TAS 183 : Amazon Suspended My Product (Now What?)

It wasn’t too long ago that Scott received a bad news email from Amazon. One of his products, a bundle of items, was suspended by Amazon and he was being required to rectify the situation that caused the product to be suspended. On this episode Scott is going to walk you through the exact steps he took to address the situation with Amazon and give you a ton of things to think about when it comes to dealing with Amazon directives like this. If you haven’t had this issue yet, you will, so be sure you listen to the episode so you can be ahead of the game!

The importance of some kind of product inspection.

When Scott received a notice from Amazon that one of his products had been suspended, it was because his return rate was at 13%. Why was it so high? Some of his products were missing pieces and the customers were returning them. Scott learned that his practice of having his items shipped directly from his supplier to Amazon was not working. He was going to have to figure out a way to ensure that every product was inspected before it was shipped. On this episode Scott’s going to tell you how he addressed the issue and give you some resources to check out to set up your own product inspections.

You need to set up variations on every product.

When Scott received a notice from Amazon that one of his products was suspended he had a few options he could pursue. One of those was to set up a variation of the same product and then ship in some products he had in hand to replace the ones that were being suspended. That would enable him to get a listing for that product back up in a rather quick fashion. Scott suggests that every time you set up a product listing on Amazon you create it with the option for variations, even if you don't think that product will ever have a variation. This enables you to address issues like he faced if it should come up.

The tax implications of products you can’t use.

One of the things Scott was concerned about when he got a notice from Amazon that a product was being returned by customers because it was missing parts, was the loss he would have to take on those products. It amounted to $7,000 worth of products and he didn't want to take a hit that large. He called his tax accountant and discovered that he would be able to write those off as a loss and benefit himself on his taxes to some degree. On this episode Scott covers what that sort of loss would look like and how you would go about it if it happens to you.

Why Scott changed his product to Merchant Fulfilled.

The first thing Scott did when he discovered that one of his products have been suspended by Amazon list to switch that product to a merchant fulfilled status. That enabled his product to remain live on the Amazon catalogue and potentially get some sales while he investigated the problems that had caused his products to be suspended in the first place. On this episode Scott is going to walk you through every step he took to get his product back on the Amazon catalog in record time and address the issues with his products that were causing the high return rate that got it suspended in the first place.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER

[0:25] Scott’s introduction to the podcast! [1:31] The problem of putting all your eggs in one basket. [2:01] How you can join Scott on Periscope. [3:02] The one question that comes up over and over: What makes a good product? [6:40] The initial message Scott received about a suspended product. [8:11] The role a high number of refunds played on Amazon’s decision. [11:10] Why it was good that Scott had variations of this product on Amazon. [12:20] The decision to do merchant fulfilled instead of FBA on the problem product. [15:54] Determining the problem: Was it with Amazon or with the supplier? [18:22] The tax issues involved. [20:48] Sending in new inventory to replace the problem products. [21:34] The lesson Scott learned: go with a 3rd party inspection service. [22:53] Another option Scott had and why he didn’t go that route. [24:30] Why you need to create your product listing with variations, every time. [26:30] The benefits of building an external channel for your products.

http://www.Periscope.tv - and find Scott @ScottVoelker www.TheAmazingSeller.com/161 - episode about “What Makes a Great Product” www.TheAmazingSeller.com/56 - another episode on product selection www.CPAOnFire.com - Scott’s tax accountant www.TopWinInspection.com - one inspection service option. ww.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com - Scott’s free course!