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Originally published on January 7, 2020, updated July 20, 2023
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If you're a third-party seller on the Amazon marketplace, you know how important it is to understand and adhere to Amazon's policies and guidelines. (At least, you should!)
Amazon says, "Seller offenses and prohibited content can result in suspension of your Amazon account." If you happen to get suspended for violating Amazon seller policy, you have to understand what you did wrong to properly address the issue when attempting to reinstate your account.
Telling Amazon that you didn't understand or know the rules isn't going to work. We'll discuss each of these topics in detail below, but if you'd prefer to jump to a specific section you can click on the link here:
Amazon Seller Code of Conduct
Amazon Selling Policies
The tricky thing is that Amazon frequently makes changes to the wording and arrangement of policy pages. In September 2019, Amazon began redirecting the Prohibited Activities page to a revamped page called Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct. This is an improvement in a lot of ways, in that the page provides an exhaustive list of the actions that can get you in trouble on the Amazon marketplace. But it can still use some interpretation.
Here at eComEngine, we spend a lot of time looking at Amazon seller policy and guidelines. So, we think you should benefit from our "geeking out" on the subject. Here you will find a breakdown of each section of the Amazon Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct page, along with our own interpretations and extrapolations on the meaning of the rules, and why you should follow them.
Amazon's Code of Conduct first says that as a seller, you must always provide accurate information both to Amazon and to buyers on the marketplace. Amazon's mission is to "give customers a clear and consistent buying experience." To assist with that, you have to "use a business name that accurately identifies your business" and list all your products in the proper category.
In this section, Amazon gives you a rundown of the practices it finds to be unfair. In a nutshell, Amazon wants you to be honest, provide accurate product descriptions and images, and avoid attempting to damage another seller.
Other unfair activities listed in this section cover the use of bots or paying for clicks to artificially inflate traffic, manipulating sales rank or making claims about sales rank in your product descriptions or titles, and inflating the price of an item after an order is confirmed.
This is all very straightforward information and attempts to address a lot of the "black hat" tactics that are being used on the Amazon marketplace. You'll want to check this section regularly as new rules are added whenever Amazon spots bad seller behavior. For example, Amazon recently listed the unfair practice of inflating search ranking through keyword manipulation and/or incentivized searches on this page.
As the creators of FeedbackFive, the first reputation management solution for Amazon sellers, we spend a lot of time explaining this section of Amazon's policies to our current and potential customers. The bottom line is that you are not to try to manipulate seller feedback or product reviews in any way whatsoever. Amazon says, "You may request feedback and reviews from your own customers in a neutral way." But you may not:
Amazon takes product reviews very seriously. Since shoppers can't pick up a product and look at it before purchasing, product reviews are the only means a potential buyer has of evaluating an item pre-purchase.
It's important to note that there is a lot of gray area in the bullets above. Amazon's employees scrutinize reviews prior to allowing them to be live on Amazon.com, and if the way you have requested a product review could be interpreted as breaking one of the rules, you can get restricted from contacting buyers and even get your account suspended. We created a product review guide for Amazon sellers that you may find helpful as well as a product review compliance checklist you can download and keep handy for reference.
We also recommend that you visit the Customer Product Reviews Policies page in Seller Central for a full list of prohibited activities regarding customer reviews.
Amazon says that you may not send unsolicited messages to customers. This can be confusing, because in the section right above, you are told that you can ask for product reviews and feedback in a neutral manner. We think that the last sentence in this section, "Marketing communications are prohibited," is the most important.
All proactive permitted messages to buyers must go through Amazon's Buyer-Seller Messaging. Unfortunately, many sellers have tried to sneak coupons, links to external sites, and other non-compliant marketing messages into Buyer-Seller Messaging. This is explicitly prohibited. Buyer-Seller Messaging exists so sellers can send messages that are necessary for fulfilling an order and providing customer service.
Check out our guide to Amazon's Communication Guidelines to learn more about how and when to communicate with buyers.
You should not send more than one request for a seller feedback or review. Never ask a buyer to remove or update an existing product review. Use neutral language and never incentivize a buyer to leave you a rating. Do not include "[Important]" in the subject line unless your message is absolutely necessary to complete the order.
Logos should not include your URL or link to your website, and you can't include a link to opt-out of messages. Do not include links or attachments that aren't needed to complete the order. Never include any content that differs from the contact reason selected on the Contact Buyer page when you send messages directly from Seller Central.
Neutrally asking for a product review or seller feedback, with no marketing messaging whatsoever, is a customer service best practice and fully allowed on the Amazon marketplace. Getting input from a customer about what is working and what you can improve is a way of providing a better customer experience for future customers!
The Request a Review button on Amazon's Order Details page allows you to manually request a review and feedback in the same message. Tools like FeedbackFive make it easy to send automated messages through Amazon Buyer-Seller Messaging or the same system behind the Request a Review button.
Amazon is committed to protecting customer data. If you're fulfilling orders via FBA, you won't be given a buyer's personal information. If you see customer information like personal addresses or phone numbers, it's so you can properly fulfill the order and you must delete it after the order has been processed. Amazon states, "You may not use customer information to contact customers (except through Buyer-Seller Messaging) or share it with any third-party. "
Amazon wants Amazon shoppers to stay on Amazon. Period. Attempting to drive a customer away from the Amazon marketplace and complete an order somewhere else is strictly prohibited.
You are not allowed to have more than one selling account unless you have received permission from Amazon and have a legitimate business need for more than one account. For example, you may own multiple brands and have separate businesses for each, or you might manufacture products for two completely separate companies.
In the final section of the Seller Code of Conduct, Amazon says that operators of individual selling accounts cannot file infringement notices as an agent of a brand when that could benefit their account. Let the brand do the filing, especially when filing could hurt a competitor's business.
Outside of the Seller Code of Conduct, you also have to abide by multiple Amazon selling policies. It's important to understand these rules before you begin listing products.
There are some products that cannot be sold on the Amazon marketplace, either because of legal or regulatory restrictions or Amazon's own policies. In certain product categories, you need Amazon's approval to create listings and you may need to take some extra steps to obtain approval. You can learn more about restricted products, listing restrictions, and categories and products requiring approval by visiting the respective pages in Seller Central.
There are many rules about product compliance and safety that all sellers should be aware of and follow. Amazon wants a safe, trustworthy marketplace and customer safety is of utmost importance. To learn more about product safety and compliance, check out this Seller University video.
Your product detail page is where customers make decisions about whether or not to purchase the products you sell. Because there is so much competition on the Amazon marketplace, many sellers have tried to manipulate their product detail page to snag more sales. There are, of course, policy-compliant ways to optimize your listings and bullet points, but you also have to know what you're not allowed to do.
Amazon provides general rules in the Amazon Services Quick Start Style Guide. For products that have extra guidelines, you'll need to consult the Additional Category Guidelines. You'll also need to know what is not allowed on a product detail page.
Here's a quick overview of what should not be included in your product detail page title, description, bullet points, or images:
You cannot add a detail page for an ASIN that already exists. Never use product detail pages to cross-sell or cross-promote. You also cannot create false ASIN variations or use an existing ASIN detail page for a new color, size, material, or name of a product.
Until you establish yourself as a trusted seller on the Amazon marketplace, you'll be subject to an ASIN creation limit. As your sales increase, so will your ability to add new ASINs.
You may not create duplicate ASINs, and you must be very careful about how you use ASIN variations. Amazon says that variation misuse "create(s) a negative customer experience and can result in your ASIN creation or selling privileges being temporarily or permanently revoked."
ASIN variation misuses cases include, but are not limited to:
For all the rules on duplicate ASINs, ASIN variations, and more, visit the ASIN Creation Policy page in Seller Central. To fully understand ASIN variations, we suggest you take a peek at ecommerceChris's blog post on the topic.
Amazon says that drop shipping is generally acceptable. To have a third party fulfill orders to customers on your behalf, you must be the seller of record for your products and be identified as the seller on all packaging, inserts, invoices, and packing slips. You are also responsible for returns. You may not:
Amazon's full Drop Shipping Policy page has more details.
A product that is being recalled by a government regulatory agency, a brand owner, or a manufacturer may not be sold on Amazon. Amazon is notified of recalls in several ways. Once a recall is announced, Amazon will suppress all listings of products impacted by the recall. Amazon also notifies all past customers of a publicly announced recall. Then:
The full process for recalls, in addition to the information you need to include in your Letter of Compliance, is on the Recalled Products page in Seller Central.
This has been a rundown of the Amazon Code of Conduct page and related Amazon selling policies. Note that this is not a full list of all the guidelines you must adhere to as an Amazon seller — it was simply our intent to share with you a one-stop place where you could review the ABCs of Amazon TOS.
Of course, you should bookmark the Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct Page and refer back to it often to make sure you're still in compliance and that Amazon hasn't made any changes or updates to the page. It's all about creating a seamless, safe, and wonderful customer experience. Happy selling!
Please note: it is up to you, as a seller on the Amazon marketplace, to draw your own conclusions about Amazon policies and how you should conduct your business. We are attempting to provide a little clarity, but if you have questions you shouldn't hesitate to reach out to your contact at Amazon. These policies are subject to change.
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