Amazon's new round of account scanning? A batch of seller accounts have been deactivated

In August, most sellers are busy preparing for the next peak season, or planning new plans, hoping to have a good end to this year, but there will inevitably be some minor episodes.

Recently, many sellers reported that their Amazon accounts were deactivated and received review emails from the platform. This also triggered speculation about another round of Amazon account sweeps.

Video verification emails come again, some seller accounts are deactivated

A seller said that the old store he bought a few years ago was closed. When he learned the news, he was planning to travel with his family. The notice required the seller to conduct a video verification of the legal person and submit the bill . After a series of operations, the seller said that his travel plans were put on hold, and the impact on the store's sales was what worried him the most.

Some sellers said that their store had just been registered and they also encountered the same situation. The sellers who received the email said that they did not violate any regulations and there were no problems with their performance.

However, some sellers received emails stating that their accounts were suspected of fraud and that in order to enhance the security of their accounts, sellers must undergo additional identity verification, make an appointment and complete video verification within a specified time. If the seller does not respond within a week and does not provide authentic and valid original documents, they will not be able to continue selling products on the platform. Some sellers who received emails earlier had their accounts directly deactivated.

The sudden emails and the deactivated accounts caught many sellers off guard. Someone said: "Once again, both new and old accounts were not spared, and the intensity of the attack is still so strong."

The second-instance video verification incident has been going on since last week, and sellers are still reporting the same situation. This has led some sellers to wonder: Is Amazon starting a new round of number scanning? Everyone has different attitudes towards this.

Some people think: "This is not the first time this has happened. It is normal for Amazon to do a "routine inspection" every once in a while. It has been like this last year and this year. It is normal!" However, some sellers disagree, believing that sometimes it is indeed the seller's problem. This time it is very likely a wave of scanning warnings, so they need to be vigilant. At present, there are quite a few sellers who have received review emails.

Looking back at the first half of the year, it was not the first time that Amazon sellers encountered similar video verification second reviews.

In the middle of this year, some sellers received emails for the second review of Amazon's video verification. The submitted materials were slightly different depending on the reason for the account deactivation, and were more detailed than before, including bills, business licenses, etc. After some sellers submitted the materials, some passed "easily" within a few days, while some sellers submitted multiple times but failed.

In response to this, a seller said: “I received a similar email last year. I submitted all the required information, completed the video verification, and answered all the questions. However, the second review took a while to pass, which delayed a lot of things. I can only wait.” Some sellers even received video verification emails as early as March of this year. After verification, they believed that what the seller said was inconsistent, and the relevant accounts have been frozen to date.

Although common reasons for triggering such problems include incomplete seller information and accounts being complained about for infringement or violation, the reasons are not limited to these, and some details are often easily overlooked.

As to why a wave of video verification has been triggered recently, most sellers generally believe that Amazon has tightened its management of platform accounts in recent years and has entered a period of competition for existing data, so the platform needs to regulate its internal ecological environment.

Since the trial of Amazon's video review and certification method was launched, many sellers have been subject to inspection, which has also made more sellers feel the intensity of Amazon's supervision.

Amazon's supervision is becoming increasingly strict, and platform adjustments have become the norm

Judging from several waves of surprise inspections conducted by Amazon this year, the scope of its supervision is still focused on reviews, brand protection, operating methods, etc., and the verification and management of seller identities has also become much stricter. Not long ago, the fact that tens of thousands of sellers in Pakistan were banned also caused a heated discussion.

According to foreign media reports, the reasons for the suspension are mainly resale arbitrage, providing false product logistics information, etc. Such behavior not only infringes on the rights and interests of sellers and related brands, but also affects fair competition in the market. Another large-scale suspension has once again sounded the alarm for sellers.

However, sellers are less nervous about Amazon account scanning and account blocking than before, believing that as long as they do not violate the rules and exclude objective factors, their accounts are relatively safe. But some sellers are still worried: "Even if there is nothing wrong with me, I don't know when I will be accidentally hurt."

In fact, similar regulatory methods, while placing higher demands on platform sellers, also take the management of the platform one step further, making it inevitable that non-compliant and illegal sellers will be eliminated.

On the other hand, in order to make the platform more perfect in all aspects, Amazon has also made adjustments to its policies and functions. But as we all know, whether it is a new policy or a new function, sellers have mixed reviews on it.

This year, Amazon has made a lot of changes in returns, delivery fees, inventory pages, etc. In terms of return methods, it has added a return channel for buyers, increased peak season delivery fees in logistics, and improved inventory and homepage pages. Among the first two, the increase in delivery fees has hit sellers. Although sellers have some complaints, they can only accept it.

However, despite this seemingly contradictory situation, Amazon's top position in the minds of sellers has not changed. Amazon is the first choice for new sellers entering the industry, and Amazon is still the main profit channel for most old sellers.

Due to the overall market environment changes this year, many e-commerce platforms and DTC brands in the US market have started layoffs and are also solving ongoing inventory problems, including Amazon. However, compared with Walmart, Shopify, Target, etc., Amazon still has obvious advantages.

Among the domestic cross-border e-commerce companies that have gone overseas, such as Anker Innovations, Savi, and Huakai Yibai, the sales revenues obtained through Amazon are very considerable. In 2021, Anker Innovations' revenue from the Amazon platform accounted for 54.66% of its total revenue, and the revenue of Huakai Yibai's subsidiary Yibai Network accounted for more than 70% of its total revenue... Small and medium-sized sellers also develop Amazon business as their main business, and then explore other channels on this basis.

After the cross-border e-commerce industry returned from the bonus period to the easing period, sellers still regard Amazon as the leading e-commerce platform in the cross-border e-commerce industry, which shows that its position is very important.

Although many people have left the industry, judging from many data and feedback, there are more people who stay and many new entrants, and the development model of platforms and sellers is no longer the original free growth model.

Amazon

Scan number

Video Verification