Dealing with an Amazon suspension is similar to traversing a minefield, where every step counts toward your business's survival.
To assist you in navigating this challenging terrain, we've collaborated with Chris McCabe of ecommercechris.com and host of Seller Velocity Conference (May 1-2 in NYC) to develop a decision tree - acting as a strategic roadmap for determining whether to self-manage Amazon appeals or seek professional support.
If you opt to handle it independently, Chris has also crafted a detailed outline that allows you to visually map potential outcomes and weigh the risks and benefits of each choice before ultimately deciding whether to seek expert assistance.
This provides clarity amidst the uncertainty of Amazon appeals, which can be complex and risky, potentially leading to significant delays or permanent suspensions.
Self-Assessment: What Do I Need To Do?
Take a Shot at it Yourself
If you’re doing it yourself, are you counting on an “out” later on if you need to hire out help?
There won’t always be an opportunity to rescue a series of failed appeal attempts, so decide up front if you’re OK with a single denied appeal.
If you’re deciding to handle it yourself for the entire process, then one appeal denial won’t phase you.
What do I need to do next if one doesn’t “get it done”?
Make a solid plan to escalate it via management, on your own, if you’re deciding to take a shot at it and then continuing on to the end.
What Can You Do if You Stumble out of the Gate and Face Rejections
A) Change gears immediately and have an expert help you out.
Will they only help on one appeal, or all appeals, going forward?
Make sure you understand what you’re getting when you hire someone, are they billing hourly? Are they billing per appeal, or per project, with one rate covering all appeals until the work is done? If you’re not hiring all the way to the finish line, they may have less incentive to “get it right” the first time. This is the biggest problem with hourly rates, like legal retainers. The up front amount is usually considered a “Starter fee” and the expectation is you’ll need to reload a few times.
B) What can you reverse course on or fix?
Does the appeal need revisions? Are you sending it via the wrong paths? Are you ready to escalate, or you need to fix it up first with edits or you need to attach new documents?
Don’t continue to appeal if you don’t have the right documents, the understanding of where and how to appeal off of Seller Central, or when you’re faced with Amazon’s typical copy and paste answers.
You can improve upon an appeal, and still get it through to reinstatement. That happens all the time, when done correctly and when sent to the right teams, and including the content they need.
You can attach additional documents if Amazon needed them previously, but didn’t get them when you had appealed earlier. As long as you’re not making documents up, or editing or fabricating them, you can attach them to a later appeal and revise your appeal to emphasize that properly.
If you’re using the wrong paths, sending the appeals to the wrong places and receiving any generic responses (or ones that say you’re using the wrong channel)
C) What can you rescue or recover if it’s “gone too far”?
Is it “too late” to hire out help, does Amazon not care anymore/ not review it anymore?
There are sellers who have appealed far too many times, and poorly, and received too many denials to help.
We don’t tell them to give up entirely, because they could continue to try on their own. We may just say that unless they don't care what the fee is, or what the odds are, it may not make sense to ask professionals for help due to the amount of damage already created.
Escalation Strategy and Processes
A) Doing these yourself? Y/N
Have you done it successfully before?
This one is straightforward. You’ve either successfully resolved an ASIN or account suspension in the past, or you haven’t.
Is this situation similar?
If this is, give it a shot. See if you can remedy it like last time.
If it’s not, evaluate it on its unique, individual merits. Do not compare apple to oranges cases as if any type of suspension is the same. Not all policies are enforced the same way, and performance metrics suspensions are not the same as policy or behavioral (code of conduct) suspensions.
Consider if you have adequate experience to appeal in a variety of situations.
Do you know how to escalate appeals to make sure they’re properly reviewed/ actioned?
If you’re not sure where it goes, what to say or what to do, then appealing alone is not for you.
Find experts who understand what types of language, go into appeals that are escalated to executives.
B) If an escalation fails, are you resubmitting it elsewhere already?
If yes, where? Is it the same copy or a different version?
If not, what is your plan moving forward? Sending the same draft everywhere?
Stop sending the draft you wrote one time to many different people, hoping someone new will care, or transfer it to a better place, or that they will just reinstate you for the sake of it. Amazon accepts proper escalations and this entire strategy works because they’ve created an anecdotal process around it. No one else, not support, account health, or Seller Performance can escalate and review appeals at a high level.
Have a cohesive strategy or get one from someone who knows, don’t trust basic content online.
C) Are you creating pressure on management teams outside of the process when you’re ignored?
If not, you’re missing the point and defeating the purpose of escalating.
You can’t let them ignore you but you also can’t keep doing the same form letter escalation over and over.
Customize, create unique escalation language depending on the audience, and don’t just “spray and pray.”
Chris McCabe, known for his expertise in Amazon appeals and seller performance, has been featured twice on the Smartest Amazon podcast, where he shares invaluable insights and strategies for navigating the complexities of selling on the platform. Through his appearances, McCabe provides listeners with practical advice, insider tips, and real-world experiences to help sellers overcome challenges and optimize their success on Amazon.
