What should you
include? What should you avoid? And where does it need to be sent?
Craig Gedey,
the managing partner for Thompson and Holt, has vast experience of writing
Amazon Appeal Plans following a suspension of account, and believes there are
key issues that anybody in that position should take on board. His company has
successfully reinstated business through writing them a tailored, bespoke
Amazon Appeal Plan.
Gedey has also
seen the flip side - common mistakes made by businesses panicked into trying to
get back online as quickly as possible. Here, he shares a list of key Do’s and Don’t when putting together your own Amazon Appeal
Plan.
DO - Identify
exactly why you’ve been suspended
“The first step of your Amazon Appeal
Plan is fully understanding the reason for your suspension,” Gedey explains. “Amazon often give you a very basic explanation
for their action, so it’s down to you to do some detective
work and find out exactly what it is that has gone wrong by looking back
through past orders and studying both feedback and the metrics linked to your
account. The more you understand the reason for your suspension, the stronger
your Amazon Appeal Plan will be.”
DON’T - Copy generic Amazon Appeal Plans from
online
“The last thing that Amazon
investigators want to see is generic responses that you’ve lifted from the internet. They are extremely
well versed in these and it throws up major red flags for them when what they
want to see is how you’re going to rectify your own
mistakes. Instead put together detailed information from your own case,
stressing that you’ve identified the issue and
explaining how you will avoid it being repeated in the future. Structure wise,
your Amazon Appeal Plan should include an introductory paragraph, the
description of the issue, your action steps to avoid repeat and a closing
statement.”
DO - Include details
that are specific your own case
“Firstly, this will show Amazon that
you’re not simply and lazily lifting
somebody else’s Amazon Appeal Plan from the
internet. What Amazon actually wants to hear are clear plans to rectify
whatever they’ve highlighted for your company, not
vague excuses about what you think might have gone wrong. Reasons for
suspension can broadly fall into two categories - either failing to follow the
site’s agreed Seller Policies, or your
Seller Performance has fallen below the required expectations. Take your time
to research both and figure out which one is relevant to you, and then be
specific with the details when putting your Amazon Appeal Plan together. The
details of your individual case are very important.”
DON’T - Rush into an angry Amazon Appeal Plan
“At Thompson and Holt we’ve come across plenty of examples where an
Amazon Appeal Plan has been written and sent in the heat of the moment. Simply
expressing anger and frustration about your situation isn’t going to find any kind of favour with the
relevant Amazon teams, and can often lead to poor spelling, punctuation and
grammar. Others we’ve seen have simply been desperate
pleas for help, which again looks poor. If you’ve been informed of a suspension take a
measured approach to your Amazon Appeal Plan.”
DO - Be clear
and concise
“It’s important to provide key details of your
case, but there’s absolutely no need to use
long-winded, descriptive paragraphs,” Gedey says. “At Thompson and Holt we’ve found that using bullet points works well
because it allows the Amazon team reading your Amazon Appeal Plan to access the
information they need as quickly as possible. Make your closing statement
concise and clear, so that they are left under no illusions about your plans to
avoid suspension again in future.”
DON’T - Offer your opinion on Amazon processes
“Your Amazon Appeal Plan doesn’t need to include an analysis of how the
company works, how the system has been unfair to you or what you think they are
doing wrong. Instead, you need to accept responsibility for what’s happened, and use your Amazon Appeal Plan to
show how seriously you are taking your response to it.”
DO - Send it to
the right place
“From the ‘Performance’ dropdown in Seller
Central, select ‘Performance Notifications’,” Gedey adds. “Locate the
suspension notice that you received, click the ‘Appeal’ button, and then the ‘Appeal Decision’ button. In the form
that’s provided, enter
the details of your Plan of Action, and include a telephone number where you
can be reached should there be any questions. Then click on ‘Submit Appeal’ and your Amazon
Appeal Plan will be sent to Seller Performance for review. You should receive a
response to your
Amazon
Appeal Plan within 48 hours.”
* If you have found yourself suspended while selling
on Amazon, contact Thompson and Holt for a free LiveChat to get your Amazon
Seller business back online as quickly as possible.
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