For Amazon FBA sellers, the following situation is a common problem:
At first, you are not allowed to sell branded products on Amazon, so you apply to sell brands. You then get permission to sell the brand, purchase inventory from the brand to send to the FBA warehouse, and even sell some of the items in the brand’s inventory. And then… you’re suddenly restricted from selling the brand again.
What happened? Can I sell the inventory I already sent to Amazon FBA? Will I lose money on this? What should I do now? This is the mental journey that many sellers go through when they encounter this situation.
This article will explain why this happened and share how to regain opportunities to sell brand products after restrictions.
First, let’s understand why Amazon sets brand sales restrictions?
1. Brands want to protect themselves from knockoffs.
2. Brands want to protect their brand reputation. Brands really want their customers to have a top-notch shopping experience from the sellers they deal with, so brands will restrict sellers from selling their products to ensure that only sellers with sufficient experience and good seller metrics can sell their branded products.
Why are sellers being restricted again?
Some sellers find themselves restricted after they have already been approved and started selling the brand. There are several reasons why this happens.
1. Your seller metrics may have decreased. If your seller metrics fall below a brand’s sales requirements, you may lose permission to sell that brand. You can’t know exactly which metrics were impacted and what you need to do to improve and get approved again, but you can look at the overall metrics to see if there are areas that need improvement. Maybe you need to improve your ratings, maybe you need to respond to customer messages more promptly, etc.
2. The brand may have raised its minimum standards. If a brand decides to raise their requirements, your metrics may no longer meet their standards, and you could lose your license to sell that brand. This change may be permanent or temporary. For example, some brands may raise requirements only during the fourth quarter selling season, returning to previous standards when January arrives.
How do sellers regain permission to sell under a brand?
1. Improve your seller metrics. For example, use the Amazon Seller app on your phone to respond to customer emails promptly.
2. Work hard to improve your rating. First, make sure you provide excellent customer service and send high-quality inventory to Amazon. And, you can also use a service like Feedback Genius to email your customers asking for honest feedback about you as a seller.
3. Reduce the return rate. You need to work hard to find out the reasons for returns and the steps you need to take to reduce your return rate. Analyze whether the product page needs to be improved, whether there is a problem with the product description, or whether there is a problem with the product itself. In short, do everything you can to reduce customer returns.
4. Gain more sales experience. Sometimes all you have to do is wait and gain more experience as a seller. Sometimes it takes a while for your selling account to have more metrics before it can be reapproved.
