Amazon Suppressed Listings: How to Resolve Them
Uploading a listing on Amazon is simple. In fact, the marketplace makes it so easy that thousands of products are added to their catalog every day.
However, simply uploading your product isn’t enough. You need to continuously monitor it to ensure that it complies with the frequently changing guidelines. Failing to do so can lead to your listing being suppressed or your entire account being suspended. If this happens, customers will not be able to view your product even though you have it in stock.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to fix this and avoid any further issues in the future.
Select the plan that best suits your needs and begin your journey today.
What Are Amazon Suppressed Listings?
A suppressed or deactivated listing refers to a product listing that exists in Amazon’s catalog and a seller’s account but is not visible in search results and therefore cannot be viewed by the public. This happens when certain aspects of the listing don’t meet specific guidelines.
These listings can be restored once the issues are resolved. This might involve fixing the problematic elements or creating a new listing altogether.
You can check if any of your listings are suppressed in Seller Central. Navigate to the Inventory tab and select Manage Inventory. If you see a link for suppressed listings at the top, clicking on it will display the flagged items.
What Causes Suppressed Listings on Amazon?
There are multiple reasons why Amazon might suppress your listings. However, the main issues typically include:
1) Missing or Inaccurate Product Information
Amazon places great importance on providing complete and accurate product information to customers. Shoppers should have all the relevant details at their fingertips to make informed purchasing decisions.
If key data in your product detail page, such as product title, brand name, and product description are absent or inaccurate, your listing might be suppressed until the issues are rectified.
2) Subpar Product Images
High-quality product images are crucial to provide an optimal shopping experience to customers. If your images are of low quality, fail to depict your product clearly, or violate any of Amazon’s image guidelines, your listing may be suppressed.
3) Violation of Amazon’s Policies
Amazon’s policies are designed to ensure a fair, secure, and reliable marketplace. Any violations, such as selling prohibited or restricted items, might lead to suppressed listings or even account suspension.
4) Incorrect Product Categorization
If you list your product in the wrong category, customers will become confused and won’t be able to find what they’re looking for. This can lead to your Amazon listing being suppressed.
I mean, can you imagine finding cat food in product searches when you’re looking for exercise equipment? It’s inconvenient and defeats the purpose of Amazon’s reputation for quick online searches.
5) You’ve Exceeded the Product Title Length Limit
Amazon’s guidelines require that all product titles should not exceed 200 characters. An excessively long title can overwhelm and confuse potential customers. If your title exceeds this limit, your listing may be suppressed until the required changes are made.
6) Existence of Duplicate Listings
Amazon likes uniqueness and doesn’t like redundancy. If your product already has an identical listing, it’s considered a duplicate. In such cases, your listing will be suppressed.
7) Other Miscellaneous Factors
Your listings may also be suppressed due to the following reasons:
– There have been safety complaints about your product.
– Your product is expired or you may be trying to sell a used item as new.
– Amazon has reasons to believe that you’re not the rightful owner of the product.
– Your listing includes prohibited or restricted words.
How Can You Find Out If Amazon Has Suppressed Your Listing?
The platform typically doesn’t directly alert sellers about suppressed listings, which means you might not immediately realize that your product has been suppressed. However, there are ways to check if your listing has been suppressed:
1) Keep Checking Regularly
You can manually check if any of your listings have been suppressed by looking at the ‘Manage Inventory’ page on your Amazon Seller account. Look for any listings marked as ‘suppressed’.
This method might take some time, especially if you have an extensive product catalog.
2) Use Notification Tools
To make things easier and quicker, you can also use alert tools. These tools will send you an email or a notification if they spot a suppressed listing. This way, you can quickly step in and fix the problem.
How to Fix Suppressed Listings
Now that you know why Amazon might suppress your listing, here’s a step-by-step process on how you can resolve this issue and get your listing back up:
Method 1:
Log into your Amazon Seller Central Account, click the Inventory tab, and select Manage Inventory.
At the top section, under the Listing Tool menu bar, go to the Search Suppressed and Inactive Listing.
On the Fix Your Products page, the left panel will show all your listings that have been suppressed along with reasons why it happened.
If you already know which listings are suppressed, you can manually enter your ASIN in the search box to find reasons why it happened.
Once you identify the reason for suppression, go to your Listing Quality Dashboard under listing tools. Go to Resolve Search Suppressions or manually enter the ASIN of the suppressed listing you want to fix.
Fill out the incomplete or incorrect fields as prompted by the system, then hit Save and Close. Give the system 15 minutes to implement your changes.
Method 2:
If your product is still suppressed even after providing the missing information on the Listing Quality Dashboard page, you can try resolving the issue by creating a category-specific inventory file. This file should include all the details about the product, including the previously missing information that caused the suppression.
To create and upload this file, follow the steps below:
1) Log into your Amazon Seller Central Account and go to the Reports tab. Select Inventory Reports.
2) On the next page, choose Listing Quality and Suppressed Listing Report from the Select Report Type drop-down menu provided.
3) Select your Report Format as “Excel”.
4) Select the Lookback Date as required.
5) Choose the date after which listings were created from the dropdown menu in the Listings Created After section.
6) Select the Status Filter from the dropdown menu. The options include “Active”, “Inactive”, “Incomplete”, or “Inactive (Out of Stock)”.
7) You can now click the Request Report button.
8) Your report will appear in the table below with a “Pending” status.
9) Once it is ready to be downloaded, the status will change to “Ready” and you will see the “Download” link has become live.
10) Click on this Download link and download your report to your computer as needed.
11) Open the report and update any corrected values under the Enhancement Opportunities tab. Check accepted values in the Data Definition tab. To find suppressed listings, filter the column Alert Name as “Suppressed”.
12) Save the report.
13) Go to Inventory, and then Add Products via Upload.
14) Click the Check and Upload your Inventory File tab. Select your file type as “listing quality and suppressed listing” file.
15) Click on Choose File. Browse your saved Listing quality and suppressed listing report and upload it.
16) While the file is uploading, check the Manage Inventory page to see if the changes are effective.
17) If your listing is still suppressed, contact Amazon Support for further help. If Amazon indicates that a brand-registered seller or Amazon itself is responsible for the suppression, advise them to contact their internal team or escalate the issue to their leadership team.
18) Once you’ve opened a case, wait for updates instead of requesting daily follow-ups. This helps ensure that the case is handled by the appropriate team and not resolved prematurely.
How to Prevent Suppressed Listings
Making sure your product listings meet Amazon’s standards right from the beginning is crucial to avoiding suppressed listings. Here are some simple best practices to keep you ahead of the game:
1) Include all Essential Product Details
When creating or updating a listing, make sure you fill in all the required fields and provide complete information. This means having a product title between 150-200 characters, a detailed product description, and 5 bullet points highlighting key features. It’s important to be as accurate as possible and include all the information a customer would need to make a purchase.
Also, make sure to avoid any prohibited or restricted keywords. A quick Google search will give you a list of these words.
2) Improve the Quality of Images
High-quality, clear, and accurate product images can make or break a sale. Make sure you upload valid product images that meet Amazon’s image guidelines – images should be at least 1000 pixels in either width or height, the product should fill 85% or more of the image, and the main image should be on a white background. Do not use any promotional text or logos that are not part of the product.
Also, make sure that all your images are original and are not stock images that you found on the internet.
3) Properly Categorize Your Product
Make sure your product is listed in the right category so that customers can easily find it. If you’re not sure about the correct category, you can use Amazon’s Product Classifier or even contact Amazon Seller Support for help if you can’t figure out how to use the tool.
4) Follow Amazon’s Policies
Lastly, familiarize yourself with Amazon’s policies and make sure your listings comply. Avoid including misleading information, listing products that you’re not the rightful owner of, selling expired products, etc.
FAQs
How long does it take to fix a suppressed listing?
It varies. Simple fixes can take a few minutes to update, but complex issues might need more time, especially if Amazon’s support is involved.
Will my sales be affected by suppressed listings?
Yes, since customers can’t see suppress listings, it can impact your sales until the issue is resolved.
How often should I check for suppressed listings?
Regular checks are key. Setting a weekly reminder to review your inventory can help catch issues early.
Summary
Having your product listings suppressed on Amazon can be a challenging situation, but it can be solved. In fact, dealing with this situation can be an opportunity for you to improve your service and strengthen your relationship with customers. So, don’t let a suppressed listing get you down – see it as a chance to improve your listings and stand out in the marketplace.
Looking for expert assistance in managing your Amazon seller account? Enso Brands offers a comprehensive range of one-stop Amazon services tailored to optimize your performance and maximize your potential on the platform. Contact us today and discover how we can help your business thrive on Amazon!
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