Account Health

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.

Why Amazon “deal sites” put 3P accounts at risk

November 6, 2020 Leave a Comment

Sellers should avoid flipping heavily discounted items

By: Lesley Hensell

Internet deal sites let users buy heavily discounted products on Amazon. That’s why new third-party sellers embrace these sites. It’s cheap inventory to get started. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, this is a very high-risk strategy it’s best to avoid.

Why these deal sites exist

Deal sites and rebate sites are not for the convenience or happiness of the Amazon customer. These sites exist to help private-label sellers launch their products on Amazon. They are also used to increase Best Seller Rank (BSR) or gain product reviews.

There is an unspoken agreement between these sellers and the deal site customers. Most of the customers on deal sites understand that a product review is expected in return for the steep discount. When sales are made and reviews posted, a product’s Best Seller Rank rises. This, in turn, helps the product pop up higher in organic search results.

In most cases, the sellers using these deal sites are offering significant discounts – so much that they are violating Amazon policies against Platform Manipulation. As a result of these discounts, the sellers are losing money on sales made via the discount sites. In return, they hope to drive more buyers to their products.

What makes deal-buying dangerous

Third-party sellers purchase these deals and then flip them on their own Amazon accounts. But this is a risky strategy:

Amazon does not always accept invoices from Amazon-to-Amazon flips that involve third-party sellers.
Private-label sellers can easily file intellectual property complaints against other sellers who pop up on their listings – especially if their distribution is Amazon-only.

The private-label sellers are not going to remove their intellectual property complaints, once filed against you. This makes it particularly difficult to get the ASIN or account reinstated – whichever is the case.

What to do instead

There are lots of places to source products. Yes, they are more challenging than deal sites, retail arbitrage and online arbitrage. But they can help you develop a sustainable business:

Manufacturers
Distributors
Wholesalers

If you need assistance working through product lists, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit Riverbend Consulting. Our team can help you uncover potentially lucrative sourcing relationships!

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 12) who do most of the heavy lifting.

Selling toys and games: play by the rules

October 30, 2020 Leave a Comment

Selling toys and games on Amazon? Be ready.

By: Caitlyn Way

Every year in prep for Q4 and the holiday season, Amazon emails sellers updating them on this year’s requirements. These updated requirements usually sent to those who sell toys and games on their platform throughout the holiday season.

These requirements can vary slightly year by year. They also differ from the normal Q1-3 requirements for Toys and Games.

For MFN Sellers in 2020, the requirements are as follows:

Performance Criteria based on Seller-Fulfilled Orders (not fulfilled by Amazon)

Your first sale on Amazon must be prior to September 1, 2020 and does not need to be specific to Toys & Games.
You must have processed and shipped at least 25 seller-fulfilled orders from August 15, 2020 through October 14, 2020.
Pre-fulfillment cancel rates must be no greater than 1.75% from September 15, 2020 through October 14, 2020.
Late shipment rates must be no greater than 4% from September 15, 2020 through October 14, 2020.
Order defect rate must be no greater than 1% as of October 14, 2020.

If your Amazon account doesn’t meet these requirements:

Amazon encourages you to take corrective action now to be able to sell through seller fulfillment in Toys & Games during the holiday season.

We have included the following suggestions to remain eligible or improve your performance.

Monitor your customer metrics and take corrective action when necessary.
Check your orders frequently in the Manage Orders section of your account.
Minimize order cancellations; only show inventory for sale that you have available to ship.
Update your account status when you are not available to fulfill orders (for example, on vacation).
Ship orders and confirm shipment in a timely manner.
Ensure your seller policies are up-to-date.

You can also review the below Seller Central Help Pages for more information:

Holiday Selling Requirements in Toys & Games

Monitor your account health

If you have any questions on these standards for the holiday season be sure to contact Riverbend Consulting. 877-289-1017

Cait provides support to our clients and our operations team. She creates meaningful monthly reports that help us identify trends in client accounts. In addition, she helps manage workflow and ensure everything runs smoothly. Cait spent two years in Amazon Seller Support, where she specialized in feeds, variations, escalations, product compliance and gating. In her off time enjoys baking and exploring with her two daughters.

Are you taking responsibility for something you didn’t do?

October 28, 2020 Leave a Comment

Amazon said you need to admit fault. But do you really?

By: Jay Morane

“I didn’t do anything, why should I admit that I did?”

In the time I worked with Amazon and while at Riverbend, this is one of the most common statements that I’ve heard from Sellers. It revolves around the mistaken assumption that you have to admit fault when submitting your appeal or Plan of Action. That is not necessarily true.

Don’t take it personally.

Do not take anything that happens with your seller account personally. Everything Amazon does is a business decision. Nobody at Amazon woke up one day and thought “Hmm, let’s get (insert your name here) and ruin their life.” There are millions of sellers on Amazon so most of the actions taken are based on algorithms and automated reviews, there is nothing personal about it.

If you did it, admit it.

If you did what Amazon says, then you need to admit fault. You may not have done it intentionally, but you still did it. Compare this situation to when you get pulled over by the police. They come up to your window and ask you “Do you know why I pulled you over?” They know why they pulled you over, but they want you to admit fault for the situation. You may not have been speeding intentionally, but you still did it. If Amazon takes an action on your account, they know why and they are looking to see what you are going to say. If you are at fault, explain why it happened and how you will prevent it from happening again. There is a difference between guilt and guilt with intent.

Guilt versus responsibility

If you are not at fault, then you do not have to say you are, but you do have to accept responsibility for what happened. After all, it is your account and Amazon feels you should be responsible for what happens with it.

Sometimes it is the little things that are overlooked then the buyer breaks out their microscope and brings it to Amazon’s attention. Buyers have more free time than ever which means they are scrutinizing the items they receive more closely. They are finding the little scratch that was on their new item.

Was there something you could have done to prevent this? Updating the detail page, a better inspection process for condition, or checking for a Rights Owner.

It is tough to accept responsibility for something that may be out of your control. FBA returns going back into sellable, buyer mistakenly thinking something is inauthentic when it isn’t. These situations are harder to appeal because you, as a seller, may not have done anything wrong but because of a bad buyer experience, your ASIN or account is deactivated.

How can you get that account reinstated?

This is where may sellers try to argue principles with Amazon rather than taking responsibility for their account. Don’t. You may be right but the person who reviews your appeal is not the one who is going to say that Amazon was wrong and reinstate your account nor can they change Amazon policy. If you feel that strongly about something, write to Jeff Bezos at his email address. There is a team that actually reads those emails and acts on them. Sellers are deactivated wrongly, it happens more than it should, but arguing that point with Amazon is not going to get your ASIN or Account reinstated.

If you need any assistance with account reinstatement, or anything else give Riverbend a call (877) 289-1017. We are happy to help!

Jay is a strong advocate for the sellers and goes above and beyond to use his skills to help in every way he can. Jay has experience in Amazon Seller Support/FBA as well as the Amazon Account Health Team. There he worked with sellers to assist them in understanding the metrics and policies related to their Account Health as well as assisting them with reinstatement. Jay enjoys spending time with his wife and has been known to tell Dad jokes on occasion.

Take responsibility for your Amazon account

May 19, 2020 1 Comment

Don’t ignore those pesky notifications from Amazon

By: Sam Newlands

Amazon loves sending performance notifications. Sellers dread them and can easily assume Amazon is out to get them, but this is not the case! The dreaded performance notifications and flagged ASINs are a way Amazon has the seller take control and responsibility for their account. First and foremost, when you receive a Performance Notification, do not ignore it! Especially if a plan of action is being asked of you. If you ignore these notifications you put your account at risk of being suspended which could be detrimental to you, especially if your Seller Account is your sole source of income. Take responsibility for your Amazon account.

Here are 3 ways to start taking responsibility for your Amazon account:

Stop Blaming:

I’ve heard numerous times, “The customer just wants their way”. Of course they do. They are the customer. Have you ever gone shopping whether it be in person or online and have a level of expectation of how your experience should be? So do your customers, and Amazon is 100% about the customer’s buying experience from clicking on “Buy” to receiving their purchase. It is your job as the seller to provide good buying experience, even though it is seemingly behind the scenes.

Stop Complaining:

Amazon isn’t out to get you. Competitors more than likely aren’t scanning the vastness of Amazon perusing the pages looking to make life difficult for you. While

we do technically live in a dog eat dog world, when you receive a performance notification from Amazon, either they have found an issue that needs to be

addressed, or a customer’s buying experience expectations weren’t met and there was a complaint. Yes, some customers want to complain for the sake of complaining, but Amazon doesn’t want you to complain in response. Instead, do a little bit of research. Did the performance notification ask you for a plan of action? Look at the complaint, have you received any previous complaints on the same item? Are they similar to the new one? Is there a bigger issue that needs to be addressed with your item? Take a look at the bigger picture of the complaint. Amazon wants to know you’re taking accountability for the items you offer to sell on their marketplace. This is why they ask you about the root cause of what caused the complaint, you are in charge of your items and your account at all times.

Don’t Take It Personally:

Remember, Amazon really wants to know the root cause of a complaint, what you’ve done to address it, and what you’re going to do to prevent future complaints of that nature. If you write a plan of action, and it gets approved, Amazon expects you to follow that plan of action. Words are fleeting, action is proof. Again, Amazon is not out to get you. Understandably, getting denial after denial can be frustrating and can feel personal, it is not a personal affront to you as the seller. Take the time to really look into your supplier, your inventory, past and present complaints (if applicable), and ways you can make your seller account really stand out.

Looking for other ways to protect your account? Check out this blog: How to spring clean your Amazon Account. Of course, we are here to help you, if you ever have questions, concerns, or want some guidance in how to write your appeal, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit our

website: www.riverbendconsulting.com

Happy Selling!

Sam applies her impressive tenacity to get Amazon seller accounts and ASINs reinstated. She enjoys research and looking beyond the surface layer to help sellers solve their issues. While working at Amazon, Sam was involved with the AWS and SES teams looking for fraudulent account activity and unauthorized account take over.