1. First hour: read the notice properly

Open Seller Central → Account Health → Performance notifications. The notice names the policy Amazon believes you broke (for example "Section 3 of the Business Solutions Agreement", "inauthentic item complaints", "late shipment rate", "intellectual property complaint", "related account"). Everything in your appeal must answer that named reason, not the reason you think is fair.

Do not reply with the first message that comes to mind. Amazon counts every submission; a weak first appeal makes the second one harder because the reviewer already has a rejected file open.

2. Types of suspension and what each one needs

Two of these are not really "appeals": IP complaints are usually resolved by getting the rights owner to withdraw, and verification holds are resolved by document consistency. Treat them as document tasks, not persuasion tasks.

3. Writing the Plan of Action

Amazon's reviewers read hundreds of appeals a day. They scan for three sections. Give them exactly those three, with headings, in this order:

Root cause

What went wrong, stated as a fact about your process - not about the customer, the courier or Amazon. "Our listing used a manufacturer image that showed a 500 ml bottle while we shipped 450 ml" is a root cause. "The customer misunderstood the product" is not.

Corrective actions

What you already did to fix the specific problem. Past tense, dated, concrete: "On 12 October we removed the three listings, refunded the four affected orders (IDs below) and replaced the main image with our own photograph showing the 450 ml bottle."

Preventive measures

What changes so it cannot recur: a new check in your listing SOP, a named person responsible, a weekly report, a supplier change. Bullet points. Each one should be something Amazon could, in theory, verify later.

4. Submitting and following up

• Submit through the appeal button in the notice (Account Health → Performance notifications → Appeal), not through a general support case - general cases go to a different team.
• Invoices must be from your supplier to you, dated before the complaint, with supplier name, address and phone visible (plus GSTIN in India, VAT number in the UK and EU). Retail receipts and proforma invoices are rejected.
• If there is no reply after 72 hours, do not resubmit the same text. A second submission should add new evidence or clarify a point, otherwise it resets the queue.
• If the notice allows it, request a call via Account Health Support (the phone icon on the Account Health page). The call cannot approve you but can tell you which part of the appeal was insufficient.

5. Mistakes that get appeals rejected

1. Answering a different question. A performance notice answered with invoices, or an authenticity notice answered with a shipping plan.
2. Blaming the buyer or Amazon. Even when true, it signals the problem will recur.
3. Generic language. "We will improve our quality" is not a preventive measure. "Every incoming lot is checked against the supplier invoice by our stock manager before listing" is.
4. Missing order IDs. If the notice named orders, your corrective actions must name the same orders.
5. Edited or mismatched documents. A cropped invoice or a registration name that differs from the account name ends the appeal.
6. Submitting five times in a day. Each submission is reviewed in sequence; flooding the queue delays the decision.

6. After reinstatement

Reinstated accounts are watched. For 90 days keep ODR, late shipment and cancellation rates well inside the targets, respond to every policy warning within 24 hours, and keep the preventive measures you promised - Amazon can and does check. Set up alerts so a new performance notification reaches you the day it arrives, not when you next log in.

Frequently asked questions