We’ve come across many cases where sellers genuinely believed that their letters of appeal were perfect, only to find that they’ve had their Amazon appeal denied, being told their plan of action is not valid, or being asked repeatedly to come up with a new plan for the same complaint. That’s why we’ve put together a brief list of some of the most common reasons for a rejection, based on our experience.
There’s no such thing as a template for a flawless letter of appeal, because every business is different. Still, we’d like to reveal to you some of the most common pitfalls of writing an appeal, in the hope that our list can help you avoid having your appeal denied again.
Common Mistakes in a Letter of Appeal
- there’s no plan of action or evidence that they’ve reviewed their activities and done their research, because the sellers know they’ve done nothing wrong;
- the problem was not identified;
- the plan of action addresses several issues together, when it would have been better to deal with each suspension cause separately, especially since they usually need different corrective measures;
- the solutions are addressed briefly, without examples or proof;
- the solutions aren’t linked to one another, so there’s no clear assessment of the impact each measure will have on other aspects of the business;
- the steps taken to prevent a recurrence are either missing or incomplete;
- there’s no build-up or prioritization for the issues mentioned;
- there doesn’t seem to be a clear reflective cycle, i.e. the sellers don’t seem to have learned from the experience.
We hope that you’ll be able to use this list of potential reasons for the rejection of your appeal to maximize your chances the second time around. When in doubt, it always helps to refer to the Help pages. Amazon dedicates an entire section to the subject, namely Appeal the Removal of Selling Privileges.
But should you need specialists to handle your appeal, SellerEngine can help every step of the way. Over the years, we’ve perfected a ‘plan’ of our own when it comes to preparing appeals. Our experts will dedicate all their efforts to:
A. Carrying Out Preliminary Research:
- checking all the communication that has taken place up to that point (appeal, email, cases);
- looking at the reason that lies behind the suspension, as stated by Amazon;
- initial checking of complaints, negative feedbackA performance rating on a scale of 1 to ... More and emails associated with the suspension to decide on approach.
B. Conducting a Thorough Audit:
- homing in on the message of each warning or complaint;
- pin-pointing the root cause for the suspension;
- looking into underlying issues;
- checking documents to make sure they meet Amazon’s requirements.
C. Establishing the best approach and drafting the POA:
- putting together a thorough plan of action, addressing each one of the reasons Amazon mentioned in the email notifying you that your selling privileges were removed;
- highlighting corrective and preventive measures, and making solid arguments for them;
- checking the structure, tone and text.
D. Keeping you safe from then on. Your assigned representative will be able to:
- share business advice applicable in the future;
- help you avoid triggering future suspensions due to performance or compliance issues;
- show you how to improve and keep in check other aspects of the business that could indirectly influence Amazon’s decision.
Not every appeal is an open and shut case, so if you’d like some advice or reassurance before you sign on to our Amazon Account Rescue program, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Irina is part of the Business Development Team at SellerEngine Software. She’s an expert in bringing back to life Amazon Selling Accounts. Her motto is: everything will be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright, then it’s not the end.
