The wave of account suspensions before the peak season is coming! Strictly investigate these two types of violations

Before every peak season, Amazon will take tough measures to regulate the sales environment on its platform. This year is no exception, and the wave of account bans has already arrived.

In recent days, a number of sellers have been blocked, mainly for two types of illegal operations: infringement and refurbishment. Amazon clearly pointed out the specific problems in the email, which made sellers who have a record of infringement or refurbished links very nervous.

For most sellers who are operating steadily, the peak season is the dumplings on New Year's Eve, which is highly anticipated. According to data from US ports , the import cargo volume in September is expected to exceed 2 million TEUs, and retailers are optimistic about the performance of this year's holiday season.

Compared with previous years, this year's peak season has arrived earlier. Consumers have not reduced their spending due to inflation. Instead, they are working harder to find the best prices. Product discounts will have a greater impact on sales. In addition to the fiercely competitive holiday products, what other subcategories may have a hit? TikTok Shop has given four major product selection suggestions for sellers to refer to.

A group of sellers were banned, Amazon targeted infringement and refurbishment

In the past two days, sellers have reported that their accounts have been blocked. There are two main reasons for the blocking - refurbished links and a history of infringement, which surprised many sellers.

1. Renovate the account

Link refurbishment is a common operation. When a listing receives too many negative reviews, the seller will refurbish the listing by replacing the ASIN corresponding to the SKU with another ASIN and allow it to continue to be sellable. This not only removes the negative reviews but also saves the cost of moving warehouses and changing labels. In addition, if a new product is delayed, the seller may also regain traffic support for the new product through refurbishment.

However, refurbishment itself is a violation of regulations. If the platform takes it seriously, sellers will panic. Recently, some sellers reported that their accounts were shut down due to refurbishment. One seller said that accounts that were refurbished within the past six months may be blocked, and an account that was refurbished in April was hit last week.

Amazon notified the seller in an email that his account had been deactivated and the products had been removed because it was discovered that the seller or someone acting on his behalf requested to change an ASIN to a different ASIN that did not match the product corresponding to the current ASIN.

If you want to reactivate your account, you need to submit the following materials: 1) Third-party termination of service documents (if a third party is responsible for handling these requests); 2) Training certificate (if you are not aware that these changes are in violation of the policy); 3) Brand registration documents (if you are the brand owner); 4) Brand authorization letter (if you are an authorized brand representative); 5) Inventory certificate issued by an authorized product supplier.

To resolve an ASIN remapping request, Amazon will accept documentation that meets these requirements: contains the supplier’s contact information, including name, phone number, address, and website, displays the product name corresponding to the ASIN in question, has a visible issue date and is within the past 365 days, and is in .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif format.

Many sellers were shocked by being banned for refurbishment. In fact, before this wave of bans, many sellers reported problems with refurbishment, such as unsalability. After uploading the old SKU + new ASIN template, a seller received an error from the system, "The SKU cannot be changed for an item on sale unless the item is deleted and recreated." Next, the seller may step on a landmine if he refurbishes again.

2. Account blocked due to infringement

This week, Amazon banned accounts for infringement and violations. Industry analysts believe that this was due to a robot scan. A seller said: "Six stores were banned overnight, all ASINs were automatically deleted, and all inventory was deleted." The seller said that the reason for his ban was that he had a history of suspected infringement. In April, his account was suspected of infringement, and the seller handled it himself, but the account is still banned now.

What types of infringement will lead to account suspension?

This seller once consulted Case: There is a common word in the five points of the product link that has been registered as a trademark, and then it was determined to be infringing. I deleted this word. Will this infringement lead to account suspension? Case’s answer is: As long as the account status has indicated infringement and there is a record of infringement, there is a chance that the store will be suspended. In addition, experienced sellers said that if they receive an intellectual property complaint, their account may be suspended even if it is in good condition. "It was suspended and it was gone in an instant."

Industry sellers analyzed that this wave was a machine scan for infringement, so there were quite a few victims. Amazon clearly informed in the email that the relevant account had been suspended and the product information had been removed, and the account funds had been withheld because one or more of the seller's product information violated Amazon's intellectual property policy. Amazon had previously sent notifications to the email addresses archived for the relevant ASINs to remind sellers of these issues.

(Amazon email notification)

If a seller wants to activate his account, he must provide information as usual, including the root cause of the violation of intellectual property policy, the measures taken to resolve the infringement, and the measures taken to prevent similar problems in the future.

Infringement issues are frequent in the industry, and this time Amazon has pointed its gun at accounts that have infringed on the rights of others, causing many sellers to worry that they will be held accountable later.

In fact, Amazon’s recent sweeping actions have hardly stopped. In addition to the two types of violations mentioned above, new accounts and accounts with surging sales are also the focus of sweeping.

A seller lamented that the number of account scanning on the platform has increased sharply recently, and many new stores have been scanned. In this case, it is not easy to get the account back. Submitting information may not be approved. Even many service providers have bluntly asked sellers to give up their accounts. However, the seller found that submitting an appeal can trigger video authentication, and the probability of passing the video verification has increased. Sellers with similar situations can refer to this.

Another reason for being scanned is that the account information cannot be verified. Amazon said that it could not verify the information related to the seller's account, or did not receive any new information related to the seller's listings or sales history. In this case, the account is also deactivated, the listing is deleted, and the seller is required to send the outstanding orders.

On the account activation page, Amazon prompted that if you are an Easy Ship seller, you must confirm the use of this service for self-delivered orders when submitting, and submit evidence of fulfillment and/or delivery of recent self-delivered orders, addresses (URL or physical store addresses) of other stores (including other Amazon accounts) that sell similar products and can show proof of delivery, etc. The seller in question did not do self-delivery, and he was confused by this series of information and had no idea how to solve it.

Only sellers who have solved these problems and smoothly passed Amazon’s pre-peak season screening can be shortlisted for the year-end sales feast.

The peak season is coming early, these products will be hot-selling

Peak season is the busiest and most anticipated time of the year for sellers. Executives at Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, predicted that the holiday shopping season in the United States will be "quite good" because American consumers performed better than they expected at the beginning of the year.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon , who earlier this year worried about deteriorating consumer balance sheets and inflation on some commodities, has been pleasantly surprised by slower job growth, wage increases and price increases. He said pressures on U.S. shoppers are likely to remain “much the same” next year .

According to eMarketer's forecast, overall retail spending during the 2023 holiday shopping season will increase by 4.5% to $1.3 trillion, with e-commerce accounting for nearly 20% of sales and contributing 48.5% of the incremental spending.

So which products will be hot sellers during this year’s peak season, and what are the consumption characteristics of this holiday?

1. Popular categories

Holiday decorations and other products are the most popular items during the peak season. In addition, what other subcategories are more likely to produce hits? TikTok Shop gives four suggestions for product selection:

1) Products related to comfortable home scenes , such as:

Home Aromatherapy

Water cups, lunch boxes, baking cookie molds, ice makers, baby tableware

Indoor sports and fitness products : ab wheels, hand grippers, foot pedals, etc.

Pajama sets, nightgowns

Car window brushes, car seat cushions, car vacuum cleaners

Remote control car, children's writing board, building block toys, luminous gyroscope

Cat and Dog House

2) Festive carnival gifts and decorations , such as:

Advent Calendar Beauty Gift Box

Party Style Clothing

Christmas building block music box, plush toys

Holiday print sweatshirts and sweaters

Travel storage bag, home aromatherapy

Christmas lights, Santa hats, holiday stickers

2024 calendar, 2024 planner

3) Suitable for parties, fitness and other scenes with colorful combinations , such as:

Glitter eyeshadow, red lipstick, glitter highlighter, nail polish

Y2K, Kardashian, party style women's clothing

Halloween wigs and face painting

Folding yoga mat, ab wheel, hula hoop

Body lotion, hand and foot mask

4) Autumn and winter warm-keeping products (mainstream colors are warm colors) , such as:

Wearable blanket, milk velvet four-piece set, special-shaped pillow

Tea, coffee and wine sets, thermos cups, stewing cups

Wool dresses, sweaters, cardigans, thick coats ( puffer coats, wool coats, PU leather coats , polar fleece & teddy coats , plaid coats, etc. )

Camping Warm Accessories

Warm sports leggings

Boots, plush slippers

Cat and dog clothes, pet hats

Plush Toys

Sellers can look for opportunities for explosive sales from these subcategories.

2. Peak season comes early

Last year showed that holiday shopping is no longer confined to November and December, with many major retailers launching Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday deals as early as October and offering holiday sales and promotions at the end of the fourth quarter.

A Google survey shows that as of mid-October, global holiday shoppers have completed an average of 21% of their holiday shopping. For example, Amazon is currently clearing out Halloween products and selling Christmas products, bringing shopping time much earlier.

This year, retailers and shoppers are following the same pattern, and early holiday shopping will become the norm. Amazon's fall promotion is scheduled for October 10-11, and sellers are preparing for the second "Prime Day" of this year; TikTok has also begun to warm up for the Black Friday promotion and reminded sellers to complete the Black Friday product listing before October 27.

3. Discounts are important

According to Insider Intelligence, consumer spending will continue to rise during the 2023 holiday season. Inflation has not slowed down consumer spending, but has prompted them to look for the best deals. In an environment where online and offline retailers are flocking to launch promotions, offering discounts is almost a must.

In fact, 67% of retailers expect consumers to seek discounts this holiday season, and while this means sacrificing some margins and profitability, discounts are critical to satisfying customers during peak season.

Payment trends have also changed. During Prime Day, consumers used buy now, pay later ( BNPL ) payment methods in 6.5% of orders, and BNPL use was still the most common in clothing, furniture / home decor and electronics . This also foreshadows the trend of the holiday shopping season.

In a high-interest environment, consumers seeking to manage cash flow during the holidays may view zero-interest BNPL installment loans as a more favorable option than high-interest credit cards. Research shows that by the end of 2023, BNPL payments in the United States will grow by 19.0% to $113 million. Amazon is also pushing buy now, pay later services to help sellers create new sales myths.

4. The return rate is rising, and worry-free returns are crucial

As orders soar during the peak season, returns will also rise. From November to mid-January last year, at least 10% and even up to 16% of US e-commerce orders were returned every week.

At this time, worry-free returns are crucial. On the one hand, considering factors such as customer reviews, sellers need to provide a simple and convenient return experience; on the other hand, a relaxed return window can also help users build brand loyalty. A study by FedEx shows that if a brand provides fast and convenient return services, 98% of shoppers are willing to order again, and 56% of shoppers are willing to pay for worry-free returns.

Import volume rises at U.S. ports, customs inspection rates increase

Right now, the holiday season is the top priority for the retail supply chain industry, as merchants are preparing for the upcoming shopping peak for gifts. Judging from the import volume, this peak season is also worth looking forward to. Jonathan Gold, vice president of the National Retail Federation, said when announcing the port data: " These numbers are strong, indicating that retailers are optimistic about the holiday season because they will not import goods unless they think they can sell them. "

The Global Port Tracking report released by the National Retail Federation and the Hackett Associates shows that the import cargo volume at major container ports in September is expected to exceed the 2 million 20-foot equivalent units mark for the second consecutive month and will continue to maintain this level in October.

The report covers several ports on the west coast of the United States, including the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach and the Port of Oakland, and the Port of New York/New Jersey and the Port of Virginia on the east coast. In July, these ports handled 1.91 million standard containers, a 4.4% increase in throughput compared to June.

The ports have not yet released final data for August, but the tracking report predicts that the total throughput in August will reach 2 million TEUs, a year-on-year decrease of 11.4%, but this is the first month to reach the 2 million mark since October last year; the figure will decrease by 1.8% year-on-year in September and increase by 0.1% year-on-year in October; the forecast for November is 1.96 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 10.4%; the forecast for December is 1.94 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 12%; imports in January 2024 will reach 1.91 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%.

For cross-border sellers, the price of logistics and transportation is obviously favorable. The latest weekly report on export containers from the Shanghai Shipping Exchange shows that the freight rates of ocean routes are continuing to decline.

Among them, the supply and demand fundamentals of the North American route weakened, and the market freight rates continued to fall. On September 15, the market freight rates (sea freight and sea freight surcharge) from Shanghai Port to the basic ports in the West and East of the United States were US$1,888/FEU and US$2,550/FEU, respectively, down 7.3% and 11.1% from the previous period.

On the European route , on September 15, the market freight rate from Shanghai Port to the European base port was US$658/TEU, down 7.8% from the previous period. The market situation of the Mediterranean route was basically synchronized with the European route, and the spot market booking price continued to decline. On September 15, the market freight rate from Shanghai Port to the Mediterranean base port was US$1,248/TEU, down 4.6% from the previous period.

Although freight costs have been reduced , the increased probability of customs inspections in recent times has worried many sellers. If the goods are inspected, they will need to stay for a few days or a few weeks, which may delay the time to prepare stocks for the peak season.

According to feedback from many people in the logistics industry, the inspection rate in the United States has continued to increase recently, and goods arriving at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are particularly vulnerable.

"It seems that the inspection rate in the United States is now as high as over 10%, and foreign customs clearance agencies are notifying us to conduct strict inspections every day."

"After checking sea freight, we check air freight. The inspection rate is still very high."

"The inspection rate in the United States is very high. It's a bit outrageous recently. There are a lot of X-ray inspections. It's a waste of money to vomit blood."

Currently, the number of inspections at multiple ports has increased, and port inspection stations such as Houston, Seattle, and Detroit are overcrowded. Routine inspections take 3 to 5 days, but now they are extended to 10 to 15 days. If X-ray + manual inspection is required, it will take at least 15 to 30 days. This time difference is the main reason why sellers worry about inspections.

On September 7, the U.S. Customs issued a notice that the Customs and Border Protection Agency had found an increase in inaccurate cargo manifests in the transportation of inbound goods in the Port of Chicago, and that various departments would conduct strict inspections.

According to the United States Code , all goods imported into the United States must be inspected before entering U.S. commerce , and the Border Protection Agency ( CBP ) has the right to select goods for physical inspection. Accurate cargo description is crucial . If the cargo description on the cargo manifest is inaccurate, it will affect the efficiency of the Customs and Border Protection Agency and will also have an impact on the trade community.

The notice reminds the trade community, including international transport and aviation operators , that according to relevant management content, they should provide all necessary manifest information to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection , including the specific description of the goods on the bill of lading . Now, due to the increase in the number of incorrect cargo shipping descriptions, the Border Protection Agency recommends that all international transport and aviation carriers in the Chicago area ports review their current shipping descriptions, manifest policies and shipping records to ensure accuracy.

Freight forwarders are also having a headache. According to the regulations, any vehicle owner, vehicle responsible person or aircraft pilot who commits related violations will be punished, with a civil fine of $5,000 for the first violation and a civil fine of $10,000 for each subsequent violation. The means of transport related to any such violation will also be seized and confiscated.

The period before the National Day holiday is the peak shipping period for cross-border sellers. After going through the early stages of careful product selection and stock preparation, sellers have invested heavily in preparing for the peak season. It would be a pity if they missed the sales node due to goods inspection. Sellers can choose compliant logistics providers, ship goods in advance, and declare truthfully to reduce the probability of inspection and make full preparations for the goods to be put on the shelves for sale.