Forum

Amazon, going on 2 months sell volume question
 

I have a clean Amazon account going on 60 days now. The first 30 days I sold 350 worth of product. This month I'm up to just under 400. Would it be safe to simply double the first month in sales volume?

Does Amazon look more at the volume $, or the quantity of items sold?
Also, if I were to sell lets say 700$ in volume in 2 days vs. spreading it out week to week would this help, or does in not matter...?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Sounds risky even doing 350 in one month....I have a account and have been doing 4-6 dvd sales each day and so far seems ok its only 4 days old...It might be ok depends on what you are selling. what are you selling and for how much?

The same, dvd kits "used" $90 each.

in my opinion you can go up to $1,500 a month after you pass the 1st 30 days of the acct.

That's what I figured. I'll keep it at 1,000 for safe keeps. Thanks guys.

I'm selling about 7-10 thousand a month, and this is after an account review. There is no method to the madness. Amazon makes up **** as they go.

Seems that way.

how old is your account?

This is from my experience and it's not 100% confirmed.

Typically, new account can sell up to $700 (or a bit more) in the first payment cycle. However, if you close the first month with $300 sales, it's probably not a good idea to go up too high in difference. Around $500 would be a good number to close your sales for next month.

Please also note that feedback plays an important element on how high and how soon you can increase your limit. Take extra care for buyers' special request usually can earn you an immediate feedback.

chrisapowers1...great wrok that is good to hear:)

Follow up: Looks like Amazon closed my account for good. I sold about $$700-800 within a week. My account was going on 60 days. I dispersed two times (550 total) in the past week. Their famous email follows.
****y.....

"Hello from Amazon.com.

This message is to inform you that we have blocked your selling account. You may no longer sell on our site.

We took this action because it has come to our attention that you may be selling recopied media. As stated in our policies, recopied and otherwise unauthorized media infringe upon copyrights and trademarks and are illegal to sell.

If you still have items to ship, please take appropriate steps to resolve your pending sales. Your Seller Account will remain accessible and you are encouraged to refund or ship pending orders.

Any remaining funds are being reserved in your Amazon.com account for 90 days from the date your account was blocked. After 90 days, the funds will be disbursed minus any A-to-Z Guarantee claims or charge-backs. If you have further questions about your funds please write to payments-funds@amazon.com.

While we appreciate your interest, please understand that the closure of an account is a permanent action. Any subsequent accounts that are opened will be closed as well. Thank you for your understanding with our decision.


Regards,

Seller Performance Team
Amazon.com

Wow, how long did they hold your money for? I had no idea about the limits they had until a few days ago when I had over $2000 in sales and a profit of a little less than $400. Do you have a Pro Seller account or regular account?

Is their a way to find out how much Amazon will let you sell?

No there is no way to find out how much they will let you sell. Amazon is very tricky trying to figure out

i agree with that....just keep your sales in moderation for 1st 30 to 60 days...in my opinion 1 or 2 a day is pretty safe.

..
 

Actually, you can call seller support and ask them what your velocity limit is.
They'll tell you.

800-201-7575 (customer service) -- ask them to transfer you over to seller support.

Just be sure to have ALL your acct info handy b/c they will ask you questions to verify.

can anyone confirm this?

I don't know how long they will hold funds for. 90 days I think. Funny thing is, I submitted my second disbursement on the 8th for only $275. I received the email stating my account was closed on the 10th (two business days later), and I find out today that the disbursement was reversed (damn fu@&ers)

So for any of you selling on Amazon with a fresh account look these facts over before doing so.

Products sold in first 30 days:
3 items
$350.00 total

Products sold in 60 days:
7 items
$675.00 total

Two Dibursements in 72 hours

(1) Positive Feedback score

ACCOUNT CLOSED =( Boo Hoo

The frequent disbursements may have been the red flag???

Time for me to start from scratch again...thank god for this forum.

Your numbers look fine. It may be the products you are selling.
Do you mind pointing out what kind the products and what category you are selling under?

I was selling workout DVD kits. $95.00 each (used, like new condition)

If you read what they sent you, someone clearly claimed that you were selling bootlegs. This happened to me recently. All it takes is one competitor or customer who feels like being a dick to report you to amazon, and, regardless of whether its true or not, you're done. Amazon is presumably very careful about the potential fines they could receive for allowing resellers to list dubbed media, so they would be extremely quick to pull the trigger in those circumstances.

do you think a competitor has to actually buy a product, then claiming with amazon that it is ⊗⊗⊗⊗ before amazon suspends the seller? or can a competitor just contact amazon without buying the ⊗⊗⊗⊗ goods and telling amazon they think it's ⊗⊗⊗⊗ stuff?

I would say that it could happen both ways, though I don't have proof for either option. If someone who hadn't bought anything "alerted" Amazon that they thought a seller's listings were suspicious and possibly bootlegs, OR if "several" different users messaged Amazon saying that, yes, I'll bet they'd do something about it.

And think about it : Amazon's employees are pretty lazy. That's obvious. If I was dickhead seller A, wanting to get you booted to thin my competition, and I emailed Amazon telling them that you had shipped me a bootlegged copy of Bad Boys 2, what are the chances that the douchebag employee reading that email will sort through the records to see if I, dickhead seller A had actually purchased anything from you? That would require more than the two or three clicks needed to perma-ban someone. I'm sure it doesn't always play out that way, but I'd be shocked if it didn't occur somewhat frequently.

I mean, I've already seen plenty of people who run much more complicated scams on Amazon from the buyer side, so why they do something simple like sending out one email?

I've seen people leave negative feedback or a-to-z's before I'd even shipped an item about how it was damaged or didn't work or whatever, or obviously the "I never received it" when I have a tracking number that claims otherwise, etc, etc.

This is good info...this is why I check in daily to this forum for good comments like this one.

I also try to help any way I can (probably with more info than I should) in hopes that someone will feel confident to leave good comments like catdaddy's:)

Amazon revealled initial selling velocity
 

After emailing Amazon about 6-7 times with a new email address without logging in my account, I finally got them to blink and tell me some useful information. This is the email that they sent:

Greetings and thank you for contacting us.

Thank you for writing.

Selling limits, also known as "sales velocity" or "velocity limits", are applied to all seller accounts and are set at the time they register. All sellers begin with the same limit of $750.00. This limit is imposed on a 28-day "rolling cycle," where only transactions within the past 28 days are included in a seller’s current velocity.

If you reach your selling limit, your account is reviewed by our Seller Evaluation Team. When our review is completed, if you are granted an increase in your selling limit, sales will be allowed to go through on your account. (Note that for high volume sellers, this can result in a large amount of orders appearing in your Seller Account at once.) If an increase is denied, pending sales will be cancelled and you will not be able to disburse payment until old sales have dropped out of the current cycle or an increase is granted.


I think that they immediately realized their mistake because a few hours later they sent me another email which said:

Greetings from Amazon.com.

We are not allowed to provide details on velocity limits before you set up a seller account.

If you tell us how much you are expecting to sell in your firth month, we will be able to tell you if you will be able to do it or not.

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Best regards,

Sergio R.
Amazon.com Seller Support


What I do not understand is what exactly is the big secret? Why not be very open about the selling limits. It seems like they want accounts to be suspended. I cannot believe that they are holding all this money just for the interest. That would be petty for for a company of this size.

I don't think this is entirely true, unless they've changed the way of receiving orders under account review.

The initial limit of $750 is very possible, which I've tested it to be around $700. However, when an account is under 30 days review, all current listings are not pulled and it should still be able to receive orders, unlike the situation that all new orders will be held upon review as the first e-mail claims.

It is not until further determination from Amazon's Seller Performance that all current listings may be pulled followed by account block with 90 days fund holding.

Technically, $750 limit per 28 days seems pretty reasonable for casual sellers, assuming they are just occasionally selling unwanted gifts and used items in the house. Therefore, it is logical to assume sellers who may exceed such limit per cycle are either selling a single item with high price or having a clear plan to sell continuously with selected product(s).

If you are going to become the later one, it's inevitable to get 30 days review since the initial limit is definitely not high enough when your sales kicks off.

I wonder which dept. from Amazon sent you the first e-mail? Was it from Seller Support or Seller Performance? Please let me know if possible, thanks!!

I think I found the $750 limit by digging in Amazon's sellers help section awhile ago.

Keep in mind that the wording is confusing here. When you break the velocity limit, you get REVIEWED by a person at Amazon, but its not THE REVIEW (as in, the 30-day waiting period review). When you break your velocity limit, you don't get any emails; some idiot just looks at your account, and usually, if you meet their feedback (and whatever else) requirements, a few hours later (or maybe a day at most), you've passed and are back to normal. You'd only ever even notice if you had sales during this period, and scrutinized your open listings to see the quantity numbers for these items being less than they should be (pending sales). Otherwise, you probably wouldn't even realized it happened.

HOWEVER, if, during this short review, you are found to NOT meet the invisible (arbitrary) requirements, THEN you get THE REVIEW email, and your account is on the 30-day hold, etc.

Amazon wants sellers to get suspended
 

It seems as if they actually want sellers to get suspended, but why? What purpose does it serve? Why not send a warning if their rules are inadvertently being broken?
Does any one know if most of the time they release the funds after a 30 day hold or is it usually extended to 90 days for some excuse?

I don't think Amazon wants to suspend anyone. Why would they, they're making money. However, Amazon has had to deal with so many individuals committing fraud that this is the only option they have now.

Therefore, any red flags, and they're just going to use this no tolerance ban, and get rid of you. Why? Because there are millions of other sellers, and there always will be.

I don't blame Amazon. I blame the thiefs that have scammed Amazon and buyers. Selling counterfeits is one thing, but taking someone's money and walking away is another. I for one don't sell an item unless I think it's as good as the authentic product.

This is a capitalistic society, and every man is for himself. I'm just trying to make some extra cash while working 40 hours a week and being a fulltime student.

Yes, for every Amazon seller banned, they know that there are two more feeling the allure of that "I made a million dollars selling online!" dream, so they can be as strict as they like.

The one thing that they actually need to fight for is buyers - that is the commodity for the online marketplaces, and it is why every single service is further catering to the buyer side as much as possible. There will always be someone wanting to sell something, but if there isn't anyone willing to buy it, Amazon dries up.

I blame Amazon for supending accounts
 

I do not have any problem with Amazon protecting themselves against fraud. I think that taking steps to prevent fraud is in everyones interest. However, for Amazon to suspend accounts for exceeding selling velocity limits without clearly telling them what the limits are, is simply very unfair and wrong. The selling limits should be prominently displayed in each seller account.
Amazon does not even try to inform sellers that their are set limits. Their are many honest sellers out there who have no interest in violating Amazons' rules. That is why I do not understand Amazon. It appears as if they what accounts to be suspended. But why, what purpose does it serve, I can't believe they are doing this just for the interest gained. That would be petty for a company of this size.

Amazon Velocity limits
 

do believe the first cycle Velocity limits are around $750.

I was ok on one of my accts until i hit that point, I got the review email and provided all the information they asked for. In a week it turned into a 30 day hold. I then got a 5 star feedback and the account message when you log in changed from a 30 day hold notice to a: your account is under review.

whats weird is that it has been under review for like 3 weeks. I just keep waiting and nothing. I waited to list because I do not want to keep selling inventory if I will not be able to get the $$ soon. I didn't want it too look odd because i stopped listing so i listed and sold and shipped two more items spaced over a week apart. I finally email then about 4 days ago saying I have given all information asked for almost a month ago and i would really like if you can finish your review and lift it. I then gave all tracking #'s again. Still no response. anyone have any thoughts?

about 8 sales all shipped with tracking proof. I'm just waiting.

Do you guys transfer your $$ from your payment accts right after you confirm shipment or do you wait a bit?

Understanding Amazons' dirty tricks
 

I learned from my experience that you should not have Amazon hold more of your money than you feel comfortable with. They can suspend an account without warning. Typically what they do when they want to suspend an account is they tell you that your account is under review for 30 days and they are requesting additional information. They ask you for trade secrets such as where you obtain your merchandise and where do you sell it. They allow continuing selling, but they do not allow you to withdraw funds. They do this with the full knowledge that at the end of the 30 days they will permanently suspend your account and hold and funds that are your account for total of about 4-7 months (depending on your particular situation). If you ask them for some reasonable explanation, they will not tell you. If you press them for an answer they will become very rude and they will not respond to your emails.

Although they do always permanently suspend an account, I would not take my chances. Stop selling immediately and hope for the best. Do not give away valuable information about your business that you feel very uncomfortable about doing. Do not let them intimidate you.

Sellers should always empty their accounts daily. Do not give Amazon an opportunity to hold your money hostage.


Though I have had mostly positive experiences with Amazon, people think that because they are a large, well known company and the fact they are listed on the Nasdaq that they are reputable. I do not have exact statistics but I am certain that Amazon, is currently holding money from thousands of seller accounts without giving their respective owners a reasonable explanation of why they are doing so. Because of the legal wording in the online agreement that all sellers agreed to, it is impossible to sue them.

Competitors and feedback
 

My best stealth account in years was shut down because 2 competitors gave me negatives. I was at 7 positives and bang 2 quick negatives, both by direct competitors, within a day my account was blocked, my appeal was denied. I was on for 70 days, had withdrawn over 7,000$, and had already passed a review. The bitch is that since those 2 negatives i've had 15 more positives, which came too late to save my account.

Does the velocity limit reset every 28 days or every month?

so if I sell $700 then after the cycle I can sell at least that much again? with possible review? as you get feedback I know you can sell more. I just want to be clear on how the limits reset

I'd like to bring this thread back to life. I'm interested in finding information on the SECOND velocity limit, as I've already passed the initial 30 day review A9and agree that it comes around the $700 - $750 mark. Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on the next limit? Its obviously increased, but I'd love to know by approximately how much.

You'll have to test it out - differs from account to account and what you sell. One of my accounts went from 30 day review to 45 day review right after the 30 day was up. I was blasting sales though - high up.

it might also depend on your feedbacks

Thanks guys. I cant beleive how difficult it is to get buyers to leave feedback on Amazon! Guess I'll just keep sending out emails to new buyers and keep my fingers crossed.