At Risk of Amazon Account Deactivation? Here is How to Resolve Common Violations 

As an Amazon seller, few things are as scary as getting an ominous notification about your account being “at risk of deactivation.” Suddenly your livelihood selling on Amazon may be in jeopardy. Your mind races about losing access to your primary revenue stream. But take a breath – in most cases, there are steps you can take to resolve these issues.

In this guide, we’ll walk through the major reasons sellers end up at risk of suspension. We’ll also provide tips on how to address these warnings properly to get back into Amazon’s good graces. Follow along for everything you need to protect your coveted selling privileges.  

A Bit About My Amazon Selling Experience  

Before we really get into the guts of account violations, let me introduce myself. I go by Ricky Ross, a long-time Amazon seller focused mainly on the German marketplace. I sell a variety of general merchandise in categories like Health and personal care, Home and kitchen, Baby products, and Beauty.

Over my years managing Amazon stores internationally, I’ve accumulated tons of hands-on experience dealing with account notifications. I’ve successfully navigated warnings tied to intellectual property complaints, shipping defects, negative feedback – you name it.

Lately, I created a helpful YouTube video documenting my process responding to situations when my account status was at immediate risk of deactivation. I share real examples of violations along with practical solutions that worked in my specific cases.

Now let’s get into the critical topic at hand – making sure your account stays active!

Common Reasons You Might Receive Account Deactivation Warnings

 There are two broad categories that most account deactivation risks fall into:

1. Intellectual Property (IP) Right Violations 
2. Account Performance Issues

Within each bucket are more specific infractions that Amazon monitors carefully. Let’s explore them in more detail:

Intellectual Property Policy Violations

These occur when you infringe on the legal IP protections of another brand/company. Common examples include:

• Trademark Infringement

Using a trademarked brand name, logo or protected images without authorization. Includes things like listing inaccuracies, detail page actions or even just images in your listings.

• Copyright Violation

Selling or benefiting from a product design, creative work or other IP you don’t own the rights to. For example, creating a listing with product photos from another website without paying for them. 

• Patent Infringement

Manufacturing, selling or even importing goods protected by someone else’s patent without being the rights holder or getting licenses/approvals. This comes up most often for replicas.

These types of listing and seller actions make up many suspension alerts, especially around counterfeit products. Amazon takes infringement extremely seriously given legal repercussions.

Performance & Policy Violations

Infractions here relate to: 

• Customer Service Metrics – Negative feedback, poor order defect rate and related account health markers.
• Fulfillment & Shipping – High cancellation, late shipment and similar violation rates. 
• Listing Policies – Inaccurate info, prohibited products, etc. Much ties back to IP also.
• Prohibited Seller Activities – Actions explicitly banned by Amazon, usually due to manipulation attempts. Examples include reviews abuse, pay-offs, false listings.

Essentially any area where you violate Amazon’s Seller Code of Conduct or Terms of Service. They aim to create fair, consistent standards across all marketplaces. Don’t try to test the limits here.

Note these issues tend to emerge over time after cumulative offenses rather than a single violation. But repeated occurrences or egregious actions will still get you suspended quickly.

Spotting Account Deactivation Warnings

So now that you know the main reasons Amazon sends these notifications, what do they actually look like? And how can you catch them early?

In most cases, you’ll see yellow or red warnings appear right within Seller Central. Specifically on the Account Health dashboard. Text includes clear language like “Your account is at risk of deactivation.” 

The initial message won’t provide specifics. But you can simply click for more details on the policy violation type and severity. This should also include links or directions to resolve the situation.

We’ll outline the submission process soon. First, let’s walk through a real example from Ricky’s store. 

Resolving an Intellectual Property Violation 

Let me walk through a specific example of an intellectual property violation I faced and how I handled it. 

I sell primarily books on Amazon’s Swedish marketplace. At one point, I noticed my account health rating had plunged under 200 into concerning territory. Turns out the culprit was a “trademark logo misuse” violation.  

Here’s what happened: Another seller had a product listing removed for an item branded “Måri” – a glow product of some kind. Unfortunately I had also joined this listing to sell what I thought was a legit generic version of the same item.  

However, the name Måri actually belonged to another company. So while I hadn’t created the initial infringing listing, by jumping on to sell I inadvertently violated Amazon’s rules around improper use of trademarked brands.

This is the process I followed in Seller Central to respond:

1. Reviewed the violation notification closely, including the text details and my account health graphs. Really sought to understand Amazon’s exact concern.
2. Submitted an explanation defending my position. I stated clearly that I hadn’t originated the listing with the trademark violation.  
3. Provided Amazon’s required acknowledgement that going forward, I would fully comply with intellectual property rules. No exceptions.

Within about 24 hours of agreeing to respect IP guidelines better, Amazon removed the specific violation citation from my account record. My health score increased back into the 200s shortly after. No additional action was needed in this particular case.

Fixing My Account Performance Issues 

Unlike intellectual property cases, many account performance matters come directly from gaps in my own selling processes and operations. So the path to resolving them revolves around correcting those shortcomings head on.

Let me give an example…

I received an alert that my account was at risk because of a high order defect rate. Specifically, my late shipments from my own inventory stock exceeded 4% over a period of time. Amazon expects us sellers to meet the handling times and delivery estimates we state upfront. Or at least update expectations proactively if delays seem likely.  

Here’s exactly what I did to address the performance violation:

• Reviewed my Account Health dashboard closely, including the graphs showing the history of order defects driving the warning. I made sure to analyze the specifics like total late dispatch figures.  
• Adjusted my handling time presets appropriately in Seller Central to build in more of a buffer. Initially I had defaulted to estimating pretty aggressive same day handling. Switching this to 1 day handling time resolved the performance violation. 
• Updated Amazon on my revised handling time formally after making the changes. I also shared more details on my order process and inventory visibility to reassure them issues wouldn’t repeat.

The other factor was me allowing order delays to spill over weekends – big no no by Amazon standards of fulfilling 7 days a week. Updating my operations and shipping estimates prevented this problem from repeating.  

Best Practices I Recommend

Drawing from my own experiences dealing with account violations as well as advising other sellers, here are the best practices I recommend for confronting deactivation risks successfully:

• Carefully audit and analyze order defects to understand the root causes. You can’t fix issues unless you dig into the specifics and identify gaps in your account procedures. Don’t hesitate to contact Seller Support if any violation details seem unclear initially.  
• Own resolving matters fully regardless of why warnings occurred. Don’t waste energy blaming customers or defending your position. Focus efforts on addressing violations properly under Amazon’s published guidelines.  
• Respond to all submissions and tasks promptly per Amazon’s timelines. Letting inquiries or concerns slip can quickly escalate risks. Set calendar reminders if needed to stay on top of action items.  
• Learn from mistakes. Reflect on necessary operational changes to tighten up processes that aren’t meeting standards. Use violations as motivation for improving over the long-term.
• Consider seeking experienced assistance if making internal changes feels overwhelming. There’s no shame in asking for help getting back on track.

Hopefully these tips based on my own selling account experiences will help you avoid or navigate similar scenarios in your business! Let my lessons learned give you an assured game plan.

Conclusion – Learning Together to Sell Smarter

Well, we covered a lot of ground here! As you can see, I’ve been through my fair share of account notifications and violations over my years as an Amazon seller. While stressful in the moment, each situation taught me something to improve my business.

My goal was to pass along some of those key lessons here to aid you on your selling journey. Remember – even severe warnings don’t automatically lead to suspension. Amazon would usually much rather give you opportunities to rehabilitate your account. So take action promptly and properly.

Still, I realize it can feel overwhelming navigating the ins and outs of Amazon’s policies alone. Maintaining account health while managing daily operations is demanding even for experienced sellers like myself!

So if you want or need extra support shoring up your account protections, please know that help is available! I offer one-on-one consulting to provide more tailored guidance based on sellers’ unique needs.

Whether you’re just starting out or facing urgent account violations, I’m here. Please reach out by email so we can discuss further. The key is learning together – every obstacle presents a new growth opportunity for our selling skills.

Stay tenacious and don’t allow minor setbacks today dampen your drive towards ecommerce success in the long run. You have what it takes. Sometimes you simply need an experienced peer to remind you of that fact during adversities!

Speak soon and keep striving for excellence!