What is this suspended ?

[lnhardes]

I recieved this email :

"Hello,

We are reviewing your Amazon.com seller account. A reserve equal to your gross sales amount for the preceding 28 days will apply while your account is under review. Based on your order volume, the amount of the reserve may change daily.

When your account balance exceeds this reserve amount, you will be able to transfer funds based on your settlement schedule. You can view details on the Payments page in the Reports section of Seller Central (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/...t-summary.html).

Please continue to ship orders and only list items that you can send by the expected ship date.

You can help by sending us more information about your business. Click the Appeal button next to this message on the Performance Notifications page in Seller Central (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/...fications.html) and provide the requested information.

To learn more about account reviews, search for "Velocity Limits and Account Reviews" in Seller Central Help.

We will send you an email when we have completed our review."

What kind of this suspended ? and what am i doing now ?

[rsot]

You have a reserve applied right now - not suspended but holding period on your money...

[jeffweico]

Your account has not been suspended. Amazon just believes that you may have some refunds coming up and they want to be sure there is a reserve of money in your account should that happen.

This is very common among merchant account providers, it is called a rolling reserve. There one strange thing about it as the reserve is equal to your last 28 days of sales, which seems pretty harsh. I HAVE seen this before, so it is not a terrible thing, but it WILL be a pain for the month. The way the letter is worded, it sounds like once they complete their review, the reserve will no longer apply. Of course, with Amazon, there are no guarantees.

Normally, rolling reserves are based on a small percentage of your sales. For example, they might hold 5% or 10% of each sale in reserve for 30 days. So, on day one, if you sell $100 worth of merchandise, they would withhold $5 or $10 which would be released in 30 days. This can bite a little bit in the beginning, but as time goes on and you reach the 30 day mark, you would hardly notice it. It is not uncommon and it does not mean you are a terrible person.

In this case, it is more like the PayPal hold of 21 days, but for 28 days. So you will have to be able to fulfill your orders for the month with no money coming in. You WILL get the money after the 28 days, but their payout schedules may stretch this out a bit longer. If you are able to do this, I suggest going for it. But only you can decide if it is doable and worthwhile.

Have there been any problems on your account, such as customer complaints, lost packages, late shipments and such? That could be what triggered it. It could also be what you are selling. We never ask anyone what they sell, but can you give us the category? The answer to these questions could clarify the situation a bit and we could give you better advice in terms of whether or not you should try to ride this out, or if it is just not worth it.

Good luck!