Inauthentic Items Account Ban - Advice Needed!
Hi All,
So I’ve been retail/online arbitraging after being put onto it by a friend (FBM). The plan is to build a little capital so I can start sourcing wholesale and ditch the arbing. I’ve always made sure the stock has come to me before sending on (no dropshipping) but on Friday 9th April my account was suspended due to “inauthentic products”. The account is super fresh and was only opened on the 6th of April.
Now, I’ve been reading conflicting information about getting the account reinstated. I’ve sent them the appeal with all receipts, store details, even pictures of the supplier stores with a full POA.
But, they were retail stores/websites rather than suppliers. Some people say RA is against Amazon’s policies, some say it’s not. the products I’ve been selling don’t come with a warranty or any kind of moneyback guarantee.
I’ve seen some people “say” that their accounts have been reinstated even though their stock has been sourced from retailers, but I’ve also seen people stating that retail/online arb is against Amazon’s policies and they won’t accept retail receipts.
I’ve got 21 orders that are due to ship, but I’m worried that if I don’t get the account back, I’ll just lose all of the money I’ve invested in this stock. On the other hand, I’m worried that if I don’t send the stock out within the next two days and do get the account back, I won’t have fulfilled it before the ship by date. I’m unlikely to hear back from Seller Performance before the ship by date which is the 14th.
Any advice on the matter would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks.
0 replies
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
Hmm. There’s about a .01% chance that Amazon will accept the receipts, so if your POA was built around proving authenticity you can assume it will be rejected (guessing you were listing items as new?).
A future POA will have to be built around you falling on your sword and demonstrating that you can comply with Amazon’s rules. Even then the odds aren’t in your favour.
As for the orders, by my thinking Amazon have said you are breaking their rules so continuing to flout them by sending further orders will only compound the issue.
Seller_PaZcsjqDTrNXD
This section from the “Amazon Anti-Counterfeiting Policy” would lead me to believe that admitting to supplying inauthentic products would mean “the loss of any amounts received from the sale of inauthentic products”
“We work with manufacturers, rights holders, content owners, vendors and sellers to improve the ways we detect and prevent inauthentic products from reaching our customers. As a result, we remove suspect listings based on our own review of products. We also work with rights holders and law enforcement worldwide to take and support legal action against sellers and suppliers who knowingly violate this policy and harm our customers. In addition to criminal fines and imprisonment, sellers and suppliers of inauthentic products may face civil penalties including the loss of any amounts received from the sale of inauthentic products, the damage or harm sustained by the rights holders, statutory and other damages, and lawyer fees.”
Seller_PaZcsjqDTrNXD
Hi all, my most recent appeal has not been accepted, please see below;
Dear essentialdailyshopping/Essential Daily Shopping
We received your submission but do not have enough information to reactivate your ability to sell on Amazon at this time. Please address the following concern(s):
You are offering items that may be inauthentic. A list of these items is provided below.
Please send us the following information:
– Copies of invoices, receipts, contracts, delivery orders, or authorization letters from your supplier issued in the last 365 days. The quantity of items shown should match your inventory.
– If you are not the brand owner, provide an authorization letter and a complete set of documentation, including authorization letters, to prove a valid supply chain. – If you are the brand owner, provide a copy of the brand registration certificate, and business license or personal identity card.
– Contact information for your supplier, including name, phone number, address, email, 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.
ASINs - B07B4KLLZ6, B01MSBXMMB, B00FXSB13O
How do I send the required information? Please submit this information by clicking the Appeal button next to this message on the Performance Notifications page in Seller Central (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/customer-experience/perf-notifications.html).
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information, you may no longer sell on Amazon. Failure to successfully appeal this decision may result in payments being withheld.
We’re here to help
You can get help creating your plan in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/gp/help/200370560). You can see your balance and settlement information in the Payments section of Seller Central. If you have questions about those, please write to payments-investigate@amazon.co.uk.
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
Seller_PaZcsjqDTrNXD
As a note, I’ve just spoke to a chap from Seller Dynamics who deal with suspensions and was actually really helpful.
He said he’s had about 6 calls this week with similar issues so seems Amazon are really cracking down on it. He reckons because I still had the listings on some of the marketplaces this is why it was declined, as the AI would of picked up on this and automatically declined it.
He also said they wouldn’t take cases on like this as it really is hit and miss getting the account reinstated, although he said the POA sounds pretty strong.
I’m going to wait 48 hours for all of the account data to clear then give it another go! Will revert back with what happens next…
Seller_t4qiTnhVAnRmT
Find it a little hard to believe you are only “arbing” to raise capital to start sourcing from wholesalers, since you have already been a director of two companies ( both dissolved) both involved in online retailing and as far back as 2014.
If going by any history, it seems you have been doing the “arbing” for a good few years, and been caught on Amazon doing it. Question is, how many Amazon accounts have you had.
