Can you close and open an Amazon account with the same information?
Hi all,
I had been selling on Amazon for a couple of years. I had my account deactivated back in April, and just got it reactivated. After all the stress this has caused I would like to close my account. Also, the reason for the account being deactivated was a negative review left by someone (who told me they would remove it as they believed it was unfair), but after the account was deactivated I did not follow up with them (as I was too upset) and so it was never removed. Now it is too late for it to be removed so now that review is there for ever, and thus it seems like a very good time to close it because if I come back I can start again fresh. I still use the business for selling on my website though so I will be keeping it.
My question is as follows: If I decide to open a seller account again, will I be able to do it with the same business and personal information?
I have consulted multiple sources including seller support and they all state that you will not be able to use the same email address, but should be able to use the same everything else (business, business bank account, contact person, registered address, phone number - I think that’s all). If anyone has any experience or knowledge with this matter it would be very much appreciated.
30 replies
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
As your posting, the account must be currently open.
As such, I would recommend that you continue to use the same account, assuming that it is now activated.
There are limited reasons for opening a second account and by the sounds of it, nothing you have said, falls within that remit. As such, you are very likely to have issues with the second account.
And if your selling the same items, no new account will make any difference to any reviews.
You cannot create a new listing to avoid this.
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
Presume you mean feedback rather than reviews as that is more likely to affect your account
If you are the seller I have just found, and its the one from march, it seems like a review instead - did you request it to be removed ?
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
I didn’t think you could open a second account selling the same items and with the same details.
Feedback is only one of the many criteria that Amazon use to assess the eligibility, and to be honest, none of us know how the algorithm is set up - it takes into account many factors, not just feedback.
Seller_muURNUNsMQYSb
Thanks for the advice. I am considering FBA but then there is the additional cost of shipping to Amazon plus storage which is not ideal, and on top of that you have to deal with Amazon even more. I should do more research into this though.
For me it does not really make sense though. So what all of you are saying is that if you close your Amazon account at any point in your life you will never be able to sell on Amazon again.
Only thing I can find of relevance to closing account and then opening again in this link.
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/help/hub/reference/G200399470?locale=en-GB
It states, ‘If you choose to close your account, Amazon can’t reactivate or reinstate closed accounts. Therefore, if you want to sell on Amazon in the future, you will need to sign up again [here]’
Also spoke to multiple Amazon seller support people and they all say you can close an account and then open a new account through the same business.
Seller_2IqU6eYHmCUaV
Unfortunately ,I wouldnt take too much notice of what Amazon Seller Support people tell you, the people of the Forum actually run Businesses on Amz , know the idiosyncracies & workings of Amz and will give you better advice! .
Seller_zUYafikN1gby2
Thought I would chip in here as I don’t think all the regular posters are appreciating how naive you are and/or your lack of understanding/knowledge of how Amazon works. (Apologies to everyone in advance if I’m wrong in that)
What you are basically saying is - I have such a bad credit rating with my bank I’ll never get a loan - so I know, I’ll close my current account, wait a few days and then open a new account - hey presto all that bad credit history is gone, and I can start all nice and fresh and clean! - NO! - the bad credit history is still YOUR history.
Amazon is much the same (but a whole lot worse than you really understand I think)
With Amazon you basically only get one chance at one account for life - Amazon bots track everything and every detail about you, IP addess, bank account info, UTR numbers, Director status etc. etc. - You CANNOT open or have a second account, even if you closed the first - I of course am not an expert on multiple accounts, nor have I ever tried it - but search the forums on the topic - it will educate you!
There are some super rare circumstances, but these are not relevant to your post or what you are suggesting.
In a nutshell you are suggesting that every seller who does not like the state or history of their existing account can simply close it, wipe the slate clean with all their bad selling history and reviews, and simply open another all nice and white and clean again - and Amazon will not even notice and just grant you a second, third fourth chance or whenever you feel like just starting over with a clean slate! (LOL!) - No chance!
I suggest you pause, sit back in your chair, mull it over for a little while - and then hopefully you will come to your senses and realise how naive your viewpoint and post has been!
I have said this numerous times - you have to think of Amazon as an enormous machine - no reasoning, no understanding, no sympathy, no empathy, & pretty much no second chance! - just rules, and policies.
And remember one of the golden rules - Seller support know nothing about everything - irrespective of what you might think has been given to you as “knowledgeable” advise from Amazon employees!
Seller_2IqU6eYHmCUaV
DO NOT pay any money to people who do NOT work for Amazon ! You will just waste it !
Seller_zUYafikN1gby2
Nope - your just not getting it.
Good luck, Im done - and I won’t be replying to your “soon to be in the future posts” about account reinstatement problems, linked accounts problems, account deactivation/suspension problems etc etc
But guess you gotta learn the “hard” way
Seller_ZrQt8Lko8zuBj
Although I do not think that it is a good idea, I can not see any reason why to not open a new account if the previous one was closed in a good condition. The policy says only about two or more simultaneously maintained accounts. As long as the first one is reactivated and closed there should not be any reason why amazon will suspend the second one, even if they will link both.
On the other hand, I do not know how long is your sales history, but I agree with others that it is a better idea to bring the current account to a good condition than to open a new one.
Seller_rGtEcZnu0JTRD
Opening a second account is never a good idea, unless it is essential for legal reasons, even when an account is technically closed Amazon still keeps a track of it, and counts it as an account in your name, so closing an account to clense it would never work.
We have had 2 accounts as we changed limited companies a few years back when we had some problems. We contacted Amazon accounts team, applied for permission to do this, and got permission. Within 2 months the new account was suspended, and it took us 8 months of fighting to get it re-instated, and cost us an absolute fortune.
When we got the account back, and even though our old account was closed our seller central now shows both accounts - both the open and the closed ones, and even though the old account was in a totally different company to the new one. This just shows that as I was the Director and PSC of the old company, I carry the history of the old colmpny even though it is not technically linked. Fortunately for me, the old company had no real issues on Amazon, so it does not negatively impact.
The advise you have been given on here is generally spot on, do not try and close then re-open, and definately do not pay the idiots who claim to be deactivation experts - a simple forum search will show you these are just rip-off merchants who are basically ambulance chasers, there are dozens of threads where people have paid a fortune, been ill-advised and failed in their appeal only to come on here and using the forum manage to get the account re-activated.
