If you typically live your life by the mantra “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission,” then you’re probably going to get banned from Amazon selling pretty quickly. Amazon’s Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct is long and detailed, but crucial to remember and understand if you want to be a successful seller.
It may become frustrating to go through these rules and regulations, but it’s important to think of all the benefits that come from Amazon selling. Just remember:
- By selling through Amazon, you are gaining access to one of the largest online retailers in the world.
- Amazon wants to protect their sellers and buyers from potential fraud.
- Amazon will ban you and your business for not following the code of conduct.
- If you break Amazon’s rules, they will withhold payment.
As a new seller, it is easy to overlook some of the policies. Below are six of the most common policies that new Amazon sellers break. This information will help you create compliant listings and run your business without fear of being banned.
1. Don’t Try to Send Users Away From Amazon
Amazon provides a platform to access a marketplace with over 300 million users. In order to maintain their own sales and profits, they need their customers to stay on Amazon. Anything that persuades Amazon users to leave the Amazon web page or app will result in a penalty for the corresponding listing and business.
Amazon is a closed ecosystem and prohibits all sellers from being able to promote their own web pages from their platform. This includes everything from a personal blog to another selling website.
To avoid being flagged by Amazon, do not include the following in your listings:
- Advertisements that encourage users to leave Amazon
- “Calls to action” that lead users off of Amazon
- Marketing messages that prompt users to exit Amazon’s platform
Any linked email address, URL, or webpage will be flagged as an advertisement, calls-to-action, or marketing message. While you can (and should) sell your product on multiple sites (ie. eBay, Etsy, Shopify, Facebook Marketplace, etc.), Amazon is not the place to advertise for those websites. If you are going to sell through Amazon, your product fulfillment should occur through Amazon.
2. Don’t List Products Prohibited by Amazon
Before listing a product on Amazon, make sure it is in an Amazon-sanctioned category. Both the type of product you list and how you list your product are essential to creating a listing that Amazon will boost in their algorithm.
Choosing a product can be a daunting task. Here at EcomRanx, we offer a service to help you jumpstart your Amazon business. Our Amazon experts are well versed in Amazon requirements and market trends. We help people like you pick products for your business as well as design high-quality listings. Having an experienced team on your side will help you avoid mistakes and oversights that could potentially get your business or listing banned by Amazon. If you have any interest in our services, sign up for your free consultation today!
3. Don’t Include Discounts in Your Title
While it may be tempting to include a discount in your title like: “lowest price” or “50% off,” this is prohibited by Amazon. This may be frustrating, but remember that all Amazon sellers must adhere to this standard, which levels the playing field.
To create an Amazon title that will make the Amazon algorithm happy, try the following tips!
- Capitalize the first letter of every word in the title ie. “Capitalize Each Word”
- Write numbers as numerical characters and not as words. ie. “10” instead of “ten”
- Spell out the units of measurement. ie. “Ounces” instead of “Oz”
- Write “and” instead of using the ampersand “&”
- Include your brand name to your title
- If your product comes in multiple colors, include the color of the product in the title
4. Don’t Add Promotional Text to Images
The rule of not including promotional messages continues past just the listing text. Amazon is serious about not allowing sellers to use this type of language, so images are no exception. Refrain from using any graphics that say “Free Shipping,” “20% off,” or any other marketing message of this kind.
Instead, include the following images in your product listing:
- The main photo should be a professional photo or rendering of your product with a white background
- Include additional images that have graphics related to the product’s unique features
- Take up all the space in the image with your product, the less white space the better
- Consider including a video of how your product works
- Add lifestyle images that show real people using your product in an everyday setting
5. Don’t Use Images With Borders or Watermarks
Amazon cares a great deal about the user experience. This includes high quality images that adhere to their requested format. You will be penalized for including images with borders or watermarks. Review Amazon’s product image requirements before publishing your listing.
Don’t be too frustrated by this rule. Amazon is just trying to keep the platform looking professional, which only helps you in the end. By being a part of such a high quality platform, you are benefitting from the trust buyers have in Amazon. Remove borders and watermarks because Amazon prefers it, and because your images will just look higher quality and more professional.
6. Don’t Send Marketing Campaigns to Customers
If you choose to fulfill your own orders instead of using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), then Amazon will supply you with the phone numbers and email addresses of the customers who purchase your products. This is necessary information for you as the seller to have when dealing with carrier label requirements.
According to the Amazon seller agreement, you are prohibited to email or call any customer through any other database than the Buyer-Seller Messaging Service provided on Amazon. Failure to adhere to this standard will result in a temporary or permanent ban from the Amazon marketplace as a seller.
Do not add these customers to your email or calling list for your business. Do not sell their information to another business. If you create a good relationship with your Amazon customers by not spamming them with information that they do not want to receive then you will notice a higher return on repeat customers to your Amazon business.
How Can EcomRanx Help?
At EcomRanx, we offer Amazon Launch Packages that include building a brand and selecting a brand name. We are sellers to and use the same strategy for our clients as we use for our own products. Our team of Amazon specialists will take you through every step of the process, so if you have any interest in starting an Amazon business, give us a call for a free consultation!