Just got blocked for "conspiring to raise prices"

[Vadim]

We are writing to let you know we have removed your selling privileges, canceled your listings, and placed a temporary hold on any funds in your Marketplace Payments account. Any new selling accounts you open will be closed.

We took this action because we recently discovered that you have been conspiring with other sellers to raise prices on certain items. We have taken this unusual step because this conduct violates your agreement with Amazon.com, which requires compliance with all laws and prohibits fraudulent conduct.



I started selling a high value item and there was a seller that kept lowering the price so I figured, maybe i'll just ask him nicely if he can just have a similar price as me. Nothing suspicious happened.

Heres the message I sent that other seller.

"Is there any chance you can raise your price for the ***? Ive sold them at **** and your price really kills sales :/ I cant compete with bidding wars. All the other sellers in-between us are not reputable. All of them are new I believe.
I hope you can consider it, I know you can get more for them + it hurts my sales too. Its a big world, can we have the same price? You'll still sell faster.
Thanks for your time."

And I get banned for that ^?

I sent emails to a few departments explaining everything and appealed the decision asking them to look into why they blocked my privileges.

Any chance of me getting it back?

and to think.. just moved everything over from eBay and now this?

bah

If I open an account in my dads name will I get banned again? Same address, different i.p? Or should I mispell the address? i.e 1414 oak avenue instead of 1414 west oak street. Will that work? I can just get a new bank account.

I was selling between 1-3k in items a month but then got a chance to sell a high priced item.


Any info is appreciated

[jeffweico]

I know that you feel you were only trying to avoid a price war, but that IS against the rules on both Amazon and eBay. Not to mention, the USA in general.

Competition lowers prices and gives consumers more choices. It also drives innovation.

Think about it. If there was only ONE Cell Phone company in the entire USA, what do you think the prices would be like? Much higher, right? And, do you think we would enjoy all of the same features that we do?

But let's instead say that all of the Cell Phone companies got together and decided that they didn't like price wars either and they set the MINIMUM price for service at $99.95 per month. That would violate the anti-trust laws.

Look at Blockbuster. They would enter an area and all the little mom and pop video stores would get crushed. Then, the price of a rental went to $3.99.

They laughed at Netflix in the beginning, reasoning that consumers want their movies today, not in 3 days or more via mail. And then Redbox came along and started renting DVD's for $1 from their kiosks. Netflix started streaming movies.

Blockbuster convinced the movie studios that their product was being undervalued. The movie studios then put a 30 days waiting period restriction on Netflix and Redbox. They wouldn't sell DVD's to htem for the first 30 days after a movie had been released. And now the whole thing is in court.

The bottom line is that society has decided that competition is a good thing, and they do not like it when sellers conspire to set minimum prices.

[Axcend]

get ebay and Amazon Stealth books, study up on the forums and start again! here's a hint for your next account: If you accidentally sneeze while typing in your password, amazon will block your account! Thats about how it goes

[ovidiu]

LOL @ Axcend, but basically true.

[ovidiu]

This is a ridiculous ban not because of the principle, but because of Amazon's hypocrisy.

Take the software category. For some listings (for example, Adobe Photoshop CS2 for Windows). This particular listing was so restricted that only one or two sellers on Amazon could sell here. So they naturally jacked up the price to 1495.00 for a new copy. No, I am not kidding. And this is software that sold for something like $600 when it came out. The seller's name was "baemon". "Direcvantage" (or something like that) also did this.

[Melissa1971]

If the account is in your real name, I would call them and talk to them about it. You don't have anything to loose

[Vadim]

Yes the account is in my real name and everything is all good. I understand what you mean with the price wars but this was a significant price jump, not a couple bucks hah. I figured I'd just ask. Thats the sad thing, I didn't mean to do anything wrong.

Shucks.

What number can I call? I tried already and they forwarded me to the seller-performance email.

What if I make an account under my dads name and a different business name? I can pick up a dba for 25$


Also just a note, there were over 52 sellers selling this item. We were all the way at the bottom (well top) of the prices. Lowest prices out of everyone. BUT then a couple new sellers came along with a tad lower price, so then that company decided to go even lower (by a good amount) then I sent the message. How ridiculous. It wasnt like a monopoly or anything. I hope it doesn't come off like that. Very popular and in-demand item.

[ovidiu]

There is no phone number for Seller Performance, you need to email them and beg for mercy [translation: us mere Mundanes aren't worthy of actually talking to a Seller Performance Dignitary]. Say it was a mistake and you didn't realize. Promise you won't do it again.

[Vadim]

Ok great, I did that already and I explained that I am sorry and that it was a misunderstanding and I didnt mean to do anything wrong. Except in a nice long professional way :P

I guess we shall see then.

If I did decided to make an account under my dads name would that work? Just different i.p, change the address a little and start selling?

I can't believe this happened over that email :/

Btw. They took 5k that was supposed to be deposited as well. Any chance I can get this faster than 90 days? Thats a lot of money that I really need for more items.

[Vadim]

I've been reading and apparently some people are not getting their money back after 90 days.. Can anyone that has been in this situation please chime in? I can handle 90 days but not getting my money back at will cause me to take this to court right after 90 days. I have no problem spending a little bit of money on a lawyer, there is no way they can win the case. & I will sue for the cost of the lawyer as well. Does anyone know if you have to take them to court in Washington or can I do it in my home state. Its not a far drive to go there and im planning to go in a few months anyways for other reasons.

[Amazombie]

Originally Posted by Vadim

I've been reading and apparently some people are not getting their money back after 90 days.. Can anyone that has been in this situation please chime in? I can handle 90 days but not getting my money back at will cause me to take this to court right after 90 days. I have no problem spending a little bit of money on a lawyer, there is no way they can win the case. & I will sue for the cost of the lawyer as well. Does anyone know if you have to take them to court in Washington or can I do it in my home state Its not a far drive to go there and im planning to go in a few months anyways for other reasons.

From my experience, if you get any A to Z claims during your 90 period Amazon will add another 30 days onto getting your money so unfortunately your money could be stuck for up to six months or more:(

[Here We Go Again]

Earlier this year I lost about 15 accounts with over 10K left in there.
The 90 days has come and gone long ago.
I have called, emailed, called & emailed for 2-3 months.
They are just NOT giving in and giving the money to me.
I am writing it off as a loss and a expensive lesson.

[Vadim]

And for the a-z claim. Im very sure that wont happen as all of my buyers are usually satisfied. There is never anything to complain about. New products in new packaging with manufacture warranty usually.


Do you think they're not releasing it because you had so many accounts?

[stillselling]

Don't want to sound too cynical, but if I were you, I would just let this drop. You tried to price fix and Amaz has prove of it. There are federal laws against this not to mention state consumer protection statues. You could be subject to civil complaints with treble damages if this was blown wide open. Do consult an attorney and remember, you're the business in this case, not the consumer.

[nobody999]

hwga,
was there any kind of reason(s) that amazon gave you for not releasing the funds?
were there also a-z claims after the suspension?

you mentioned that this is an expensive lesson, so how do we go about it without having this problem?
thanks

[alnev]

Originally Posted by Here We Go Again

Earlier this year I lost about 15 accounts with over 10K left in there.
The 90 days has come and gone long ago.
I have called, emailed, called & emailed for 2-3 months.
They are just NOT giving in and giving the money to me.
I am writing it off as a loss and a expensive lesson.

1. Why did u lose 15 accounts, what mistake did you do?
2. You still have no idea why they won't give you the money back?