To ensure timely shipments and prevent unnecessary penalties, Amazon is automatically suspending some of the Ukraine-based seller accounts.
In the past week, some Amazon sellers in Ukraine were told that their accounts were being automatically deactivated. The move was to “protect” the sellers’ businesses, the email said, and it encouraged the seller to “focus on your safety at this time” as the Russian invasion rages on in the country.
“Our records show that you or your business is based in an area affected by the developing situation in Eastern Europe,” the email, said. “Your well-being is important to us, and we encourage you to focus on your safety at this time. To protect your Amazon business, we proactively placed your seller account in the ‘inactive’ status.”
Amazon also included a link in the email to immediately restore the account for sellers willing to keep their businesses open.
The email was first shared in the ASGTG Facebook group for Amazon sellers.
Amazon’s spokesperson confirmed the change and called it a standard precautionary measure the company takes in times of unforeseen events, such as a natural disaster. They added that the email was not an automated message produced by a bot, but an intentional policy decision sent by Amazon’s seller-relations team.
The suspensions can help sellers prevent accruing unnecessary penalty fees or unfair suspensions for certain policy violations, like late shipments and stagnant inventory stored in Amazon warehouses, according to sellers. For example, sellers who have a late shipment rate of above 4% face account deactivations, according to company guidelines.
More broadly, it will help maintain quick shipments across Amazon, as shoppers will be unable to see products by sellers whose operations may be affected by the war in Ukraine.
“In essence sellers are not losing out. It’s extremely unlikely that they can operate their account and fulfill orders, so Amazon putting accounts in a dormant status protects against the normal penalties,” said Tom Baker, founder of Forde Baker, an agency that helps Amazon sellers.
In the email, Amazon also told the sellers that they could address certain ongoing account issues later, as long as they provide proper explanations.
“When you are able to return to business operations, if you are prompted to appeal, do let us know why you were unable to meet our policy requirements and we will ensure that you are not held accountable for conditions outside your control,” the email said.
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