Delisting: Expect the Unexpected
Summary:
Every day, Amazon Sellers face anxiety and frustration when dealing with products being delisted on the marketplace and how to navigate complex policies to fix the problem.
Let's understand Amazon Policy Violations, including intellectual property, product authenticity, and listing policies.
Tips to be proactive and prevent delisting, maintain compliance, and expedite resolution if delisting occurs.
The (boring) secret sauce: Documentation. Proper documentation and readiness to quickly respond to Amazon's requirements is the key to success.
And, finally, how to leverage Amazon's Tools and Services, like the "Account Health Dashboard" and Strategic Account Services (SAS) to ensure you have the best support from Amazon to keep your listings on the marketplace.
We've All Experienced the Anxiety of Delisting
Selling on Amazon offers tremendous opportunities, but it also comes with significant challenges. The complexities of Amazon's policies can lead to anxiety and frustration, at no time more so that when faced with product delistings. As someone who has spent almost a decade navigating the in’s and out’s of Amazon I understand these challenges deeply.
I understand the anxiety and stress that Amazon sellers often experience. Delisting can result in significant financial losses, and the feeling of helplessness is compounded by uncertain resolution timelines and misunderstandings from seller support. The constant introduction of new rules and the need to stay compliant adds to the pressure. Ultimately when managing your catalog and compliance on Amazon, the best defense is to have a good offense.
Understanding Amazon's Policy Violations
Let’s start by understanding what Amazon considers a violation. At a high level there are ten classifications of policy violations, each with specific criteria and consequences. These include:
Intellectual Property Violations: Misuse or infringement of copyrights, trademarks, and patents.
Product Authenticity: Selling counterfeit products.
Product Condition: Issues like selling used products as new or shipping defective items.
Food and Product Safety: Ensuring products do not pose hazards to consumer safety.
Listing Policies: Violations specific to Amazon’s guidelines for product listings.
Restricted Products: Selling items that are prohibited on Amazon.
Customer Product Reviews: Abusing the reviews system.
Regulatory Compliance: Failing to provide required documentation or certification.
Other Violations: Miscellaneous infractions, such as Amazon's marketplace fair pricing policy.
Policy Violations: Violations of Amazon marketplace policies that significantly impact account health such as variation abuse
To Amazon’s credit they have done a good job of continuing to evolve the tools and support available to sellers for handling these types of issues. The Account Health Dashboard, Account Health Rating, even Account Health Assurance are all fairly recent updates that were rolled out within the last year or so with the intent of centralizing and making more clear the actions needed to resolve violations and compliance issues.
Proactive Measures and Best Practices
As I stated before, a good offense is key when seeking to prevent delistings and mitigate the duration and impact when they do occur. Amazon tends to have trends or waves that sweep through their marketplace. Suddenly a formerly innocuous word is getting flagged left and right, products start disappearing from the marketplace, language starts shifting. You can’t control when these will happen, but you can get ahead of potential trouble and save yourself some time and worry by being prepared. Here’s what I recommend:
Know Your Policies: Familiarize yourself with Amazon’s policies and stay updated on any changes.
Prepare Documentation: Ensure all necessary compliance documentation is ready and up-to-date.
Audit Your Listings: Regularly review your product descriptions, images, and labels for compliance.
Monitor Customer Feedback: Pay attention to reviews and user-generated content to catch potential issues early.
Have Appeals Ready: Prepare standardized appeals language for quick submission if a violation occurs.
Leveraging Amazon Tools and Services
Amazon provides several tools to help sellers manage their accounts and stay compliant. The Account Health Dashboard is a crucial resource for monitoring active account health problems and policy violations. The Compliance Reference Tool (also in Seller Central) allows sellers to search by keyword or product type to identify what type of requirements may apply to your catalog. Additionally, premium programs like Strategic Account Services (SAS) can provide sellers with dedicated support to navigate complex and recurring issues.
What you can do today
Delisting on Amazon is not an if, but a when. By understanding the policies, preparing the necessary documentation, and leveraging available tools, sellers can minimize the risk of delisting and maintain your catalog’s health. An ounce of prevention is absolutely worth a pound of cure in this scenario. Take the time to assess your risk points and take action now - not later. Your bottom line will thank you .
If you'd like more detail on how to build a proactive strategy to prevent–or prepare for–delisting on the Amazon Marketplace, Revisit the Webinar and Request an Audit.
