Account suspended incorrectly for inauthentic complaint
I sold this book sold 66 days ago. The buyer opened a return for the reason “bought by mistake”. I politely turned down the claim because it was over 10 days out of my return window. No claim of authenticity whatsoever. 22 days later I was hit with this suspension for just this book. I assume either there is a mixup on amazon’s end, ot the buyer called and changed their reason for return. I have very good feedback and strive to make my buyers happy, even issuing full refunds including shipping on “changed my mind” returns and the like. This is why I am really surprised about quite a few things; A Why would my account be suspended for one suspected infraction, B in the used book category (not exactly selling new items or Prada handbags), C when the buyer (most likely) changed their reason for return, D so far out of the return window, E with so little recourse, lack of communication, and assurance that I will ever be able to sell again on amazon.
It is beyond frustrating and mind boggling that just one customer out of thousands cam simply say something false to get refunded and take down my whole account just seems crazy to me.
Here is the email from amazon:
Hello,
Your Amazon Seller account has been temporarily deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you but will be held in your account while we work with you to address the following issue.
Why is this happening?
We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. In order to ensure that customers can shop with confidence on Amazon, we routinely request additional documentation from sellers to verify their account information and confirm authenticity of certain items. 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 (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201165970)
– Policies and Agreements (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/521)
How do I reactivate my account?
To reactivate your selling account, please send us the following information:
-
Copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the last 365 days for the ASINs listed below
–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. -
A plan of action that explains:
– The root cause(s) that led to the complaints about the authenticity of your items.
– The actions you have taken to resolve the complaints about the authenticity of your items.
– The steps you have taken to prevent future complaints about the authenticity of your items.
Here are a few things to consider as you create your plan:
–Sourcing: Are you sourcing the product from a trusted supplier?
–Listing: Is the product accurately described on Amazon? Have you ensured that there is no ambiguity and the customer is well informed?
–Packaging: Is the product in its original packaging as listed on Amazon?
– Shipping: Have you taken all appropriate steps and quality checks to ensure that the product is stored, packed, and shipped appropriately?
–Review your communications from buyers to better understand the issues.
–Be as specific as possible in your plan.
–Do not limit your plan to issues with specific orders.
You can only send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.
How do I send the required information?
Please send the required information to pq-sv-appeal@amazon.com.
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information within 17 days, or after two unsuccessful appeals (whichever occurs sooner), your account will be permanently deactivated. Failure to successfully appeal this decision may result in us permanently withholding any payments to you and any FBA inventory of the items that caused “inauthentic” complaints may be destroyed at your expense.
We’re here to help
If you have questions about this message, policy, or the information requested above, please ask our Seller Support team to contact you (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/hz/contact-us/performance). Additionally, you can get help creating your plan in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.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-funds@amazon.com.
You can view your account’s performance at (https://sellercentral.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/us/app/amazon-Seller/id794141485) or Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en) device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.
ASIN: 766826953
Title: Industrial Maintenance 001st Edition
504 replies
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
I just got this same exact suspension, and its for a book I have sold 3 copies of over the last year. Same exact situation, no claims of inauthenticity
I have one return request that is out of policy submitted 45 days after ordered…(bought more than 2 months ago) for “bought by mistake” which Amazon’s return manager automatically denied.
ASIN: 1429234148
What do we do?
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
@Nymba_Group and @book_folio, do your accounts show that the customers have been refunded since you declined? My apologies if I have missed this info.
Seller_aV1Bh32hE0KND
Am I reading this correctly your entire account got suspended because of 1 order? 
how is this possibly, if this was the case a nasty competitor could take another seller out by having a co-conspirator purchase an item and do a dishonest return. Have you talked to CS on the phone, how do you know it was the buyer who “bought by mistake” maybe a complaint by author or publisher, but even so I could understand the listing being under investigation but your whole account? This is extremely troubling, please keep us posted. So sorry. 
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
That is exactly what has occured, right in the middle of peak holiday sales. The timing is impeccable. If this is an attack from malicious sellers to gain market share and eliminate competition I would not be surprised except for that this particular book is super obscure and doesn’t sell, the rank is in the hundreds of thousands. You’d expect that to happen on best selling items, not something that never sells. Maybe thats part of the exploit because its resulted in a COMPLETE suspension of my account. Can’t sell, can’t withdraw funds.
Curiously, I looked up the ASIN I’m suspended about and it no longer has any offers for new condition. Previously there were atleast 3 or 4 pages full of new offers. It looks like anyone offering the item as new has been mass suspended/inactivated. There are ONLY used offers now for this book.
For sure something seems very off.
It was bad enough having the “pricing error” algo incorrectly flag hundreds of books with a pricing error when there was none, now its going for the kill thinking that books are counterfeit of all things… How do you even counterfeit a book?? 
Seller_PLZH72NocO6ue
Happened to me too on a non-Cengage textbook. I denied refund because of fraudulent refund attempt - they told Amazon it was a counterfeit, and now I’m dealing with the same situation as you! Buyer was a freight forwarder out of Seattle.
Seller_awYU0oH8skccg
AZ is culling its herd of used booksellers…?
Consider it your Lucky Day…
Find something to do that actually makes Money…
Like Working at Taco Bell…
AZ should cancel all “new” listings if they fear the publishers…and gate that “condition” to only sellers that have reciepts…
Allowing “New” Listings from Prohibited Publishers…Sets up a Suspension Trap for used booksellers…
Most of Whom would be better off financially doing Almost ANYTHING Else…
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
Nymba in your account health page do you have any product inauthenticity complaints?
Mine shows 0.
I looked at the buyers of the ASIN I’m suspended about and nothing looks out of the ordinary, I mean to say it wasn’t drop shippers buying it or anything that looks like a business, all the addresses are residential.
Here is my appeal, how does it read? is there anything I’m missing?
- Has your account been deactivated in error?
“We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. ASIN: 1429234148” “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”
I took a look at this ASIN and it looks like all sellers with new offers were mass suspended/deactivated? There are no “new” condition copies available as of this time. There are usually at least 3 full pages of new offers… which leads me to believe something has gone awry with Amazon’s algos. Forgive me for expressing my honest opinion, I mean no offense. I need to bring to your attention that there may be an error here on Amazon’s end. We have also had hundreds of SKUs suspended for “pricing error” when the price has no error and is the same as other sellers. We’re not the only ones to be impacted by this problem with Amazon’s algorithms , see the seller forums for abundant examples.
I. According to my account health report, I have ZERO product authenticity customer complaints in total, let alone any for this item. I am meeting the policy target of 0. As a result of this fact I believe this suspension in error.
- ASIN: 1429234148 has sold 3 times in the past year. I was unable to locate any authenticity anomalies with all the tools available to me on seller central, the 3 buyers of this item have not contacted me in any way with the exception of an out of policy return request which amazon automatically denied. I have no negative feedback from buyers regarding it, no messages regarding the orders. I have nothing to go off of.
The above should be enough to conclude we have been deactivated in error, I don’t know how to provide a plan how to meet a performance target I’m already meeting. Its not possible have less than zero authenticity complaints However as a precaution I am glad to help address Amazon’s concern and will provide bellow our best practices and policies regarding product authenticity.
-
If a product authenticity problem arises, my policy is to suspend the listing immediately and do an audit of our supply and physical inventory, as well as our database to make sure there is no error This is to prevent a poor customer experience until the problem is identified and resolved.
-
We do not sell counterfeit or inauthentic copies of this book or any other items. Of critical importance to us is that the item listed for sale exactly matches the product detail page, and is accurately described because this is what results in positive feedback. I know the quickest way to lose an Amazon account or be suspended is to sell inauthentic items, which does not cause a good customer experience on top of being immoral!
-
My team and I will continue sourcing all inventory directly, and quality assuring all inventory before listing items for sale and again at the point of shipping to make sure it is 100% authentic. This way we can continue to maintain ZERO authenticity complaints by having a process to catch a problem before it occurs.
-
I have reviewed our inventory and compared it with our recent purchases and was able to confirm that there are no authenticity issues with the listing Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry nor with the rest of our inventory. This is a regular responsibility of my job to ensure our inventory is accurate, and I continue to do this every day for all inventory.
-
I have sent copies of invoices to product-quality-policy@amazon.com as you’ve requested from me.
-
I have a proven history of delivering over 150,000 items to Amazon buyers over the years while exceeding Amazon’s performance targets. I understand that Amazon wants us to be successful, and we in turn want Amazon to be successful. The customer’s experience is of paramount concern to us.
The above is evidence of complying with Amazon policy.
Seller_iIGQCDiquZyPQ
We have been suspended as well, under the same exact set of circumstances:
- Buyer in Seattle purchased a used textbook from us in September.
- Buyer requested a return of this item, past the return policy period, for the reason “bought by mistake”
- Buyer otherwise never indicated any problems with the authenticity or quality of the book.
- We received the same deactivation letter as you, citing one ASIN as being in violation.
Considering that there are others experiencing the same things under the same circumstances, it appears to be a concerted effort by somebody to put multiple sellers out of business. We will point that out in our Amazon correspondence, for what it is worth, and perhaps you and the others could do the same.
Seller_uhvPjjkmwNLb9
I just got suspended on Friday for a used book that was FBA and went to a buyer at a Seattle warehouse. 0 authenticity complaints. I use Neato also. Transaction was September 22.
Account suspended incorrectly for inauthentic complaint
I sold this book sold 66 days ago. The buyer opened a return for the reason “bought by mistake”. I politely turned down the claim because it was over 10 days out of my return window. No claim of authenticity whatsoever. 22 days later I was hit with this suspension for just this book. I assume either there is a mixup on amazon’s end, ot the buyer called and changed their reason for return. I have very good feedback and strive to make my buyers happy, even issuing full refunds including shipping on “changed my mind” returns and the like. This is why I am really surprised about quite a few things; A Why would my account be suspended for one suspected infraction, B in the used book category (not exactly selling new items or Prada handbags), C when the buyer (most likely) changed their reason for return, D so far out of the return window, E with so little recourse, lack of communication, and assurance that I will ever be able to sell again on amazon.
It is beyond frustrating and mind boggling that just one customer out of thousands cam simply say something false to get refunded and take down my whole account just seems crazy to me.
Here is the email from amazon:
Hello,
Your Amazon Seller account has been temporarily deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you but will be held in your account while we work with you to address the following issue.
Why is this happening?
We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. In order to ensure that customers can shop with confidence on Amazon, we routinely request additional documentation from sellers to verify their account information and confirm authenticity of certain items. 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 (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201165970)
– Policies and Agreements (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/521)
How do I reactivate my account?
To reactivate your selling account, please send us the following information:
-
Copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the last 365 days for the ASINs listed below
–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. -
A plan of action that explains:
– The root cause(s) that led to the complaints about the authenticity of your items.
– The actions you have taken to resolve the complaints about the authenticity of your items.
– The steps you have taken to prevent future complaints about the authenticity of your items.
Here are a few things to consider as you create your plan:
–Sourcing: Are you sourcing the product from a trusted supplier?
–Listing: Is the product accurately described on Amazon? Have you ensured that there is no ambiguity and the customer is well informed?
–Packaging: Is the product in its original packaging as listed on Amazon?
– Shipping: Have you taken all appropriate steps and quality checks to ensure that the product is stored, packed, and shipped appropriately?
–Review your communications from buyers to better understand the issues.
–Be as specific as possible in your plan.
–Do not limit your plan to issues with specific orders.
You can only send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.
How do I send the required information?
Please send the required information to pq-sv-appeal@amazon.com.
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information within 17 days, or after two unsuccessful appeals (whichever occurs sooner), your account will be permanently deactivated. Failure to successfully appeal this decision may result in us permanently withholding any payments to you and any FBA inventory of the items that caused “inauthentic” complaints may be destroyed at your expense.
We’re here to help
If you have questions about this message, policy, or the information requested above, please ask our Seller Support team to contact you (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/hz/contact-us/performance). Additionally, you can get help creating your plan in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.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-funds@amazon.com.
You can view your account’s performance at (https://sellercentral.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/us/app/amazon-Seller/id794141485) or Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en) device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.
ASIN: 766826953
Title: Industrial Maintenance 001st Edition
Account suspended incorrectly for inauthentic complaint
I sold this book sold 66 days ago. The buyer opened a return for the reason “bought by mistake”. I politely turned down the claim because it was over 10 days out of my return window. No claim of authenticity whatsoever. 22 days later I was hit with this suspension for just this book. I assume either there is a mixup on amazon’s end, ot the buyer called and changed their reason for return. I have very good feedback and strive to make my buyers happy, even issuing full refunds including shipping on “changed my mind” returns and the like. This is why I am really surprised about quite a few things; A Why would my account be suspended for one suspected infraction, B in the used book category (not exactly selling new items or Prada handbags), C when the buyer (most likely) changed their reason for return, D so far out of the return window, E with so little recourse, lack of communication, and assurance that I will ever be able to sell again on amazon.
It is beyond frustrating and mind boggling that just one customer out of thousands cam simply say something false to get refunded and take down my whole account just seems crazy to me.
Here is the email from amazon:
Hello,
Your Amazon Seller account has been temporarily deactivated. Your listings have been removed. Funds will not be transferred to you but will be held in your account while we work with you to address the following issue.
Why is this happening?
We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. In order to ensure that customers can shop with confidence on Amazon, we routinely request additional documentation from sellers to verify their account information and confirm authenticity of certain items. 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 (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/201165970)
– Policies and Agreements (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/521)
How do I reactivate my account?
To reactivate your selling account, please send us the following information:
-
Copies of invoices or receipts from your supplier issued in the last 365 days for the ASINs listed below
–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. -
A plan of action that explains:
– The root cause(s) that led to the complaints about the authenticity of your items.
– The actions you have taken to resolve the complaints about the authenticity of your items.
– The steps you have taken to prevent future complaints about the authenticity of your items.
Here are a few things to consider as you create your plan:
–Sourcing: Are you sourcing the product from a trusted supplier?
–Listing: Is the product accurately described on Amazon? Have you ensured that there is no ambiguity and the customer is well informed?
–Packaging: Is the product in its original packaging as listed on Amazon?
– Shipping: Have you taken all appropriate steps and quality checks to ensure that the product is stored, packed, and shipped appropriately?
–Review your communications from buyers to better understand the issues.
–Be as specific as possible in your plan.
–Do not limit your plan to issues with specific orders.
You can only send .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files. These documents must be authentic and unaltered.
How do I send the required information?
Please send the required information to pq-sv-appeal@amazon.com.
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information within 17 days, or after two unsuccessful appeals (whichever occurs sooner), your account will be permanently deactivated. Failure to successfully appeal this decision may result in us permanently withholding any payments to you and any FBA inventory of the items that caused “inauthentic” complaints may be destroyed at your expense.
We’re here to help
If you have questions about this message, policy, or the information requested above, please ask our Seller Support team to contact you (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/hz/contact-us/performance). Additionally, you can get help creating your plan in Seller Central Help (https://sellercentral.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-funds@amazon.com.
You can view your account’s performance at (https://sellercentral.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/us/app/amazon-Seller/id794141485) or Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl=en) device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.
ASIN: 766826953
Title: Industrial Maintenance 001st Edition
504 replies
504 replies
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
I just got this same exact suspension, and its for a book I have sold 3 copies of over the last year. Same exact situation, no claims of inauthenticity
I have one return request that is out of policy submitted 45 days after ordered…(bought more than 2 months ago) for “bought by mistake” which Amazon’s return manager automatically denied.
ASIN: 1429234148
What do we do?
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
@Nymba_Group and @book_folio, do your accounts show that the customers have been refunded since you declined? My apologies if I have missed this info.
Seller_aV1Bh32hE0KND
Am I reading this correctly your entire account got suspended because of 1 order? how is this possibly, if this was the case a nasty competitor could take another seller out by having a co-conspirator purchase an item and do a dishonest return. Have you talked to CS on the phone, how do you know it was the buyer who “bought by mistake” maybe a complaint by author or publisher, but even so I could understand the listing being under investigation but your whole account? This is extremely troubling, please keep us posted. So sorry.
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
That is exactly what has occured, right in the middle of peak holiday sales. The timing is impeccable. If this is an attack from malicious sellers to gain market share and eliminate competition I would not be surprised except for that this particular book is super obscure and doesn’t sell, the rank is in the hundreds of thousands. You’d expect that to happen on best selling items, not something that never sells. Maybe thats part of the exploit because its resulted in a COMPLETE suspension of my account. Can’t sell, can’t withdraw funds.
Curiously, I looked up the ASIN I’m suspended about and it no longer has any offers for new condition. Previously there were atleast 3 or 4 pages full of new offers. It looks like anyone offering the item as new has been mass suspended/inactivated. There are ONLY used offers now for this book.
For sure something seems very off.
It was bad enough having the “pricing error” algo incorrectly flag hundreds of books with a pricing error when there was none, now its going for the kill thinking that books are counterfeit of all things… How do you even counterfeit a book??
Seller_PLZH72NocO6ue
Happened to me too on a non-Cengage textbook. I denied refund because of fraudulent refund attempt - they told Amazon it was a counterfeit, and now I’m dealing with the same situation as you! Buyer was a freight forwarder out of Seattle.
Seller_awYU0oH8skccg
AZ is culling its herd of used booksellers…?
Consider it your Lucky Day…
Find something to do that actually makes Money… Like Working at Taco Bell…
AZ should cancel all “new” listings if they fear the publishers…and gate that “condition” to only sellers that have reciepts…
Allowing “New” Listings from Prohibited Publishers…Sets up a Suspension Trap for used booksellers…
Most of Whom would be better off financially doing Almost ANYTHING Else…
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
Nymba in your account health page do you have any product inauthenticity complaints?
Mine shows 0.
I looked at the buyers of the ASIN I’m suspended about and nothing looks out of the ordinary, I mean to say it wasn’t drop shippers buying it or anything that looks like a business, all the addresses are residential.
Here is my appeal, how does it read? is there anything I’m missing?
- Has your account been deactivated in error?
“We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. ASIN: 1429234148” “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”
I took a look at this ASIN and it looks like all sellers with new offers were mass suspended/deactivated? There are no “new” condition copies available as of this time. There are usually at least 3 full pages of new offers… which leads me to believe something has gone awry with Amazon’s algos. Forgive me for expressing my honest opinion, I mean no offense. I need to bring to your attention that there may be an error here on Amazon’s end. We have also had hundreds of SKUs suspended for “pricing error” when the price has no error and is the same as other sellers. We’re not the only ones to be impacted by this problem with Amazon’s algorithms , see the seller forums for abundant examples.
I. According to my account health report, I have ZERO product authenticity customer complaints in total, let alone any for this item. I am meeting the policy target of 0. As a result of this fact I believe this suspension in error.
- ASIN: 1429234148 has sold 3 times in the past year. I was unable to locate any authenticity anomalies with all the tools available to me on seller central, the 3 buyers of this item have not contacted me in any way with the exception of an out of policy return request which amazon automatically denied. I have no negative feedback from buyers regarding it, no messages regarding the orders. I have nothing to go off of.
The above should be enough to conclude we have been deactivated in error, I don’t know how to provide a plan how to meet a performance target I’m already meeting. Its not possible have less than zero authenticity complaints However as a precaution I am glad to help address Amazon’s concern and will provide bellow our best practices and policies regarding product authenticity.
-
If a product authenticity problem arises, my policy is to suspend the listing immediately and do an audit of our supply and physical inventory, as well as our database to make sure there is no error This is to prevent a poor customer experience until the problem is identified and resolved.
-
We do not sell counterfeit or inauthentic copies of this book or any other items. Of critical importance to us is that the item listed for sale exactly matches the product detail page, and is accurately described because this is what results in positive feedback. I know the quickest way to lose an Amazon account or be suspended is to sell inauthentic items, which does not cause a good customer experience on top of being immoral!
-
My team and I will continue sourcing all inventory directly, and quality assuring all inventory before listing items for sale and again at the point of shipping to make sure it is 100% authentic. This way we can continue to maintain ZERO authenticity complaints by having a process to catch a problem before it occurs.
-
I have reviewed our inventory and compared it with our recent purchases and was able to confirm that there are no authenticity issues with the listing Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry nor with the rest of our inventory. This is a regular responsibility of my job to ensure our inventory is accurate, and I continue to do this every day for all inventory.
-
I have sent copies of invoices to product-quality-policy@amazon.com as you’ve requested from me.
-
I have a proven history of delivering over 150,000 items to Amazon buyers over the years while exceeding Amazon’s performance targets. I understand that Amazon wants us to be successful, and we in turn want Amazon to be successful. The customer’s experience is of paramount concern to us.
The above is evidence of complying with Amazon policy.
Seller_iIGQCDiquZyPQ
We have been suspended as well, under the same exact set of circumstances:
- Buyer in Seattle purchased a used textbook from us in September.
- Buyer requested a return of this item, past the return policy period, for the reason “bought by mistake”
- Buyer otherwise never indicated any problems with the authenticity or quality of the book.
- We received the same deactivation letter as you, citing one ASIN as being in violation.
Considering that there are others experiencing the same things under the same circumstances, it appears to be a concerted effort by somebody to put multiple sellers out of business. We will point that out in our Amazon correspondence, for what it is worth, and perhaps you and the others could do the same.
Seller_uhvPjjkmwNLb9
I just got suspended on Friday for a used book that was FBA and went to a buyer at a Seattle warehouse. 0 authenticity complaints. I use Neato also. Transaction was September 22.
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
I just got this same exact suspension, and its for a book I have sold 3 copies of over the last year. Same exact situation, no claims of inauthenticity
I have one return request that is out of policy submitted 45 days after ordered…(bought more than 2 months ago) for “bought by mistake” which Amazon’s return manager automatically denied.
ASIN: 1429234148
What do we do?
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
I just got this same exact suspension, and its for a book I have sold 3 copies of over the last year. Same exact situation, no claims of inauthenticity
I have one return request that is out of policy submitted 45 days after ordered…(bought more than 2 months ago) for “bought by mistake” which Amazon’s return manager automatically denied.
ASIN: 1429234148
What do we do?
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
@Nymba_Group and @book_folio, do your accounts show that the customers have been refunded since you declined? My apologies if I have missed this info.
Seller_jZWpyInw8RkYT
@Nymba_Group and @book_folio, do your accounts show that the customers have been refunded since you declined? My apologies if I have missed this info.
Seller_aV1Bh32hE0KND
Am I reading this correctly your entire account got suspended because of 1 order? how is this possibly, if this was the case a nasty competitor could take another seller out by having a co-conspirator purchase an item and do a dishonest return. Have you talked to CS on the phone, how do you know it was the buyer who “bought by mistake” maybe a complaint by author or publisher, but even so I could understand the listing being under investigation but your whole account? This is extremely troubling, please keep us posted. So sorry.
Seller_aV1Bh32hE0KND
Am I reading this correctly your entire account got suspended because of 1 order? how is this possibly, if this was the case a nasty competitor could take another seller out by having a co-conspirator purchase an item and do a dishonest return. Have you talked to CS on the phone, how do you know it was the buyer who “bought by mistake” maybe a complaint by author or publisher, but even so I could understand the listing being under investigation but your whole account? This is extremely troubling, please keep us posted. So sorry.
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
That is exactly what has occured, right in the middle of peak holiday sales. The timing is impeccable. If this is an attack from malicious sellers to gain market share and eliminate competition I would not be surprised except for that this particular book is super obscure and doesn’t sell, the rank is in the hundreds of thousands. You’d expect that to happen on best selling items, not something that never sells. Maybe thats part of the exploit because its resulted in a COMPLETE suspension of my account. Can’t sell, can’t withdraw funds.
Curiously, I looked up the ASIN I’m suspended about and it no longer has any offers for new condition. Previously there were atleast 3 or 4 pages full of new offers. It looks like anyone offering the item as new has been mass suspended/inactivated. There are ONLY used offers now for this book.
For sure something seems very off.
It was bad enough having the “pricing error” algo incorrectly flag hundreds of books with a pricing error when there was none, now its going for the kill thinking that books are counterfeit of all things… How do you even counterfeit a book??
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
That is exactly what has occured, right in the middle of peak holiday sales. The timing is impeccable. If this is an attack from malicious sellers to gain market share and eliminate competition I would not be surprised except for that this particular book is super obscure and doesn’t sell, the rank is in the hundreds of thousands. You’d expect that to happen on best selling items, not something that never sells. Maybe thats part of the exploit because its resulted in a COMPLETE suspension of my account. Can’t sell, can’t withdraw funds.
Curiously, I looked up the ASIN I’m suspended about and it no longer has any offers for new condition. Previously there were atleast 3 or 4 pages full of new offers. It looks like anyone offering the item as new has been mass suspended/inactivated. There are ONLY used offers now for this book.
For sure something seems very off.
It was bad enough having the “pricing error” algo incorrectly flag hundreds of books with a pricing error when there was none, now its going for the kill thinking that books are counterfeit of all things… How do you even counterfeit a book??
Seller_PLZH72NocO6ue
Happened to me too on a non-Cengage textbook. I denied refund because of fraudulent refund attempt - they told Amazon it was a counterfeit, and now I’m dealing with the same situation as you! Buyer was a freight forwarder out of Seattle.
Seller_PLZH72NocO6ue
Happened to me too on a non-Cengage textbook. I denied refund because of fraudulent refund attempt - they told Amazon it was a counterfeit, and now I’m dealing with the same situation as you! Buyer was a freight forwarder out of Seattle.
Seller_awYU0oH8skccg
AZ is culling its herd of used booksellers…?
Consider it your Lucky Day…
Find something to do that actually makes Money… Like Working at Taco Bell…
AZ should cancel all “new” listings if they fear the publishers…and gate that “condition” to only sellers that have reciepts…
Allowing “New” Listings from Prohibited Publishers…Sets up a Suspension Trap for used booksellers…
Most of Whom would be better off financially doing Almost ANYTHING Else…
Seller_awYU0oH8skccg
AZ is culling its herd of used booksellers…?
Consider it your Lucky Day…
Find something to do that actually makes Money… Like Working at Taco Bell…
AZ should cancel all “new” listings if they fear the publishers…and gate that “condition” to only sellers that have reciepts…
Allowing “New” Listings from Prohibited Publishers…Sets up a Suspension Trap for used booksellers…
Most of Whom would be better off financially doing Almost ANYTHING Else…
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
Nymba in your account health page do you have any product inauthenticity complaints?
Mine shows 0.
I looked at the buyers of the ASIN I’m suspended about and nothing looks out of the ordinary, I mean to say it wasn’t drop shippers buying it or anything that looks like a business, all the addresses are residential.
Here is my appeal, how does it read? is there anything I’m missing?
- Has your account been deactivated in error?
“We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. ASIN: 1429234148” “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”
I took a look at this ASIN and it looks like all sellers with new offers were mass suspended/deactivated? There are no “new” condition copies available as of this time. There are usually at least 3 full pages of new offers… which leads me to believe something has gone awry with Amazon’s algos. Forgive me for expressing my honest opinion, I mean no offense. I need to bring to your attention that there may be an error here on Amazon’s end. We have also had hundreds of SKUs suspended for “pricing error” when the price has no error and is the same as other sellers. We’re not the only ones to be impacted by this problem with Amazon’s algorithms , see the seller forums for abundant examples.
I. According to my account health report, I have ZERO product authenticity customer complaints in total, let alone any for this item. I am meeting the policy target of 0. As a result of this fact I believe this suspension in error.
- ASIN: 1429234148 has sold 3 times in the past year. I was unable to locate any authenticity anomalies with all the tools available to me on seller central, the 3 buyers of this item have not contacted me in any way with the exception of an out of policy return request which amazon automatically denied. I have no negative feedback from buyers regarding it, no messages regarding the orders. I have nothing to go off of.
The above should be enough to conclude we have been deactivated in error, I don’t know how to provide a plan how to meet a performance target I’m already meeting. Its not possible have less than zero authenticity complaints However as a precaution I am glad to help address Amazon’s concern and will provide bellow our best practices and policies regarding product authenticity.
-
If a product authenticity problem arises, my policy is to suspend the listing immediately and do an audit of our supply and physical inventory, as well as our database to make sure there is no error This is to prevent a poor customer experience until the problem is identified and resolved.
-
We do not sell counterfeit or inauthentic copies of this book or any other items. Of critical importance to us is that the item listed for sale exactly matches the product detail page, and is accurately described because this is what results in positive feedback. I know the quickest way to lose an Amazon account or be suspended is to sell inauthentic items, which does not cause a good customer experience on top of being immoral!
-
My team and I will continue sourcing all inventory directly, and quality assuring all inventory before listing items for sale and again at the point of shipping to make sure it is 100% authentic. This way we can continue to maintain ZERO authenticity complaints by having a process to catch a problem before it occurs.
-
I have reviewed our inventory and compared it with our recent purchases and was able to confirm that there are no authenticity issues with the listing Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry nor with the rest of our inventory. This is a regular responsibility of my job to ensure our inventory is accurate, and I continue to do this every day for all inventory.
-
I have sent copies of invoices to product-quality-policy@amazon.com as you’ve requested from me.
-
I have a proven history of delivering over 150,000 items to Amazon buyers over the years while exceeding Amazon’s performance targets. I understand that Amazon wants us to be successful, and we in turn want Amazon to be successful. The customer’s experience is of paramount concern to us.
The above is evidence of complying with Amazon policy.
Seller_OZ2z1Xe6vm1p3
Nymba in your account health page do you have any product inauthenticity complaints?
Mine shows 0.
I looked at the buyers of the ASIN I’m suspended about and nothing looks out of the ordinary, I mean to say it wasn’t drop shippers buying it or anything that looks like a business, all the addresses are residential.
Here is my appeal, how does it read? is there anything I’m missing?
- Has your account been deactivated in error?
“We have temporarily deactivated your account because we have concerns about the authenticity of the item(s) listed at the end of this email. ASIN: 1429234148” “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”
I took a look at this ASIN and it looks like all sellers with new offers were mass suspended/deactivated? There are no “new” condition copies available as of this time. There are usually at least 3 full pages of new offers… which leads me to believe something has gone awry with Amazon’s algos. Forgive me for expressing my honest opinion, I mean no offense. I need to bring to your attention that there may be an error here on Amazon’s end. We have also had hundreds of SKUs suspended for “pricing error” when the price has no error and is the same as other sellers. We’re not the only ones to be impacted by this problem with Amazon’s algorithms , see the seller forums for abundant examples.
I. According to my account health report, I have ZERO product authenticity customer complaints in total, let alone any for this item. I am meeting the policy target of 0. As a result of this fact I believe this suspension in error.
- ASIN: 1429234148 has sold 3 times in the past year. I was unable to locate any authenticity anomalies with all the tools available to me on seller central, the 3 buyers of this item have not contacted me in any way with the exception of an out of policy return request which amazon automatically denied. I have no negative feedback from buyers regarding it, no messages regarding the orders. I have nothing to go off of.
The above should be enough to conclude we have been deactivated in error, I don’t know how to provide a plan how to meet a performance target I’m already meeting. Its not possible have less than zero authenticity complaints However as a precaution I am glad to help address Amazon’s concern and will provide bellow our best practices and policies regarding product authenticity.
-
If a product authenticity problem arises, my policy is to suspend the listing immediately and do an audit of our supply and physical inventory, as well as our database to make sure there is no error This is to prevent a poor customer experience until the problem is identified and resolved.
-
We do not sell counterfeit or inauthentic copies of this book or any other items. Of critical importance to us is that the item listed for sale exactly matches the product detail page, and is accurately described because this is what results in positive feedback. I know the quickest way to lose an Amazon account or be suspended is to sell inauthentic items, which does not cause a good customer experience on top of being immoral!
-
My team and I will continue sourcing all inventory directly, and quality assuring all inventory before listing items for sale and again at the point of shipping to make sure it is 100% authentic. This way we can continue to maintain ZERO authenticity complaints by having a process to catch a problem before it occurs.
-
I have reviewed our inventory and compared it with our recent purchases and was able to confirm that there are no authenticity issues with the listing Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry nor with the rest of our inventory. This is a regular responsibility of my job to ensure our inventory is accurate, and I continue to do this every day for all inventory.
-
I have sent copies of invoices to product-quality-policy@amazon.com as you’ve requested from me.
-
I have a proven history of delivering over 150,000 items to Amazon buyers over the years while exceeding Amazon’s performance targets. I understand that Amazon wants us to be successful, and we in turn want Amazon to be successful. The customer’s experience is of paramount concern to us.
The above is evidence of complying with Amazon policy.
Seller_iIGQCDiquZyPQ
We have been suspended as well, under the same exact set of circumstances:
- Buyer in Seattle purchased a used textbook from us in September.
- Buyer requested a return of this item, past the return policy period, for the reason “bought by mistake”
- Buyer otherwise never indicated any problems with the authenticity or quality of the book.
- We received the same deactivation letter as you, citing one ASIN as being in violation.
Considering that there are others experiencing the same things under the same circumstances, it appears to be a concerted effort by somebody to put multiple sellers out of business. We will point that out in our Amazon correspondence, for what it is worth, and perhaps you and the others could do the same.
Seller_iIGQCDiquZyPQ
We have been suspended as well, under the same exact set of circumstances:
- Buyer in Seattle purchased a used textbook from us in September.
- Buyer requested a return of this item, past the return policy period, for the reason “bought by mistake”
- Buyer otherwise never indicated any problems with the authenticity or quality of the book.
- We received the same deactivation letter as you, citing one ASIN as being in violation.
Considering that there are others experiencing the same things under the same circumstances, it appears to be a concerted effort by somebody to put multiple sellers out of business. We will point that out in our Amazon correspondence, for what it is worth, and perhaps you and the others could do the same.
Seller_uhvPjjkmwNLb9
I just got suspended on Friday for a used book that was FBA and went to a buyer at a Seattle warehouse. 0 authenticity complaints. I use Neato also. Transaction was September 22.
Seller_uhvPjjkmwNLb9
I just got suspended on Friday for a used book that was FBA and went to a buyer at a Seattle warehouse. 0 authenticity complaints. I use Neato also. Transaction was September 22.
