Not all inauthentic items are counterfeited on Amazon marketplace. Despite the fact that Amazon classifies these reasons as main causes of closing some Amazon accounts, there is a difference between them. Counterfeit items are always fake products, while inauthentic items are products purchased from a source that has not been authorized for selling on Amazon marketplace.

When Amazon categorizes your product as inauthentic, it signifies that the sale of your product has not been approved in the platform. Thus, according to Amazon rules, an item can be inauthentic but not fake. The categorized inauthentic item can either be counterfeit or not. As a seller, you have to keep in mind that inauthentic and counterfeit items are prohibited to be sold on Amazon.

What happens when buyers file a claim for an Amazon inauthentic item?

If your Amazon account gets tagged with inauthentic products, your account will be suspended, and all the funds in it are blocked from withdrawal. When buyers file inauthentic item complaints on Amazon, the seller is supposed to take a plan of action for inauthentic item complaints and file a proof of purchase to Amazon’s Seller Performance Team.

The receipts should have an identity of the product sold. This helps to avoid liquidators and resellers from operating on Amazon. If you sell genuine products, then you should get your Amazon account reinstated.

Why Amazon buyers may file inauthentic product complaints

The following are the reasons why a seller’s products may be deemed inauthentic by customers on the Amazon marketplace:

1. The packaging of the item doesn’t satisfy the customer’s expectations

Some of the customers file Amazon claim of inauthentic item complaints because they feel that the product they receive doesn’t look the same to the products they had seen on Amazon page. In a real sense, this should be a “not as advertised” complaint and not an inauthentic item complaint. However, the seller is required to correct the description and show proof that the product is indeed authentic.

2. The item is similar to another product in the marketplace

This happens when the items you are selling looks the same to the other items from different manufacturers in the marketplace. This may cause the customers to file your product as inauthentic. Like the above mentioned, you should rectify your product description to avoid inauthentic item complains in the near future.

3. Misplaced complaints by buyers

Misplaced complaints are common among buyers not only in the Amazon marketplace but also in other selling platforms. With this in mind, the product is totally authentic, although you will be required to take the necessary actions. This may be disappointing to Amazon sellers, but the sellers will be required to respond to Amazon with proof of their product’s authenticity.

Why your Amazon account might get suspended

Aside from selling inauthentic and counterfeit items, there are also a few factors that can cause your Amazon account to get suspended. They are as follows:

1. Faulting Amazon conditions and guidelines

There are terms and conditions set by Amazon and any faulting of these terms may cause your Amazon account to get a warning from Amazon. In some cases, they might suspend it without any prior notice.

2. Having multiple Amazon seller accounts

Amazon sellers are not allowed to have more than one seller account on Amazon. In case Amazon identifies several sellers’ accounts with a single owner, they will be suspended.

3. Poor performance metrics

Your Amazon account may be suspended due to a consistent poor rating. Amazon buyers do rate the products they purchase as well as the quality of seller’s service. If you constantly receive negative feedback, it could put your seller account at risk. To avoid this, you should sell items that satisfy your customer’s expectations.

4. Faking Amazon invoices and product reviews from order history

Faking Amazon invoices is one of the irregularities that can cause your Amazon account to be suspended. The supplier invoices are faked in an attempt to pass the process of brand approval at Amazon prime. Changing the dates of supply chain documentation, addresses, and quantity of items is not allowed.

These violations are highly frowned upon by Amazon. Trust is a very sensitive matter in the Amazon marketplace. If they can’t trust you, they would rather have other sellers sell your products in their marketplace. As such, your sale reviews should be genuine to avoid your seller’s account from being suspended permanently. Selling privileges in Amazon are given to authenticated sellers.

Steps to take when your Amazon account has been suspended

When your Amazon account has been suspended due to selling inauthentic items, you as a seller should respond with an Amazon seller inauthentic item claim. The following are the steps that you should take when your Amazon account has been suspended:

1. Check your Amazon account

This step is necessary so you can find out the reason(s) why your Amazon account was suspended. Amazon has been designed to allow you to retrace the recent activities of your account. They will display your current product reviews and feedback. That said, you should take a look at your customers’ A-to-Z claims. Pay close attention to your customers’ complaints and their messages about your inauthentic or counterfeit items.

2. Confirm whether there are any ulterior motives involved

Once an inauthentic complaint has been filled, you should check whether there is a foul play involved. Other competitors in the marketplace may want you out of business and complain of inauthentic products from your Amazon account. This is why it’s important for you to investigate and report back to Amazon once you detect any signs of foul play. Don’t forget to show proof while doing so.

3. Check with your suppliers

If your account has been suspended due to the presence of inauthentic sales, you should immediately request your Amazon suppliers to give proof of the authenticity of their products and where they are manufactured. They should also confirm whether they are authorized resellers or not.

Avoiding inauthentic item complaints on Amazon

As a seller, you have to do your best not to get your Amazon seller account suspended. Amazon doesn’t need numerous claims of inauthentic item to suspend your account – in fact, they only need one.

Therefore, as an Amazon seller, you should avoid your account from getting suspended as possible as it can affect your business. New Amazon sellers selling private label products are the ones mostly affected, and they should be cautious about the quality of the products they sell and address any issues regarding inauthenticity and counterfeits.

To avoid such an experience as an Amazon seller, you should take note of the following when finding a supplier:

• Ensure that your suppliers hand in an invoice with the name of the item, brand, and manufacturer’s name. These details should be clear and readily available as you might be required to send them to Amazon.

• Amazon has started making calls to suppliers with an aim of confirming dates, the number of items, their addresses, wholesale prices and any other invoice information they might require to authenticate. In case your suppliers have no website and failed to pick calls, your Amazon account could be put at risk. Therefore, it’s advisable for sellers to have suppliers with an active website.

• The paperwork should say “Invoice” instead of “Order Acknowledgement” and other variations. You should also make sure that it’s written in the right format with an order summary.

• You should ensure that you don’t source your items through liquidation stock.

• Check for any recurring issues in your Amazon account. You can find some clues on the Bottom Performers Report, Imperfect Order Report, and the Return Reports in the Seller Central section.

• Make sure you know about your supplies along with their competitors.

• As a seller, ensure that you personally take part in the affairs of your business in the marketplace. This allows you to have an easy time switching to different suppliers in case you are not satisfied with their authenticity. Finding a wholesale supplier nowadays is easy.

• It’s advisable to trade with manufacturers only. In case you are dealing with wholesale suppliers, make sure that they qualify for the QC certification.

• Ensure that your stock has sales warranty. This should be extended to your clients while selling on Amazon to avoid inauthentic item complaints.

• Exercise high levels of diligence when purchasing your items for the Amazon marketplace.

With the above precautionary measures taken, you’ll be good to sell in the marketplace with no interference at all.

Writing to Amazon in case of a suspended seller account

In case your Amazon account has been suspended, you can send them a letter to Amazon customers for inauthentic items including your plan of action which should include the following evidence:

1. Removal of unwanted items from your sales inventory

2. Evidence of your suppliers as well as their sources

3. Accurate paperwork of all your items and their sources

4. Change of suppliers whenever necessary

5. Adding more sales personnel to your purchasing department

6. Adhering to the sales policies and hazmat guidelines

No seller wishes to get blacklisted from Amazon’s platform. Unfortunately, sometimes things flow in the wrong direction without your knowledge. Failure to give a genuine Plan of Action for Amazon seller inauthentic item claim would mean that you failed to prove the authenticity of your items. This might lead to the permanent Amazon seller suspension inauthentic item of your account.

If you Amazon account got suspended, we can help write you an Inauthentic Amazon Appeal and Plan of Action. Fill in the contact form below or contact us in the live chat and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.