Starting an Amazon business can be challenging, but what happens when your account gets suspended just as you’re gaining momentum?
In this inspiring success story, we follow Ramin and Cena, two entrepreneurs from Iran living in Berlin, who turned their Amazon Germany dreams into reality. Despite facing account deactivation in their first year after making €19,000 in sales, they persevered and came back stronger in 2025 with over €130,000 in revenue.
Their journey offers valuable insights into wholesale strategies, private label development, and the resilience needed to succeed in e-commerce.
Getting Started: The Registration Process
Ramin and Cena began their Amazon Germany journey in September 2023 by registering their business in Berlin. The process took approximately one month to receive their Gewerbeschein (business registration), though this timeline can vary by district.
After obtaining their business registration, they applied for their tax number (Steuernummer) and VAT identification number (USt-IdNr), which took around two months to receive from the Finanzamt.
The Amazon account verification process presented its own challenges. Using their Iranian passports, they encountered issues during verification, particularly regarding where the passport was issued.
This is a crucial detail many sellers overlook—always list the issuing country as your country of origin, not your current residence.
After resolving documentation issues and completing video verification, their Amazon account was fully approved in February 2024, approximately two months after initial application.
Throughout this setup phase, they also registered for LUCID, Germany’s packaging registry, which was validated within a week in December 2023. This comprehensive registration process demonstrates the importance of patience and attention to detail when establishing an Amazon business in Germany.
The Wholesale Method: Building Foundation
Rather than jumping immediately into private label, Ramin and Cena started with the wholesale method, selling established brands through Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). This strategic decision proved invaluable for learning Amazon’s ecosystem without the higher risks associated with private label.
Initially, finding profitable products required patience and persistence. They manually analyzed hundreds of products from various suppliers before identifying winners.
At their peak, they managed approximately 100 different listings across multiple brands. However, they soon discovered that quantity didn’t equal success. Many products faced intense competition, requiring constant price matching and consuming valuable time without generating proportional profits.
Learning from this experience, they strategically reduced their catalog to around 20 high-performing products. This focused approach allowed them to spend less time on competitive adjustments and more time on growth strategies.
They utilized tools like Keepa and Bybox Pro for product research, but emphasized that manually learning Amazon’s numbers and metrics first was crucial before relying on automation tools.
The wholesale method taught them essential skills: understanding pricing dynamics, managing inventory, handling customer service, and navigating Amazon’s policies. These lessons proved invaluable when they later expanded into private label products.
Overcoming Account Suspension
In September 2024, just as they were anticipating their first Q4 sales season, disaster struck. Amazon UK sent an email suspecting one of their products wasn’t authentic, leading to immediate account deactivation.
The irony? It was one of their most authentic products from a reputable German wholesaler.
They immediately provided invoices from their German supplier, but Amazon rejected them. They obtained a letter from the supplier confirming authenticity and proof of direct purchasing from the manufacturer.
Still, Amazon remained unconvinced. After more than ten phone calls and months of communication, they faced repeated generic rejections.
Frustrated but determined, they researched legal options and hired a German lawyer specializing in Amazon account reinstatements. For approximately €800, the lawyer sent three legal letters to Amazon explaining the situation.
Within days of the first letter, their account was reactivated—without Amazon requesting any additional documentation beyond what they’d already provided multiple times.
This experience highlighted an unfortunate reality: sometimes a legal representative’s intervention succeeds where sellers cannot, even with identical evidence. The suspension lasted several months, costing them crucial Q4 sales, but taught them resilience and the importance of professional help when needed.
Scaling to Success in 2025
After reactivation in early 2025, Ramin and Cena rebuilt their business with renewed determination. By December 2025, they achieved over €130,000 in sales—a remarkable comeback from their suspended status.
Their success stemmed from combining wholesale revenue with gradually introduced private label products.
They maintained a disciplined financial approach, each contributing €1,000 monthly to the business regardless of immediate needs. This strategy ensured capital availability for unexpected opportunities, such as bulk deals requiring €5,000+ investments.
Rather than withdrawing profits, they reinvested everything into inventory and growth.
For private label development, they started with small test quantities in late 2024, using 2025 as a learning year. While private label products showed promise, wholesale items still generated the majority of their revenue as they mastered advertising, listing optimization, and brand building.
They acknowledged higher initial costs for private label but viewed it as a long-term investment with significant future potential.
Their monthly sales consistently exceeded €20,000, with November reaching €27,000. They used Sellerboard software to track actual profitability beyond gross sales, ensuring they understood their true margins after all Amazon fees, advertising costs, and product expenses.
Tax Management and Financial Systems
Navigating German tax requirements initially seemed daunting, but Ramin and Cena systematically tackled each obligation. They used Lexware (formerly Lex Office) software to manage quarterly VAT submissions.
While the interface appeared complicated initially, especially given language barriers, YouTube tutorials helped them master the system quickly.
An interesting development occurred after their first year: because their 2024 VAT payments totaled under €2,000, the Finanzamt sent a letter permitting annual instead of quarterly submissions for 2025. This simplified their administrative burden, though they anticipated returning to quarterly filing in 2026 given their increased revenue.
For income tax, they strategically purchased inventory in December 2024, creating a business loss that offset their e-commerce income. Combined with their employment income, this resulted in a tax refund rather than additional liability.
They consulted a tax professional for year-end filing, ensuring compliance while optimizing their tax position.
This systematic approach to tax management—using proper software, maintaining accurate records, and seeking professional guidance when needed—provided peace of mind and allowed them to focus on business growth rather than administrative worries.
Conclusion
Ramin and Cena’s journey from €19,000 in sales and account suspension to over €130,000 in revenue demonstrates what’s possible with persistence, strategic thinking, and proper guidance.
Their story offers several key lessons: start with wholesale to learn Amazon’s ecosystem before attempting private label, maintain adequate capital reserves for opportunities, don’t give up when facing setbacks, and seek professional help when needed—whether for account issues or tax compliance.
Their commitment to continuous learning, disciplined financial management, and willingness to adapt strategies positioned them for long-term success. For aspiring Amazon sellers in Germany, their experience proves that with the right approach and unwavering determination, building a profitable e-commerce business is achievable even when facing significant obstacles along the way.
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