Account Health

Check My File has left the building

January 26, 2021 Leave a Comment

Amazon deleted this important seller tool, creating catalog errors and churn

By: Lesley Hensell

Being an Amazon Seller got harder during the fall of 2020, when Amazon took away the Check My File feature. And there is no easy fix in sight.

Feeds were already challenging for even the most experienced of third-party sellers. Removing access to Check My File has created massive listings errors for some sellers. And surely it has created churn for Amazon as well, with hundreds or thousands of Seller Support cases opened to try and fix the bad listings now being uploaded to the Amazon catalog.

Previously, before uploading files, sellers used Check My File to double-check inventory files for warnings or mistakes. Seller Central would show the seller where errors existed, and those errors would be corrected. Wash, rinse and repeat until Check My Filed said that you passed. Then, an error-free feed could be pushed to Amazon.

Now, without the tool:

Errors are uploaded to the catalog, rather than caught during the Check My File process.
Often, these errors “stick” and cannot be resolved with another file upload.
Sometimes, these errors are significant. We saw one client accidentally break all their variations. Months later, these listings still are not all fixed.

When sellers mess up the catalog with bad feeds, they must reach out to Seller Support to fix what they broke. The support is … less than supportive

to say the least. Case after case after case, and the issues still are not solved. This causes unnecessary frustration for sellers simply trying to create or update their listings.

The entire scenario is creating time-consuming, painful headaches for sellers and churn for Amazon. As an experienced seller and consultant, I honestly don’t understand the endgame. Even owning your company’s brand registry doesn’t seem to help. Hopefully, Amazon has noticed and will bring back Check My File.

If you need assistance, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit Riverbend Consulting. Our team can help.

Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (19 and 13) who do most of the heavy lifting.

Amazon is requesting an invoice, what do you do now?

December 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

Amazon ASIN reinstatement through invoices

By: Kayleigh Cockerill

Experienced Amazon sellers know when a buyer makes inauthentic or condition complaints. Amazon wants more than a quality Plan of Action – they want an invoice.

Invoices and the information on them help Amazon determine if you have quality and authentic sourcing. It is important not to take these request lightly.

Amazon requested invoices for your inventory, now what?

Before submitting your invoices, take some time to ensure you are meeting Amazon’s standards or you will waste your first review. Which leads to longer reinstatement times, which then impacts your bottom line – money!

The invoice displays: company name and matches the legal entity registered in Seller Central
All supplier information is available including their name, address, phone number, and website. Amazon will use this information to contact your supplier so take a few minutes to verify the information is current.
In the last 365 days if an invoice was issued and the quantity purchased represents those sales, yet Amazon can’t account for those sales, your ASIN won’t be reinstated.

DO NOT ALTER YOUR INVOICES

I REPEAT, DO NOT MANUFACTURE OR CHANGE THE INFORMATION ON YOUR INVOICES.

Even if you want to make a seemingly innocent change, like rewriting unclear text or changing the balance due, do not do it.

If Amazon suspects you have altered your invoices, they will suspend your account. This type of deception is extremely difficult to overcome, even if you have good reason. Doing this potentially can label you as forgers.

Amazon doesn’t like dishonest sellers. If you’ve lost invoices or the information is unclear, call the suppliers and ask for reprints.

Amazon will however allow you to black out pricing information and highlight your ASIN/line item. That is the ONLY alteration that can be made.

Tips:

Keep invoices in a central depository so you know where to find them when the time comes.
Invest in software that will help you organize invoices by ASIN and date.
Do not sell inventory on Amazon if you don’t have invoices to back sales.
If invoices are not itemized because you buy in bulk or because you are sourcing from a supplier who sells the item by category and not a unique product code, don’t expect Amazon to accept them. If they can’t match the product to the listing, your ASIN won’t be reinstated
Amazon does not accept commercial invoices, bills of landings, or packing slips in lieu of an invoice.
Amazon is unlikely to accept Proforma invoices. Proforma invoices don’t prove that a transaction was completed. That kind of invoice is essentially a quote. Supposing that is all you have, call the supplier and request an updated invoice that shows the transaction was completed. It will also have a zero balance.
Amazon does not like long form receipts and retail arbitrage. This kind of receipt is hard to read and even harder to verify.

If you have submitted your invoices multiple times and you continue to get the same vague response, Riverbend can help!

Send us an email or give us a call! (877) 289-1017

Kayleigh relentlessly fights for clients with suspended Amazon accounts. With a degree is in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Kayleigh is inquisitive, process-oriented and pays close attention to detail. When she isn’t being a superhero to Amazon sellers, she enjoys crafting, reading, baking, taking voice lessons or participating in races and obstacle courses.

FBA basics are key to keeping a tidy account for inventory.

December 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

FBA basics that can save you thousands of dollars

By: Emanuela Elias

While it is exciting and exhilarating to be part of this global marketplace, Amazon is such an expansive operation that it is critical to be organized with your inventory and shipments.

While you may start out strong, over time and the busier you get, the less thorough you may become.

What you can control, do.

There is no need to ship your inventory to Amazon and just hope for the best. You can’t control what happens on the way or at the warehouse, but you can control your record keeping as well as how you package your items from the beginning.

Do not skip any of the labels. Each box, pallet and master carton needs its own label. If your boxes and cartons get separated from the shipments, the label will help them find their way back into your inventory. Amazon will almost always default to not searching for or reimbursing you if you did not follow proper labeling guidelines.

What you can control in the FBA process is keeping a tidy account of everything you send in and everything that goes out. When the inevitable happens, (your inventory goes missing), these additional steps will help your case in the reimbursement process for your missing inventory.

Keep your paperwork super organized. From original invoices, tracking numbers and proof of deliveries, to signed bills of ladings, make sure to keep an organized digital file of each shipment. When something goes missing, Amazon will want proof you sent the inventory to them.
Keep an account of your inventory. Know the quantity you ship in, what you sell, and what you should still have in your inventory. When you are a small operation, you may do this manually though it may be time consuming. As you grow, inventory management software could do the trick. Using a system to keep track of inventory will help to know when you are missing items. When you notice, and can prove discrepancies, this give you the best chance to be reimbursed.

In conclusion

Setting these labeling and record keeping habits early on will save you much frustration when you have to open a case for missing inventory. Never assume Amazon will just take care of it even when using their shipment labels.

Be diligent and organized to maximize your experience and profitability on Amazon.

Have questions on how to control the FBA process? Send Riverbend Consulting an email or give us a call! (877) 289-1017

Emanuela leads the monthly services team. She stays on top of critical performance metrics and ensures we secure every owed reimbursement, to keep our clients ahead of game. Emanuela’s background in e-commerce includes leading and empowering teams to work more efficiently. She loves to see a team take off on its own, become independent thinkers and problem solve together. Emanuela is a full-time foodie who loves to cook and create vegan dishes. She is also a long-time aficionado and teacher of the classical Pilates method.

Agents in Amazon Brand Registry should tread carefully

December 18, 2020 Leave a Comment

Don’t file IP complaints if your seller account will benefit

By: Lesley Hensell

Third-party sellers who have close relationships with brands may be putting themselves at risk, if they are using Amazon Brand Registry in a way that Amazon doesn’t like, causing them to file an infringement report.

A recent review of Amazon’s Code of Conduct for sellers reveals this tidbit: Filing Infringement Reports as an Agent or Brand Protection Agency

Amazon understands that many brands may choose to have brand protection agencies or agents report intellectual property infringement on their behalf and accepts submissions from authorized agents.

However, Amazon does not permit individuals with active selling accounts to file infringement notices as an agent of a brand when the filing of those notices could benefit their own selling account (through removing competing listings, for example). Any sellers filing notices as an agent to benefit their own status as a seller may have their selling account terminated.

This is one of those easy-to-overlook bits and pieces of policy that can go completely unnoticed. It also attempts to draw a bright line in situations where sellers may be doing absolutely nothing wrong – but Amazon doesn’t care.

So what’s going on here?

In some cases, brand owners choose a third-party seller as their preferred reseller on Amazon.com. These brand owners may not want to be involved in the day-to-day mechanics of selling on the platform. They simply want a familiar storefront they trust to be the face of their products on Amazon.

Brand owners have ownership of their Amazon Brand Registry, but they can allow others to act as “agents.” These agents can take actions such as editing listings, uploading photos, and reporting counterfeiters and other infringers.

Amazon has decided that it’s fine to use an agent to report intellectual property violations – such as those for counterfeit, trademark, copyright and patent. But the reporting party cannot be a third-party seller who is also selling on the ASIN in question.

Wow, that’s confusing

Frankly, this makes little to no sense. Why?

Well, in many cases, brand owners big and small also sell their own products on Amazon.com. They use brand registry to manage their listings and report infringers.

So Amazon has decided that a brand owner who sells on a specific ASIN can report infringers on that ASIN. But third-party sellers who are trusted agents of the brand cannot. In the end, the effect is the exact same.

I can hazard one guess as to this hazy enforcement decision. If a brand files false infringement reports, the brand can lose its selling privileges (if it’s also a third-party seller) or its brand registry privileges. Perhaps Amazon doesn’t have an adequate enforcement mechanism to specifically punish an agent that goes rogue and files false reports.

Yet, if that agent is a third-party seller, wouldn’t it be easy enough to suspend their account? Inquiring minds want to know.

Where do we go from here?

If you represent a brand on Amazon and manage their ABR as an agent, you have a few options:

When you spot infringers on the brand’s listings, report it to the brand. They can report it from there.
Hire an agency or law firm to file your ABR infringement reports. If they are also an agent on ABR, Amazon will not know the genesis of the reports about infringement.
Most importantly, only file genuine infringement reports. ABR is not a cudgel to be used for mass actions against competing sellers. It should only be used to knock others off of listings in true cases of infringement. Do test buys. Research. Inspect the products you receive. Be responsible. Brand Registry is not there to limit competition or distribution. It’s there to keep bad actors off of your listings.

Have questions? Ask Riverbend Consulting or give us a call! 877-289-1017

Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm's client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (18 and 13) who do most of the heavy lifting.

ASIN, SKU, Offer, Listing, Detail Page. Are you familiar with these terms?

December 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

Do you know the Amazon terms to use when describing your listings?

By: Cathy Ceely

When selling at Amazon, you will encounter many terms used to describe your listings. As well as the product detail pages visible at Amazon. These terms include ASIN, SKU, Offer, Listing, Detail Page.

It’s important to know the difference between listings and detail pages.

Why does this matter?

Amazon staff does not use the terms interchangeably. Therefore, when interacting with Amazon staff, such as Seller Support or Seller Performance, sellers will want to use the correct term.

What is PDP?

It is the product detail page.

This is a shared space that displays attributes common to all offers, or listings, for that product. These attributes generally include:

Title
Image
Bullet points
Product Description
Variations (size or color)
Customer product reviews

What is a listing?

A listing is a seller’s offer found on the product detail pages. Ideally, sellers will use the product’s UPC code to search for, and match to, existing detail pages. If a detail page does not exist, sellers may create a new ASIN for the product. Amazon owns the product detail page once created, regardless of who creates the page.

Sellers may see that Amazon takes enforcement against ASINs and/or listings. Here are some examples of ASIN level enforcement:

Restricted Products
Intellectual Property Infringement
Duplicate ASINs
Variation issues

Here are some examples of listing level enforcement:

Intellectual Property Infringement
Buyer-driven complaints, such as: product condition, authenticity, or safety

Any seller who has an active listing or SKU, even if the quantity is zero, may receive notification of an ASIN level enforcement. Sellers should consider appealing ASIN level enforcement, especially if the enforcement was an error. When listing level enforcement occurs, only the seller whose listing is impact may appeal.

Sellers who appeal ASIN or listing enforcements want to be clear whether they’re appealing on an ASIN or a listing. Clarity will help ensure that an appeal is successful.

This is a brief discussion that touches on some of the differences between ASINs and listings and is not intended to be all inclusive.

If you have further questions or need help with an ASIN or listing appeal, please reach out to Riverbend Consulting at: 877-289-1017; we’re happy to assist.

Cathy utilizes 20 years of Amazon experience to advocate for sellers. She has extraordinary knowledge regarding Amazon selling policies and seller enforcement. Cathy was a founding member of the Amazon Executive Seller Relations and Product Quality teams, and Operations Manager for Seller Performance in Seattle. She was a Senior Program Manager with the Marketplace Growth team (now Strategic Account Services). Cathy has raised, trained and shown champion Doberman pinschers for 40 years.

Amazon deleted this important seller tool, creating catalog errors and churn

By: Lesley Hensell

Now, without the tool:

Amazon ASIN reinstatement through invoices

By: Kayleigh Cockerill

Amazon requested invoices for your inventory, now what?

Tips:

FBA basics that can save you thousands of dollars

By: Emanuela Elias

What you can control, do.

In conclusion

Don’t file IP complaints if your seller account will benefit

By: Lesley Hensell

So what’s going on here?

Wow, that’s confusing

Where do we go from here?

Do you know the Amazon terms to use when describing your listings?

By: Cathy Ceely

What is PDP?

Sellers may see that Amazon takes enforcement against ASINs and/or listings. Here are some examples of ASIN level enforcement:

Here are some examples of listing level enforcement:

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