Got banned from Amazon?

i was a seller on amazon. i went to check my orders, when i had a email saying my account was suspended. they said it was linked to another account that was suspended. i do not have nor have i had a account that has been suspended.

i called customer service. they said to email the performance team. i did they responded saying if i emailed them again they would not reply. so i called the corporate office only to be connected to a answering machine. left message but never got a reply. so i wrote 3 letters to the corporate office. and again no reply. i had a good seller rating.

so i tried before posting here. as you can see amazon does not seam to care about there sellers or buyers. and these are the ones who put them where they are at. without them then they would be no amazon.

they would not even let me download my invetory list.

seams no one checks behind there emploies as if they did. then they would answer your emails instead of just deleating them, or just erase your message off the answering machine. maybe they just connect you to one that does not even record your message you just think it doesbruce

The purpose of this thread is to keep all past and present Amazon Customers informed of recent changes within Amazon. This thread will also serve as a place for those who have been blacklisted to update and support each other. It is intended for anyone who has found this forum by search engine or other means. This thread is one of the top 10 search returns by Google.

Those who were affected by the blacklisting at first thought they had received a spam or phishing email. However, once other people confirmed that they had also received the same discourteous email and were no longer able to login to their Amazon accounts, all were certain that this blacklisting was for real.

Mass Closing Of Amazon Accounts By Amazon
http://forums.slickdeals.net/show...910&page=1

The Consumerist Reports The Blacklisting:
Amazon Closes Accounts En Masse
http://consumerist.com/5044959/am...s-en-masse

The Consumerist Reports Amazon Termination Of The Post-Order Price Guarantee
http://consumerist.com/5044911/am...-guarantee

The Blacklisting Has Been Covered On TV :
http://www.ketv.com/video/17405717/index.html

Once Blacklisted, The Former Account Holder Is Affected In The Following Ways:

He/she is unable to:
(1) Place Orders
(2) Print receipts
(3) View Past Orders
(4) Track packages
(5) Access current subscriptions
(6) Access items that were saved in account for later viewing.
(7) View personalized recommendations

In addition, Amazon has refuses to issue refunds on any Blacklisted Accounts for:
(8) Gift cards.
(9) The time left on Amazon Prime membership.

The blacklisted can no longer:
(10) Download books exclusive to Amazon for their Amazon exclusive Kindle.
(11) Access, view, or download any digital content found in their Digital Media Library even though the member has already paid for said content.
(12) Use Amazon Visa rewards.

And lasty, any pre-orders or orders placed while the account was being closed were cancelled.

To make matters worse, any subsequent accounts created by a blacklisted member will also be instantly banned. It is not known how Amazon links accounts to the blacklisted. It is speculated that Amazon links banned accounts by billing address. In addition, if a blacklisted member were able to place a order with Amazon, Amazon will not accept the return of that order. In other words, a blacklisting is lifelong and permanent. The following quote is taken from the email that Amazon sent to its members.

Quote : If you were to open a new account, the same will result and it will also be closed. In the event that you attempt to do so, we will not accept the return of any additional orders, nor will we issue further refunds in connection with any future orders. We appreciate your cooperation in refraining from using our web site.

Amazon refuses to reinstate most accounts. If a member sends an email to the account appeals email address, Amazon will reply with the following generic reply.http://forums.slickdeals.net/show...tcount=455. In rare circumstances, Amazon can reopen a closed account but they threaten to re-close the account if any additional "concession requests" are made.

[b] Reaction To The Blacklisting:
The majority of customers - blacklisted and not blacklisted - believe Amazon did not handle this matter properly. Amazon has failed to define what is and is not considered "an extraordinary number of incidents." Amazon has also failed to define what is and is not a "concession incident." Customers speculate that a concession incident could by any one or more of the following: (1) Coupons, (2) full returns, (3) partial returns, (4) full refunds, (5) partial refunds, (6) A to Z claims, (7) post order price Guarantees, (8) Visa Rewards, (9) refusing shipments, (10) returning defective items, (11) cancelling orders, and so on.

A concession incident is essentially an action that causes Amazon to make less than the maximum amount of profit per transaction.

Most people also agree that Amazon should have defined what is and is not considered "an extraordinary number of incidents." But most importantly, Amazon should have sent an email to the members in question stating that their account would be closed if they continued to request too many "concessions."

The former customers are very much upset with Amazon because Amazon did not provide any notification of any kind that their accounts were in poor standing according to Amazon's unpublished internal policies. Amazon's former customers are also upset that Amazon is refusing to allow them to continue to shop at their webstore even if they were to no longer request any concessions.

Many customers believe that this unexpected blacklisting is an attempt by Amazon to implement stricter return policies. However, Amazon does not want to make any official changes to their terms of service regarding return policies. Amazon is trying to perpetuate the illusion that "returns are easy" at Amazon.

Amazon's Discourteous Email Explained In Terms Of Psychology

Quote : Amazon’s secretive internal "concession incident" policy is not explicitly stated in their terms of service. This allows Amazon to perpetuate the view that concession incidents are not tabulated and will not be used against the customer. This is misleading. Amazon's unanticipated blacklisting has brought about their desired result. The rates of requested concession incidents have probably lowered across all of Amazon’s customer databases thanks to social forums like this one. The word has gotten out. We are the unofficial spokespersons for Amazon's new policy. Amazon is broadcasting its new policies by proxy, i.e., through us. Amazon orchestrated a psychological attack against a minority of its customers. This unexpected blacklisting has had a chilling effect. Current customers can't determine if another blacklisting will ever occur. Thus, many will do whatever it takes to not upset the powerful and unforgiving Amazon. When you're blacklisted from Amazon, you're blacklisted from Amazon Marketplace. Not being allowed to shop at Amazon Marketplace has been a big loss and disappointment for me.

The Lessons Learned From This Unexpected Blacklisting:

All Amazon customers must be well aware of the terms of service they agree to whenever they use any Amazon service. Amazon customers must be aware the submitting an above average number of concession requests will result in their permanent closure of their account.

For instance, in regards to the Kindle.
Amazon can:
(1) "Discontinue wireless connectivity at any time"
(2) "Reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the [Kindle] Service at any time" while not being held "liable to you, [the Kindle owner] should it [Amazon] exercise such right."
This policy can be viewed by clicking on the following link. Press control F on your keyboard to find the quoted text more quickly.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/cus...=200144530

Unbox Content:
BoingBoing describes the contract as the worst they have ever seen. There are simply too many things wrong with the contract to mention here. Click on the link the follows to read a point by point analysis of the terms you agree to follow once you purchase Unbox content.

Digital Media Library:
Whenever you purchase digital items through Amazon, you are not purchasing the content itself. You are only paying for access to view the content itself. Becuase Amazon cancels accounts and has the tendency to not reopen them, everyone should purchase access to Amazon's digital content with great caution.

Coverage on other forums and websites:

http://www.complaintsboard.com/by...-a345.html
http://www.precomania.com/rating_....php/r=180
http://www.epinions.com/content_442900319876
http://www.beloev.net/amazon.html
http://www.kalyansuman.com/labels...uster.html
http://www.ripoffreport.com/repor...368329.htm
http://www.associatedcontent.com/...about.html
http://cybercjh.com/blog/2008/09/...amazoncom/
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/off-topic/857006
http://www.dealtime.com/xMR-Amazo...2900319876
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/h...g-way.html
http://forums.anandtech.com/messa...TARTPAGE=1
http://forums.macrumors.com/showt...?p=6161039
http://comicsworthreading.com/200...-changing/
http://www.pcworld.com/shopping/m...views.html
http://cheatingnetwork.net/forums...losed.html
http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geu8j...amazoncom/
http://senninweblog.blog124.fc2.c...try-3.html
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showt...st12640272
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthre...565&page=2
http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cac...cd=5&gl=us

It has even been discussed on Amazon's own Gold Box forum. The blacklisting of its own customers made quite a stir at the Amazon forums but Amazon has since removed most of the threads that pertain to the blacklisting. Some threads remain however.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd...RRIIKOKVDH
http://www.amazon.com/gp/forum/cd...MZ1V6FKE86


Source: http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=908910&highlight=amazon

I just got an email from amazon.com telling me that I am no longer welcome to use their site and that my account has been closed with immediate effect. The reason, they say, is that I've had too many problems with shipments. I confess that over the past few years I've returned far too many apple computers than is normal, but most of the time I've first been to Apple who've told me that I can either have it fixed or return it to amazon and recommended the latter.

I've also bought tons and tons of expensive stuff from them over the years without any issue at all, including cameras, lenses, telephones, computers and books.

I'm really really outraged because I also have lots of amazon credit that I got by using my amazon.com credit card AND all my receipts are on my account so that I have no way of proving purchases anymore. I can't even log on!

Needed to vent. I really can't believe that they would penalise me for using their return policy. If they can't handle that people return defective products, they shouldn't have that policy. A lot of stores don't.

Any advice? I don't want to lose my receipts because it'll be hard to get warranty service if I need it. And, of course, I don't want to lose my credit that I have accumulated through my amazon card.

Unbelievable.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=552203

Can amazon hold my money for 90 days?
Last month I received a notice form Amazon stating I would receive payment to my checking account in 5 days. The next day I received an e-mail saying they were holding my money pending an investigation. They said I had done nothing wrong and it was standard procedure. They went on to say I should keep selling and filling orders. Which wasn't easy some of these items were very costly to ship.

A week later they e-mailed and said my account was closed and I would have access to my funds in 30 days. Thirty days have pasted and I still can't get to my money.

Today i received the following e-mail from them:

"Hello from Amazon.

We are writing to let you know that we have blocked your Amazon selling account. You may no longer sell on our site.

We took this action because it has come to our attention that an excessive portion of your recent orders have been cancelled.

If you still have items to ship, please take appropriate steps to resolve your pending sales. Your Seller Account will remain accessible and you are encouraged to refund or ship pending orders.

Your funds are being reserved in your Amazon account for 90 days from the date of your final sale. After 90 days, the funds will be disbursed minus any A-to-Z Guarantee claims or charge-backs. If you have further questions about your funds please write to payments-funds at amazon

While we appreciate your interest, the blocking of your account is a permanent action. Any subsequent accounts will be blocked as well. Thank you for your understanding with our decision.

Regards,
Seller Performance Team
Amazon"

Do they have the right to hold my money this long? Even after sending a confirmation that it would reach my account before that date? I have no customer complaints filed against me and all orders have been filled. They are simply canceling me due to orders I choose to cancel instead of filling due to what I felt was faulty product. I decided to stop selling rather then get customer complaints.

What's the verdict can they legal keep my money?

http://www.thelaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25273

We opened a Merchant Selling Account with amazon.com in February 2008. Over the two months we sold above 40 products through their website, however, we never received payments for those. In April 2008 amazon.com stopped our activity, in May 2008 we received an email stating out account was suspended. When we wanted to know more and resolve the problem, amazon.com ignored our effort and simply stated their decision is final and they will not even consider discussing it. Our money, of course, never made it to our account. When we reviewed our account statement we noticed amazon.com charged us percentage for each sale on their website, they automatically took the money from our account. We never got paid, we never got money for our products that got sold on amazon.com!!!

We tried calling amazon.com to find out what is happening only to find out the department taking care of such issues does not have a phone line, our only option is to email them and wait. So we emailed them. After a while when we’ve got no response, we tried emailing them again, still, no response.

Seems like amazon.com only knows how to take money away, once they are the ones to pay, there is no one to take care of it, no one to pay, no one to take care of the merchant!

source: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/amazoncom-c72963.html

Buyers leave feed back who can not clearly read the comments that I leave under the item I am selling for an example they say they are missing the book when I told them I only have the tape and I am missing book then they make me look bad amazon.com refuse to remove this feedback so I look like a bad seller amazon.com is nothing but a scamming sight you will get screwed every time by selling here any buyer can lie and say anything about you and clearly get away from it Amazon had this to say when I called them (we do not give a f*** about who you can you can call the BBB.org all you want to ) as you can see they do not care about you as long as you pay them the seller fees and f*** the seller like always.

I have joined the amazon seller account membership on March 2008. Two buyers had bought my items on this website on March and April 2008 but amazon.com has never transfer or released my funds to my bank account. They held my funds for 14 days because they wanted to check my performance first for A-to-z Guarantee claims from the buyer. After waiting for 14 days period, they did not transfer and release my funds yet. So, I emailed and complained to amazon.com why they did not release my money after 14 days. They replied my emails and told me that they need to hold my funds again until 45 days period. Well, I wasn't agree with this because they didn't give me a good reason why they still hold my funds such as long as like that.

One day later after I complained them, they blocked and suspended my seller account without the reason. I emailed and asked them why. They have never told me why they blocked and terminated my seller account. I can not sell my items again at this website now. Well, this is not fair! I asked them to transfer and release my funds now! But they never did it!
Now, they sent me email again and held my funds for 90 days!

Well, this is not right! They stole and ripped off my funds now! They told me that they will transfer and release my funds for 14 days, then 45 days and 90 days now! Then what after 90 days? I believe that they are racist and discriminated with me!
I hope I will get a justice against Amazon.com for this matter.

source: http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/amazoncom-c59040.html

I sold on Amazon.com for over a year. I had 93-100% feedback until Christmas when Doba, a drop shipper, sent out shoddy guitars. My feedback went to 73% even though I worked day and night to satisfy all these complaints with refunds or replacements. I got my feedback back up to 93% which is no easy task as I had to send out 2nd and 3rd requests to get customers to leave it, then it is only 1/4 who do. Amazon knows and admits this but yet still has such rigid rules of 95% feedback to continue selling. They closed my account and removed my over 1000 products listed and now say I have to wait 3 months to receive any of the $3000 owed to me for sales. I have purchased the products and shipped all orders so I am out the money but they are keeping my money!!! They are crooks!!