to ensuring that your account remains in good standing with Amazon

LET’S TALK ABOUT SPECIFIC STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TODAY

you can contact him at : chris@ecommercechris.com

As a former long-time member of Seller Performance, Amazon’s team responsible for monitoring and regulating the Amazon third-party marketplaces, I have seen far too many sellers run their businesses without a proper understanding of rules andprocedures needed to stay the path towards a highly-disciplined, clean operation.

The Definitive Guide

OF YOUR AMAZON SELLER ACCOUNT

If you want to see Chris speak more about these topics in person, join us at the PROSPER Show in Salt Lake City,February 8-9, 2016, www.prospershow.com

1 REMEMBER YOUR AMAZON BUSINESS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

Not Amazon’s. Know the rules. Competitors may be committing policy violations, but that should not be interpreted as a free pass to rule-breaking. While you may see a competitor doing something you were just told not to do, remember you have to keep your account in good standing and not focus on what other sellers are up to. You can report other sellers, but first and foremost, you have to keep your own account in good standing. If another seller is page tampering on one of your listings or created bad product detail page content to the detriment of all, you always have the option of reporting their activities to Amazon teams for corrective action.

2MANAGE YOUR BUSINESS TOWARDS A CLEAN BILLOF ACCOUNT HEALTH

Monitor daily on main page of Seller Central. Each requires specific actions on your part:

Order defect rate

Cancellation rate

Late shipment rate

Policy violations

On-time Delivery

Contact Response Time

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3 MOVE PRODUCTS INTO FBA

If you have any doubts about your own customer-facingoperations, getting your products into FBA will reduce significantly a lot of potential operational issues that will hurt your performance metrics. Let FBA worry about orderfulfillment and getting your orders to buyers on time. FBA use also improves your chances of winning the Buy Box, which means more revenue to you.

4KNOW EACH OF YOUR SUPPLIERS WELL

Know each of your suppliers well – who are they? Where are they getting product? Are they sourcing legitimate product?Are they offering you prices that are too good to be true? Ultimately, selling illegitimate, counterfeit or in any way “materially different” will not be worth it in the long run. You will get caught, you will be punished, and you will findit very difficult to get your account back.

5When the time comes that you do get into some trouble with Amazon, you’ll need to have your paperwork in order, ready for easy access to share with Amazon, as requested.

KEEP TRACK OF ALL OF YOUR SOURCING DOCUMENTATION

6BE CAREFUL OF YOUR PARTICIPATION IN AMAZON'SCOMMINGLED FBA INVENTORY PROGRAM

While co-mingling FBA inventory can reduce your immediate costs, it represents the same type of risk a smoking two-packs a day – eventually it may catch up with you and cause you big problems. Items sourced from an FBA Warehouse located closer to the buyer may be sourced from another seller with the same inventory that you have. However, if the buyer claims that the item is in any way not as you had represented it on Amazon, the policy warning will go to you, not to the other seller. This puts you at risk for policy violations and eventual account shut down.

7 REQUEST AND MONITOR CUSTOMER FEEDBACK

Often will help you find early warnings of problems to come. There are inexpensive, effective solution providers that offer help here, including feedbackfive.com, feedbackgenius.com, and bqool.com. Finding out exactly what a buyer considered different about an item they have received can help you prevent future instances of the same complaint and/ or identify areas in your listings that are unclear. You do not want multiple buyers complaining to Amazon that the items they have received are not as you had described them in product detail page content.

8CROSS-TRAIN YOUR WAREHOUSE STAFF TO AVOID GETTINGSTUCK WITH LATE SHIPMENTS DUE TO THE UNEXPECTED

ABSENCE OF A SINGLE WAREHOUSE EMPLOYEE.

Orders shipped late or orders not arriving on time for whatever reason means a bad buyer experience and undermined trust in the marketplace. Those buyers also won’t be ordered from you again in the future. They have come to expect what Amazon does best, deliver orders in a timely and reliable manner.

9 READ ALL EMAILS AMAZON SENDS YOU

Whether general policy notifications, rule changes, etc. While Amazon may not always tells you the specific reason why YOU are receiving a particular note, there is almost always a good reason why you are receiving each note sent. It’s up to you to make sense of the notes, even if that means reaching back out to Amazon for clarification.

10NO FUNNY BUSINESS, EVER

There may be temptation along the way to resell used product as new, or include questionable product in an otherwise legitimate batch of product. If you get caught doing anything egregious like selling counterfeit product, or trying to pay a customer for good feedback, you can expect a permanent ban from selling on Amazon. Amazon is intent on creating the best buyer experience on the planet, and expects, in fact, demands that you contribute to this effort with 100% cooperation. The Product Quality team is ready to intercede and take action on any seller found to be violating policy, whether accidentally or intentionally, in order to protect Amazon’s reputation as a safe and effective marketplace.

selling on Amazon is hard

Remember ! The rules are there to protect customers, sellers and Amazon alike. While you may not like the rules, you have to know the rules and follow the rules, or anticipate problems to find you.

AMAZON TEAM

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