Amazon Account Health & Suspension Prevention for European Wholesale Sellers
There's a special kind of panic that hits when you open Seller Central and see an "Account Under Review" notification. Your stomach drops. Your revenue stream is frozen. And you have no idea when (or if) it's coming back.
Account suspensions are the single biggest fear for Amazon sellers, and wholesale sellers are more vulnerable than most people realize. You're selling other people's brands, which means you're one IP complaint away from an account health crisis — even when you've done nothing wrong.
Here's how to keep your account healthy, handle the threats unique to wholesale, and what to do if things go sideways.
The Account Health Metrics That Matter
Amazon tracks several performance metrics, and each has a threshold you absolutely cannot cross:
Order Defect Rate (ODR): Must stay under 1%. This includes negative feedback, A-to-Z guarantee claims, and credit card chargebacks. ODR is the most critical metric — crossing 1% can trigger immediate suspension. For FBA sellers, this is mostly about product quality and listing accuracy. If customers receive what they expected, your ODR stays low.
Late Shipment Rate: Must stay under 4%. Only applies to merchant-fulfilled orders. If you're 100% FBA (which most wholesale sellers are), this metric is handled by Amazon and not your concern.
Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate: Must stay under 2.5%. Again, mainly relevant for merchant-fulfilled orders. FBA sellers rarely have issues here.
Valid Tracking Rate: Must exceed 95%. FBA handles this automatically.
Invoice Defect Rate (business customers): Must stay under 5%. If you sell to Amazon Business customers in Europe, you need to provide VAT invoices. Use Amazon's automated invoicing or set up your own system.
If you're using FBA, your main vulnerability is the Order Defect Rate. Keep it under 1% and you're fine on the performance metrics side. The real threats for wholesale sellers come from elsewhere.
Why Wholesale Sellers Are Vulnerable
Private label sellers create their own listings and own the brand. Nobody files IP complaints against them because they are the brand. Wholesale sellers share listings with other resellers — including, sometimes, the brand owner themselves.
This creates three specific vulnerabilities:
IP complaints from brand owners. A brand registers on Amazon Brand Registry, sees third-party sellers on their listings, and files intellectual property complaints to remove them. Even if you bought the products from an authorized distributor, the brand might decide they don't want you on their Amazon listing. Amazon's default response is to side with the rights holder and deactivate your listing. Enough complaints and your entire account is at risk.
Inauthentic item complaints. A customer receives your product, thinks it looks "different" from what they expected (maybe different packaging, a regional variant, or they're just wrong), and reports it as potentially counterfeit. Amazon treats these seriously. One complaint triggers a review. Multiple complaints can lead to listing removal or account investigation.
Used sold as new complaints. If a product arrives with damaged packaging, a missing seal, or any sign it's not "new" condition, customers report it. Even if the product is brand new from your distributor, damaged packaging during transit triggers these complaints. They count against your account health.
Prevention: What to Do Before Problems Happen
Keep invoices for everything. This is the single most important thing you can do. For every product you sell, have a clear commercial invoice from your supplier that shows: your business name, the supplier's business name, the product EAN/UPC/ASIN, quantity, price, and date. If Amazon asks you to prove authenticity, this invoice is your defense. Keep invoices for at least 18 months after the last sale of that product.
Research brands before buying. Before ordering inventory for a new brand, search Amazon seller forums for "[brand name] IP complaint." If multiple sellers report problems with that brand, skip it. Some brands are notoriously aggressive about removing third-party sellers. Others are welcoming. Know the difference before your money is committed.
Get authorization letters when possible. When working with distributors, ask if they can provide a letter of authorization from the brand confirming you have the right to resell their products on Amazon. Not all suppliers will provide this, but it's gold for defending against IP complaints.
Avoid brands with very few Amazon sellers. If a listing has only 1-2 sellers and one of them is the brand itself, there's a high chance they're actively gatekeeping that listing. Adding yourself as the third seller might trigger an IP complaint within days.
Inspect products before sending to FBA. Damaged packaging, missing labels, products that don't match the listing exactly — these trigger customer complaints. Inspect everything. If packaging is damaged, either don't send it or re-package it properly.
Monitor your account health dashboard daily. Don't wait for a notification email. Check your Account Health page in Seller Central every day. Catching a complaint early gives you time to respond before it escalates.
Handling IP Complaints
When you receive an IP complaint, you typically get a notification in Seller Central with the ASIN, the type of complaint (trademark, copyright, patent, or counterfeit), and sometimes the rights holder's contact information.
Here's what to do:
Step 1: Stop selling that product immediately. Remove any remaining inventory from FBA or at least deactivate the listing. Continuing to sell a product with an active IP complaint makes things worse.
Step 2: Contact the rights holder directly. Many IP complaints come from law firms hired by brands. Contact them, explain that you're a legitimate wholesale seller, provide your supplier invoice and authorization letter (if you have one), and ask them to retract the complaint. Many brands will retract if you can prove legitimate sourcing. Some won't, and that's their right.
Step 3: Submit an appeal to Amazon. Through the Account Health dashboard, submit a Plan of Action (POA) that includes: what happened (acknowledge the complaint), what caused it (explain your sourcing), what you've done to fix it (invoice copies, agreement not to sell that brand), and what you'll do to prevent it in the future (enhanced supplier vetting process). Be specific, factual, and concise. Amazon reviews hundreds of appeals daily — they don't read novels.
Step 4: Learn and adapt. Mark that brand as "do not sell" in your supplier tracking spreadsheet. One IP complaint is a learning experience. The same complaint from a different brand means your vetting process needs work.
The Suspension Triggers Nobody Talks About
Beyond obvious performance issues, here are suspension triggers that catch wholesale sellers off guard:
Linked accounts. Amazon allows one seller account per person/business entity. If you have two accounts (even accidentally — maybe an old one you forgot about), Amazon can suspend both. This also applies to family members operating accounts from the same address or network.
Selling products that violate product safety regulations. With GPSR now enforced in the EU, selling products without proper compliance documentation (CE marking, EU Responsible Person info) can lead to listing deactivation and account health warnings. See our article on GPSR compliance for details.
Rapid listing creation. Creating hundreds of listings in a short period can flag your account for review, especially if many of those listings have no sales history. Amazon's systems sometimes interpret this as potential listing abuse.
Sudden sales spikes. A legitimate promotion that triples your daily sales can trigger Amazon's fraud detection. If this happens, have your invoices ready to prove inventory legitimacy.
What to Do If You're Suspended
If the worst happens:
Don't panic and submit a hasty appeal. You typically get one chance to make a good impression. A rushed, emotional, or generic appeal will be rejected, and subsequent appeals are harder to get through.
Read the suspension notice carefully. Amazon usually tells you why you were suspended. The reason determines your appeal strategy. IP complaints, performance issues, and policy violations all require different approaches.
Write a specific Plan of Action. Generic POAs ("I promise to do better") get rejected instantly. Amazon wants: root cause analysis (what specific action/product/complaint triggered this), immediate corrective steps (what you've already done), and preventive measures (systemic changes to prevent recurrence). Include evidence: invoices, authorization letters, screenshots of process changes.
Consider professional help for complex cases. Amazon appeal services (like Thompson & Holt, Riverbend Consulting, or eGrowth Partners) cost €500-2,000+ but have experience with Amazon's review process. For a suspension that threatens a business doing €10,000+/month in revenue, the cost is worth it. For smaller accounts, try the appeal yourself first.
Be patient. Amazon's review process can take 1-4 weeks. Sending multiple follow-up emails doesn't speed things up and can delay your case. Submit your appeal, wait 5-7 business days, and only follow up if you haven't heard back.
The Inauthentic Item Complaint Playbook
Inauthentic item complaints deserve special attention because they're the most common account health threat for wholesale sellers, and they often come from customers, not brands.
A customer orders your product, doesn't like the packaging (maybe a regional variant), and reports it as "possibly counterfeit." Or they compare it to a product they bought from a different seller with different packaging and assume yours is fake. Neither scenario means your product is actually counterfeit — but Amazon treats the complaint seriously regardless.
Your defense: the commercial invoice from your supplier, showing the exact product (by EAN/ASIN), purchased in legitimate wholesale quantities, from an authorized source. Upload this through the Account Health appeal process with a brief explanation: "Product was sourced from [Supplier Name], an authorized distributor. Invoice attached shows [quantity] units of [product] purchased on [date]."
Most inauthentic item complaints are resolved within 3-7 days if you provide clear documentation. The sellers who get in trouble are those who can't produce invoices — either because they bought from questionable sources or because they didn't keep proper records.
Proactive Account Health Monitoring
Don't wait for Amazon to flag problems. Set up a weekly 10-minute routine:
Check your Account Health dashboard for any new warnings or policy violations. Review your Voice of the Customer page — this shows product-specific feedback that might indicate quality issues before they become defect claims. Scan your buyer messages for any complaints about product authenticity or condition. Check your return reports for patterns — if one product is getting returned frequently with "not as described," investigate before Amazon investigates for you.
Catching issues early — when they're a single complaint, not a pattern — gives you time to fix problems before they trigger account-level consequences. Pull a problematic product from sale, investigate the root cause, and address it. That proactive approach is what keeps accounts healthy long-term.
Building a Suspension-Proof Wholesale Business
The sellers who never get suspended (or recover quickly when they do) share these habits:
They keep meticulous records of every purchase, invoice, and supplier communication. They research brands before selling them, not after receiving a complaint. They maintain relationships with fewer, more reliable suppliers rather than buying from dozens of unknown sources. They monitor account health metrics daily, not weekly. They don't chase every profitable product — they skip brands with red flags, even when the margins look good.
A 30% ROI product that gets you an IP complaint is worth negative money. A 20% ROI product from a brand that welcomes wholesale sellers is worth its weight in gold. Protect your account first, optimize margins second.
Frequently Asked Questions
What causes Amazon account suspension in Europe?
The main causes are: Order Defect Rate above 1%, intellectual property (IP) complaints from brand owners, selling counterfeit or inauthentic products, policy violations (safety claims, prohibited items), late shipment rate above 4%, and document verification failures. For wholesale sellers, IP complaints are the number one risk.
How do I avoid intellectual property complaints as a wholesale seller?
Always buy from authorized distributors and keep invoices proving authenticity. Before listing a product, check if the brand has a history of filing IP complaints against third-party sellers. Avoid brands enrolled in Amazon's Brand Registry that actively gatekeep their listings. Use tools like IP Alert or Seller Assistant to screen products before purchasing.
What Account Health Rating score do I need to stay safe on Amazon?
Your Account Health Rating (AHR) should stay above 200 (green zone). Between 100-199 is the "at risk" zone — Amazon may contact you for improvements. Below 100 triggers deactivation risk. Each policy violation deducts points, and sustained good performance earns points back over time.
How do I appeal an Amazon account suspension?
Submit a Plan of Action (POA) through Seller Central that includes: root cause analysis (what went wrong), corrective actions (what you did to fix it), and preventive measures (how you will prevent recurrence). Be specific, provide documentation (invoices, supplier authorization letters), and avoid generic templates. Response time is typically 2-7 business days.
What is the difference between a warning and account deactivation?
A warning (policy notification) is a heads-up about a potential issue — no immediate impact on your selling privileges. A listing deactivation removes specific products. Account deactivation suspends your entire selling ability. EU sellers have 30 days to appeal a deactivation (better than the US), and Amazon must provide a clear reason under EU regulations.
Can I get suspended for selling on restricted listings?
Yes. Listing on restricted products or in gated categories without approval can lead to listing removal and account health violations. For wholesale sellers, always verify that you are approved to sell a product before listing it. Even if you have invoices, selling on a gated listing without category approval triggers automatic enforcement.