Forum

Originally Posted by jainy25 (Post 1020622)

It's not a suspension. It's a selective restriction on most of the good products. Well, you could say a virtual ban, given that this hits almost 75% of our business. I see 650 listings (active + inactive) in our inventory gated right now. And inability to list at least 7 out of 10 decently good books (BSR < 1,000,000).

They have been pretty hard on us, and I think booksellers in general since last year. We did have to deal with them once in June 2018, when they put a hold on our account for some 'Used Sold as New' complaints. We filed a clear appeal against all the 10 ASINs they mentioned in their notice, and the account was back and running in completely good health.

Then, there was that incident about Seller Vetting for booksellers that I mentioned above. Again, that seems resolved as acknowledged by Seller Support.

Barring that, there were two copyright infringement complaints in last 3 months. The publishers wiped off all sellers, including Amazon from the listing at once because of widespread counterfeit copies being circulated in the market. Both resolved in our favor as we submitted the proof of purchases from our distributors.

There is nothing more other than these that I could recall. There are occasional 'used sold like new' product condition customer complaints, that given our high volume is expected because that's how Amazon's bots run. But listings don't get taken down for that. Just a mark in Account Health's Policy Violation section. We appeal each time and get acknowledged by Seller Performance team for complying with their policies.

But I can assure you it is not a legitimate reason for restriction. We are selling about 250 orders/day. Have like 1 such complaint each month. Even if I were to count it in my ODR, it would still be 0.01%.

I have written on AMZ's seller forums too. They are all as clueless as me. Some sellers did get similar notice from Amazon as us on those 'Certain Popular Products' in Books Category being gated. In their case, they don't have any authorized sourcing proof, as most of them are used books sellers.

But we don't do that! All our inventory is at FBA warehouses, and all of them are in New condition. Which is why I find this denial/ignorance on part of Amazon very frustrating.

Originally Posted by Zippie (Post 1020998)

Holy crap! Amazon F***ed you. Seriously. It sounds like you did everything right :great feedback/metrics, sent products to FBA, etc.

I would contact an attorney and possibly take them to arbitration.

Also, I feel really bad for you. PM me and I can refer to someone who might be able to help you resolve this.

Originally Posted by bookshop123 (Post 1033971)

Hello jainy25,

Any update to your amazon seller account and did you go for arbitration...i am in the same boat....

attorney says arbitration is the only option left to speak to someone in amazon...

Originally Posted by bookshop123 (Post 1033971)

Hello jainy25,

Any update to your amazon seller account and did you go for arbitration...i am in the same boat....

attorney says arbitration is the only option left to speak to someone in amazon...

Originally Posted by rsot (Post 1033992)

Welcome to the forum - all the best as you master ghost :thumb:

Originally Posted by sabbiman (Post 1034343)

Do NOT speak to an attorney!

You are going to spend $8-10k for absolutely no reason, and the lawyers will get you to do they heavy lifting anyway by writing down the specific points of your case.

ALL you need to do (if you are in the domestic US) is pay under $1k to the American Arbitration Association and file a lawsuit with them. Ask for expedited status.

You then have to send a letter, and then your case outline, to Amazon's "agent" of record, telling them you intend to file for arbitration.

Then simply fill out the forms, make your case, and you will be assigned an arbitration date and whatnot.

Do NOT pay a lawyer. If you can write and speak cogently, do the work yourself. There is NO need to engage a lawyer.

A lawyer, however, will tell you otherwise. Which is why Dante put them in his lowest rung of Hell...where they definitely should reside.

If you want further details, PM me.

Originally Posted by sabbiman (Post 1034913)

The only person in the history of humanity that would defend the "honor" of lawyers would be a lawyer.

...or a stupid person...

A lawyer is simply going to take your money to do what you yourself can do. You know your case. You know the details. A lawyer will make you write those details down, and they will argue your case. And you will pay them $10k to do it.

You feel good about handing over $24-$30k for 3 cases? fine by me.

Maybe you don't know how to speak or write English, or cannot argue for yourself. In that case, pay the money and get someone to do it for you.

But if you won any case, you could have done it for yourself. There is no specialized understanding of the law needed to argue an arbitration case. You simply are telling the arbitrator what happened.

Originally Posted by jainy25 (Post 1034146)

We are working with an organization that helps sellers appeal with Amazon, at the moment. Some opinions state that arbitration might not be helpful at all. Besides, it doesn't work like dragging them to legal proceedings immediately.

Have to try engaging Seller Performance at the first step.

How big was your volume, if I may ask? Were you selling NEW academic books only?

Originally Posted by bookshop123 (Post 1035087)

May I ask..which company u r using....I tried one lawyer company in NY.....dont think they are worth it....

The issue is something different here.....amazon is going after sellers importing from India, Malaysia....

IP violation notice seems an excuse....

BTW I am completely deactivated....I assume you are still live but most items are gated...right...?

Originally Posted by jainy25 (Post 1035112)

I just PMed you.

Not really sure what's going on behind the scenes though

Originally Posted by bookshop123 (Post 1035738)

Yes....something foul is surely playing on .......many many booksellers.....specially those with some connection to ASIA are getting the boot

Originally Posted by sabbiman (Post 1034343)

Do NOT speak to an attorney!

You are going to spend $8-10k for absolutely no reason, and the lawyers will get you to do they heavy lifting anyway by writing down the specific points of your case.

ALL you need to do (if you are in the domestic US) is pay under $1k to the American Arbitration Association and file a lawsuit with them. Ask for expedited status.

You then have to send a letter, and then your case outline, to Amazon's "agent" of record, telling them you intend to file for arbitration.

Then simply fill out the forms, make your case, and you will be assigned an arbitration date and whatnot.

Do NOT pay a lawyer. If you can write and speak cogently, do the work yourself. There is NO need to engage a lawyer.

A lawyer, however, will tell you otherwise. Which is why Dante put them in his lowest rung of Hell...where they definitely should reside.

If you want further details, PM me.

Originally Posted by bookshop123 (Post 1037292)

I cannot PM ....because of some requirements of the site..

However....I guess amazon is flagging booksellers account for different reasons other than any violations.....Seller performance team will probably send ambiguous reasons for suspension....

Keep a watch on your FBA inventory....I suspect most of your inventory will be in reserved status now....

please share the deactivation notice if you can...

Originally Posted by bookshop123 (Post 1037330)

ok....is your FBA inventory in reserved status....if not then your issue is different from mine....