Need some help! account suspended, got a reply after appeal, what does it mean????

[jerryc]

My Amazon account just got suspended for 2 reasons:
1. selling a product without copy right,
2, ODR higher than 1%(short term 1.2%)
for the first reason,2 of my recent listing were removed and warned by amazon, one of my competitor listed them there who also doesn't have the copy right and I just follow the competitor. I followed a lot so I didn't even know these 2 listings until I received the notices from Amazon and i didn't even sell any thing under that listing. (How strange, this competitor's account is still fine, ASIN of these 2 listings are removed from Amazon)
I thought is't not a very big case so I appealed to Amazon in 3 hours. normally i will wait for a day. I explained it's not my intention to sell these stuffs and I just follow and did sell anyone yet.
In about 2 hours I got a reply like this
"Hello from Amazon.com.

Thank you for writing about the recent blocking of your selling account.

As you know, your account was blocked because your items fit a set of criteria that indicates they may be unauthorized by the intellectual property owners.

Sellers are expected to know and follow all applicable laws, regulations and Amazon.com's policies when listing their items. Amazon.com reserves the right to close seller accounts that list unauthorized merchandise.

Any remaining funds are on temporary hold for 90 days from the date your account was blocked. After 90 days, the funds will be disbursed, provided we do not receive chargebacks or A-to-Z Guarantee claims against your sales. If you have further questions about your disbursement, please email payments-funds@amazon.com.

We appreciate your interest in selling on Amazon.com....."
So what does this mean? It already passed the estimated reply time and I only got this! have I already lost my account? Can I reply to appeal once again? It' scaring! need some suggestions please!!!

[rsot]

Those are pretty accusations by Az - go ahead and appeal but, really, it looks rough - would say not to expect 100% success but worth a try.

Make more STEALTH and LINKFREE Az accounts - make sure they have NO relation to this one...or you will have deletion problems...

@jerryc, you must make SOLID steps to make sure that there are no links with new future Az accounts.

Issue is that if a link is made, your account could be deleted....

[jerryc]

Originally Posted by rsot

Those are pretty accusations by Az - go ahead and appeal but, really, it looks rough - would say not to expect 100% success but worth a try.

Make more STEALTH and LINKFREE Az accounts - make sure they have NO relation to this one...or you will have deletion problems...

I already appealed and got a message pasted above, should I write to seller performance evaluation team to "beg" for reinstatement?
Seriously need some suggestions and ideas. I want to wait a day before I do anything else. Thank you!

[n8zzz]

Originally Posted by jerryc

I already appealed and got a message pasted above, should I write to seller performance evaluation team to "beg" for reinstatement?
Seriously need some suggestions and ideas. I want to wait a day before I do anything else. Thank you!

No, I think that would be a waste of time at this point. If an appeal was denied the decision is VERY final. In fact, I bet you could scour this forum up and down and not find a single case where someone appealed, got denied, and somehow got their account back in the end. Amazon is not a John Cusack movie.

Also, if Amazon ever talks about copy right in regards to your suspension, appealing in itself is also pretty worthless.

The worst thing you can do is put your new account, AKA your actual ability to make money, on hold right now because you think there is a shadow of a chance that you will get your account back. I did this, it was incredibly stupid of me. The first step is acceptance.

PS that very competitor may have been the one that got you. If he made an order and then claimed it wasn't real, or something like that. Now he gets the listing all to himself. Don't follow competitors blindly.. you don't know if they have 10 accounts ready to go if that one dies. Over time you'll be able to tell by a listing, who is selling on it, etc. whether or not it's a bad idea to sell on there.

[jeffweico]

Originally Posted by jerryc

I already appealed and got a message pasted above, should I write to seller performance evaluation team to "beg" for reinstatement?
Seriously need some suggestions and ideas. I want to wait a day before I do anything else. Thank you!

I would move forward with stealth right away. It does not hurt to write them another email, but your chances of getting the account back are slim. Copyright violations / counterfeiting are considered SEVERE violations by Amazon and they are not likely to give you the account back, even if the breach is unintentional.

[MICKY H]

Look on the bright side, you will get your funds in 90 days and they have not just deleted your account. Move on go stealth and read the book. Good luck

[jeffweico]

Originally Posted by MICKY H

Look on the bright side, you will get your funds in 90 days and they have not just deleted your account. Move on go stealth and read the book. Good luck

Micky H is correct. Most of the time, if Amazon believes a user INTENDED to sell counterfeits, the account is deleted. When that happens, there is no notice. One day, you simply cannot log in. You can try contacting them if that were to happen, but they would not likely respond at all. And they would KEEP your money!

[n8zzz]

I would only say it's worth going back and forth with Amazon if you could prove by photos/documentation that you are an authorized dealer for a certain item. Even then, chances are slim ^_^

[GreenBean]

Originally Posted by rsot

Those are pretty accusations by Az - go ahead and appeal but, really, it looks rough - would say not to expect 100% success but worth a try.

Make more STEALTH and LINKFREE Az accounts - make sure they have NO relation to this one...or you will have deletion problems...

@jerryc, you must make SOLID steps to make sure that there are no links with new future Az accounts.

Issue is that if a link is made, your account could be deleted....

What is pretty about the accusations?

Why did you tell the OP to appeal when he clearly states he HAD done that already?

[jerryc]

Originally Posted by n8zzz

No, I think that would be a waste of time at this point. If an appeal was denied the decision is VERY final. In fact, I bet you could scour this forum up and down and not find a single case where someone appealed, got denied, and somehow got their account back in the end. Amazon is not a John Cusack movie.

Also, if Amazon ever talks about copy right in regards to your suspension, appealing in itself is also pretty worthless.

The worst thing you can do is put your new account, AKA your actual ability to make money, on hold right now because you think there is a shadow of a chance that you will get your account back. I did this, it was incredibly stupid of me. The first step is acceptance.

PS that very competitor may have been the one that got you. If he made an order and then claimed it wasn't real, or something like that. Now he gets the listing all to himself. Don't follow competitors blindly.. you don't know if they have 10 accounts ready to go if that one dies. Over time you'll be able to tell by a listing, who is selling on it, etc. whether or not it's a bad idea to sell on there.

This is the worst news. I would never risk my accounts for 2 listings that I never sold any thing on. I didn't even notice these 2 listings until recently. How stupid! I really want to make a try, this is my first account for about 1 and half years old anyway.
Thank you so much for all your replies!

[rsot]

*Pretty STRONG accusations by Amazon.

OP can try and reply to the appeal - worth a shot is what I meant.

[sacka_man]

I think OP should put some documents together and try to appeal in a few days, but not count on reinstatement and to also move forward with getting a stealth account established in the meantime. It seems like he's not selling counterfeits and perhaps was reported by a competitor, but where would be appeal to? Would it be the payments-funds@amazon.com email address? Curious, -sacka-man

[jerryc]

Damn it, this account is totally lost, just as n8zz and other guys said, My second appeal didn't make it!!! Just got denied too. How Damned it is！！！！！ It's really an unintentional mistake!! I got over 4K listings and I didn't even notice those 2 listings until being warned!!
This is my first AZ account and i never thought i would lost it this way!! I got suspended several times for high ODR but all went through safely, I am not ready for this!!
How stupid! I just noticed that I got another similar warning 2 months ago. So I can say that 3 warnings in 90 days = a suspended account. How I regret!! This is a trick by the competitor!! All his 3 accounts are fine!! I want to do something about it!

[rsot]

You have done what you can - let it go - make new accounts - don't break your head over this. Lost cause - sorry to say

[jeffweico]

I agree. Let it go. I don't think it was the last violation that got you canned. It sounds to me like you had a history of problems with the account and the last violation caused a review where Amazon decided that given the account history, they no longer wanted you as a seller.

Amazon takes ODR VERY seriously. It pays to watch that closely.

[jerryc]

I think you are right. but my ODR is 1.2%, is almost good now. How pitiful. I got prepare new accounts with limit again.
Thank you for you suggestions!
It's a heavy loss to me since here comes the holiday season!
It will take another 3 months to get the limit away. Too bad!!

[n8zzz]

Originally Posted by jerryc

Damn it, this account is totally lost, just as n8zz and other guys said, My second appeal didn't make it!!! Just got denied too. How Damned it is！！！！！ It's really an unintentional mistake!! I got over 4K listings and I didn't even notice those 2 listings until being warned!!
This is my first AZ account and i never thought i would lost it this way!! I got suspended several times for high ODR but all went through safely, I am not ready for this!!
How stupid! I just noticed that I got another similar warning 2 months ago. So I can say that 3 warnings in 90 days = a suspended account. How I regret!! This is a trick by the competitor!! All his 3 accounts are fine!! I want to do something about it!

Sounds like you were still clinging onto hope a little =/ Sorry to hear this. Okay, now it sounds like you've hit the acceptance phase. It's hard thinking about the thousands and thousands of dollars this will cause you to lose... but think of it this way, it's just how the game works. Every couple years you might get suspended and lose a lot of money because of it, but that doesn't negate the good times where loads of money is coming it.. it doesn't make selling on Amazon not worth it. It's just a calculated cost.

Now go make a few stealth accounts and spread out your risk... and don't get linked

[jeffweico]

n8zzz is right. In fact, this could be a blessing in disguise. Once you get your stealth set up correctly and spread out your risk, your business will be more stable.

[jerryc]

Originally Posted by n8zzz

Sounds like you were still clinging onto hope a little =/ Sorry to hear this. Okay, now it sounds like you've hit the acceptance phase. It's hard thinking about the thousands and thousands of dollars this will cause you to lose... but think of it this way, it's just how the game works. Every couple years you might get suspended and lose a lot of money because of it, but that doesn't negate the good times where loads of money is coming it.. it doesn't make selling on Amazon not worth it. It's just a calculated cost.

Now go make a few stealth accounts and spread out your risk... and don't get linked

Thanks for your reply. It makes me feel better, how pitiful!!
I will make more accounts. Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions!

[jerryc]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

n8zzz is right. In fact, this could be a blessing in disguise. Once you get your stealth set up correctly and spread out your risk, your business will be more stable.

I agree, I should have done this earlier!! Thank you