E-Commerce Trends Listing Stopped Overnight!? Let's Identify in Advance and Prevent it!

There are cases when the product listings that were selling well in Amazon may be stopped overnight. Amazon suspends listings without any prior notice or warning and there are quite a few cases in which the seller asks for an explanation. This would be upsetting for the sellers. In this regard, we would like to introduce the main reasons for listing suspension and suggest the methods of prevention. It’s not the product- Problems with the use of words according to the properties of the product Amazon has a myriad of products, and new products are continually being launched even at this moment. Since it is impossible to manually inspect all new listings, Amazon uses an AI algorithm to detect questionable listings. At this time, one of the operational principles of Amazon’s AI algorithm is to automatically recognize and inspect the text (title, bullet point, description, etc.) exposed on the listing. So, if the algorithm recognizes certain phrases regulated by Amazon, the listing will be suspended even if it was not intended by the seller.

The most common item that cannot be sold on Amazon is ‘pesticide.’ Amazon’s pesticide-related regulation was constituted by a U.S. law stating that only Americans or corporations located in the United States can produce/distribute,^[1] and it was introduced only after Amazon paid a penalty for selling pesticides in 2018. If specific words that can be recognized as related to pesticide are included in the listing, then Amazon’s algorithm recognizes that product as a pesticide and suspends the listing. The most typical examples are as follows. Also, pay attention when listing keywords related to viruses, bacteria, and diseases.

1. 01Anti-Virus/Germs
2. 02Biological
3. 03Natural
4. 04Toxin

Next, there is the certification issue. Some categories, such as over-the-counter (OTC) or infant products (CPC, CPSC), require certificates to sell in the United States. The request for certificates may be made at the product registration, but it may also be made after the abrupt suspension of listings during sales. If your product requires specific pre-certification documents, then you should prepare those documents in advance to prepare for Amazon’s sudden request for documents.

A common example is functional cosmetics. Cosmetics with effects such as whitening and wrinkle improvement are considered non-prescription drugs in the United States and must be certified over-the-counter (OTC, drugs that do not require a doctor’s prescription). If OTC certificates are incomplete and expressions considered as functional cosmetics are used in the listing, then the listing may be suspended, and the listing cannot be restored until the OTC certificates are submitted. Additionally, some categories require pre-certification. If a seller wants to sell the product on Amazon, then the seller should check the certification and regulatory information in advance and prepare the necessary documents. No more tricks – Suspension for non-compliance Since its establishment, Amazon is a company that has experienced countless expedients and fraudulent acts from sellers in the process of growing into the largest e-commerce platform in the United States. As a result of first-hand experience of cheating sellers from all over the world, numerous regulations have been introduced for Amazon listings. Most commonly, there are regulations on titles, bullet points, images, and fair trade.

There are restrictions on the number of characters in the title, search term, bullet point, etc., and the use of excessive capital letters and special characters using HTML is prohibited.^[2] Requesting a product review directly within the listing is prohibited including providing benefits when writing a review, or including other promotion-related content. Also, inserting a link to a website outside of Amazon, or content that guides a user to a certain page is also prohibited. When writing the text of your listing, you may be tempted to add these things. However, do not fall for that temptation so that you may avoid listing suspension.

In terms of image regulation, everyone knows that Amazon is forcing the use of background removed images as its main image. However, if you look at Amazon’s listing of competing products, you can see that they are trying to differentiate their images by applying effects and editing. Most of the competitors within Amazon are using common images with a certain level of editing to differentiate them, such as exposing other products used in conjunction with the product next to the product or exposing trademarks, etc. So, if you want to use the main image with effects for listing competitiveness, then it is safe to insert the effect within 30% of the photoshopped image. It is good to try to differentiate the main image, but if you cross the line, then you may receive a warning or get banned from listing.

The act of making a fake purchase and writing a review is also prohibited.^[3] If you are a seller in the early stages of entering the market, then you must have thought about making a fake purchase and writing a review to increase your rank. However, Amazon’s technology for detecting fake purchases and fake reviews is advancing day by day. If this fraudulent action is detected, then the listing may be suspended including permanent suspension of the account. It is forbidden to make fake reviews or manipulate rankings through fake purchases. To ensure safety - Hazmat Review Hazmat Review is the necessary product safety documentation process for products that may pose a hazard during storage, handling, or transportation.^[4] This is mainly required for products containing batteries. Normal hazmat review is conducted in a way that requires certificates such as MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet)^[5] in the process of warehousing products to FBA. It is often the case this process starts after the suspension of the listing. This is done in a random sampling method and can be conducted again even if certification has been completed in the past.

The method to solve hazmat review includes the submission of MSDS documents and exemption sheets. MSDS documents can be obtained upon request from the manufacturer of the product. In general, MSDS documents are issued and uploaded to Amazon. After accessing the ‘manage dangerous goods classification’ page^[6] on Amazon Seller Central, click ‘upload document’ at the right of the page to submit MSDS documents and exemption sheets. If you submit an MSDS document and Amazon does not release the hazmat review due to an issue with the document, then you must fill out and upload an exemption sheet. The exemption sheet form can be downloaded at the bottom of ‘Help and Support’ under the ‘Manage Dangerous Goods Classification’ page. It is divided into products with and without batteries. It supports different forms for each country. If you create and upload the file, you can check the result after a few days. You can check the results by clicking ‘help’ in the top right corner of Seller Central, searching for ‘hazmat exemption test’ and entering your ASIN. You should check for the phrase ‘This product is not dangerous goods.’ The importance of managing reviews – Suspension due to NCX rate NCX rate or Negative Customer Experience is a restriction imposed by Amazon when negative reviews continuously accumulate on a listing. If your listing is suspended due to the NCX rate, you can view customer complaints under the ‘Performance’ – ‘Voice of the Customer’ menu in Amazon Seller Central. To recover the listing suspension due to the NCX rate, a CASE containing the content on improving customer complaints must be delivered to Amazon, so you need to check customer reviews and identify issues through the page. Recognizing customer complaints and devising improvement measures is the first step in resolving the listing suspension.

NCX Rate is divided into 5 levels according to the level of customer satisfaction. If the proportion of orange (poor) and red (very poor) increases, then it may be classified as subject to listing suspension. The orange color is a type of warning that means “The customers are complaining, so please improve it.” If the seller recognizes the problem and shows a willingness to resolve the problem by communicating with Amazon through CASE, then most of the listing suspensions will be lifted. However, red color is a case where Amazon determines that a product has a serious defect, and normally, requires the product to be discarded. Therefore, sell high-quality products, so you do not receive the NCX rate from the beginning. Whenever there is a negative review from customers, let’s prevent negative reviews from accumulating through active customer support

Since Amazon’s listing suspensions are given without notice, it is important to quickly identify and respond to when the suspension occurred. This is because the longer the suspension period, the more adverse effects such as decreased sales due to the ban of sales and lowered rankings from losing customers. So, it is important to check the status of accounts and listings periodically. Also, you should not miss the flow of changes in Amazon’s policy on the product categories you are selling and changes in laws/regulations in exporting countries.

If you have checked on the type of listing suspension and listed without any issues, then all you need to do is to send your product to the customer. Amazon sellers are suffering from the problems mentioned above. So, we recommend you use Cello Square, a digital forwarding service that helps to relieve those logistics concerns. Cello Square provides diverse forwarding service Cello Square provides 24/7 services throughout Central and South America through a company in Miami, the largest base in the United States, through the ‘reforwarding service for Latin America.’

1. 01Provides 24/7 service through Miami, the largest base in the United States
2. 02Utilizes Central and South American network (provides aviation solutions in all countries in Latin America, from Brazil, which boasts the largest e-commerce air traffic volume, to Guatemala and Nicaragua, where production plants are concentrated)
3. 03Processes daily exports (reduces lead time due to export processing of 365 days a year without holidays, specializes in the export of fresh goods, where rapid distribution is the key, and shortens the lead time by 1 to 2 days compared to other companies when importing on weekends)
4. 04Supports fast and safe console processing based on a large-scale warehouse

In addition, competitive airfare is provided immediately through the optimal console of cargo.

1. 01Provides competitive freight rates based on strategic collaboration (securing reasonable and competitive freight rates and stable cargo space to satisfy clients)
2. 02Able to transport various cargos by industry (includes special cargo and even dangerous goods through specialists with long-term know-how in each industry such as high-tech, automobile, battery, distribution, heavy industry, etc.)
3. 03Utilize a global network (36 countries, 53 bases worldwide)
4. 04Operates end-to-end logistics operation service (provides real-time air cargo information to check all progress at a glance)

References [1] 『Pesticides and pesticide devices』, Amazon Seller Central
[2] 『Amazon Services Quick Start Style Guide』, Amazon Service
[3] 『Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct』, Amazon Seller Central
[4] 『Dangerous goods identification guide (hazmat)』, Amazon Seller Central
[5] 『Documents to Prevent Accidents Caused by Handling Substances by Presenting Basic Data on Safety and Health to Workers and Its Uses』, National Law Information Center
[6] Manage dangerous goods classification, Amazon Seller Central, https://sellercentral.amazon.com/fba/compliance-dashboard/index.html

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