer-review@amazon.co.uk attaching a copy of my invoice with the pricing omitted:

"Dear Seller Performance Team,

I am happy to assist with your review of this ASIN and have attached my supplier invoice with pricing blanked out.

This is not dated within 365 days as the purchase was a large quantity and competition on the listing meant sales were slow which is why I still had stock left.

The invoice has my old address which I updated in Seller Central after moving address.

Supplier contact information:

[Supplier name]

[Supplier telephone number]

[Supplier address

[Supplier website]

Sincerely,
chaoticj"

I also appealed through the Account Health defect, attaching the same invoice and mentioning again it showed my old address, since updated in SellerCentral after I’d moved.

Within minutes I had an email from Amazon:

no-replies-appeals@amazon.co.uk
Your Amazon.co.uk Selling Account

" Hello

We received your submission but do not have enough information to reactivate your listings at this time. We cannot accept this invoice because it was issued over 365 days ago.

What happens now? Your listings for the below item(s) will remain inactive. If we receive more complaints about your listings, we may deactivate your Amazon seller account.

ASIN: XXXXXXXXXX

You can view your account’s performance at (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_pq) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/amazon-seller/id794141485?mt=8) or Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en_GB) device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.

Sincerely, Seller Performance Team
https://www.amazon.co.uk"

There was the option to appeal again on the Account Health defect but as they want an invoice in the last 365 days and I don’t have it there didn’t seem any point. I deleted the ASIN in question and the other couple of ASINs I was selling as all had the same problem with lack of invoices in the past 365 days.

I then got this email 7 days later:

no-replies-appeals@amazon.co.uk
Selling on Amazon: Your listings have been removed for review

"Hello,

Why did I receive this message?
We removed some of your listings because of concerns about the authenticity of the items. The listings we removed are below.

• ASIN:XXXXXXXXXX
• TITLE: XXXXXXXXXX

We also removed these listings because they are variations of the above ASINs:

What happens now?
If you would like us to reinstate your listings, please reply to this email with the following:

• Copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the last 365 days. These should reflect your sales volume during that time.
• Contact information for your supplier, including name, phone number, address, and website.

You can send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered. We may call your supplier to verify the documents. You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible. We will maintain the confidentiality of your supplier contact information.

We will review your information and decide whether to reinstate your listings. If we do not reinstate your listings, please remove your inventory from FBA through the Manage Inventory Page, if applicable. To learn more, search for “Remove Inventory from a Fulfillment Center” in Seller Central Help.

How do I send the required information?
To send us the required information, please visit your Account Health Dashboard ([https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_pq] in Seller Central and click on the appeal link next to the impacted ASIN.

What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we find other problems or receive complaints about your listings, we may not allow you to sell on Amazon.co.uk.

To learn more about our policies, search for these topics in Seller Central Help:

• Prohibited Seller Activities and Actions
• Product Detail Page Rules
• Condition Guidelines

You can view your account’s performance at or Android device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.

Seller Performance Team"

Then another email 11 days after that:

no-replies-appeals@amazon.co.uk
Action Required: Listing Removed from Amazon

" Dear chaoticj,

We have removed your listing because of a buyer complaint about the authenticity of an item they received from you. The listings we removed are at the end of this email. If you have FBA inventory of the items causing “inauthentic” complaints, they are currently ineligible for removal.

Why did I receive this message?
In order to ensure that customers can shop with confidence on Amazon, we take “inauthentic” complaints seriously. The sale of counterfeit products on Amazon is strictly prohibited.

You can learn more about Amazon’s policies regarding the sale of counterfeit items in Seller Central Help:

• Amazon Anti-Counterfeiting Policy
• Policies and Agreements

How do I reactivate my listings?
To reactivate your listings, please provide copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the last 365 days for the ASINs listed at the end of this email:

• These documents should reflect your sales volume during the last 365 days.
• Please include contact information for your supplier, including name, phone number, address, and website. We may contact your supplier to verify the documents. We will maintain the confidentiality of your supplier contact information.
• You may remove pricing information, but the rest of the document must be visible. For ease of our review, you may highlight or circle the ASIN(s) under review.

You can send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.

How do I send the required information?
To send us the required information, please visit your Account Health Dashboard in Seller Central and click on the appeal link next to the impacted ASIN.

What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information your listings will remain deactivated. If we receive additional complaints about your listings, we may deactivate your Amazon seller account. If you do not appeal this decision within 90 days, any FBA inventory of the items that caused “inauthentic” complaints may be destroyed at your expense.

Have your listings been removed in error?
If you believe the complaints about the authenticity of your items are unjustified or received in error, please explain how you identified this issue and we will investigate your concern (for example, a complaint created by a competing Amazon seller).

You can view your account’s performance at or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device.
The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.

Seller Performance Team

Since then I received some positive feedback, one buyer struggled to use the item so I gave advice and they were then happy and a couple queried delivery. I have withdrawn all the money from the sales and downgraded from Professional.

I would like to know if I need to anything further regarding this - should I be appealing again? As I say my invoices are outside of 365 days so it doesn’t appear they will be accepted. My account doesn’t show ‘at risk’ now as far as I can see, I can still sell and list if required, but I keep receiving the above emails.

I’ve done a lot of reading on this forum and it seems Amazon usually suspend your account and ask for a Plan of Action etc.

Thank you so much in advance for your advice,
chaoticj