I was shocked to see this. I have never, ever offered compensation for reviews in any way, shape or form. I do not use social media almost at all, much less for anything related to my business (100% FBA), and my last posted message on Facebook happened several years ago.
I have no idea how or why I was hit with this. A few hypotheses that come to mind:
-I’m unfortunately in the middle of a divorce, so not sure if a spiteful soon-to-be-ex-wife could have somehow orchestrated this
-One of my SP API automations (sales data, repricing, etc.) having caused this somehow (ran deep analyses for all repos and found no issues)
-Keepa or Jungle Scout suddenly having gone rogue (I only use these to perform market reserch and analyze competitors; never used them for feedback request)
-A competitor having purchased a product from us, planted some sort of incentivized review card, then returned it
-Another seller on a shared listing buying reviews, and Amazon linking it to me
-Just a false positive
I think #1 and #2 are very unlikely, and I’m inclined to believe the others are quite unlikely as well. I’ve been on hold to speak with an AHS specialist for over half an hour now (I used to be able to connect in just a few minutes). Hope they can provide some insight, because I’m completely in the dark here.
Wonderig if y’all have had to deal with this nonsense.
I’m going tag in @oneida_books in case he’s available because how do you prove that something didn’t happen?
My recommendation is two steps:
Prove that you know the Amazon-specific policies and procedures, by…
…proving that you have investigated everything that could have possibly gone wrong in regards to those policies, and then report the results by specifically referencing the Amazon policies and then what you found (including if you found that everything is in compliance).
Hopefully another Seller has some first-hand insight into this for you, very soon
ETA: @Gandalf I think you have a good start with your list of possibilities. And I’m sorry to hear about your divorce; even when it’s the right thing, it’s never an easy thing. Hopefully you get this violation sorted and then we will see more regularly again soon!
I do not, and never have. I also don’t have any non -feedback related contact with customers; I only respond to their inquiries when I get them, never suggesting any off-Amazon contact or encouraging reviews.
If your Ex knows about this policy then I am inclined to agree with your hypothesis.
My business partner’s ex through him jail for a fake abuse claim within 24 hours of being served. And she’s insane, and a convicted felon in her past that my partner didn’t know about…
Wishing you all the luck there is in sorting this out quickly.
There’s been an uptick - not a particularly sharp one, but noticeable nonetheless - in reports of such violations being issued over in the NSFE of late.
There appears to be an accumulating body of evidence to suggest that the BS-M (“Buyer-Seller Messaging Service/Messenger”)-policing Amabot(s), inarguably tweaked in response to the 16 CFR Part 465/16 CFR §465-based Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (link, Federal Register) having gone into effect, once the Final Rule was issued (081424), on 102124, have been poorly-parameterized - and thus might be false-flagging on words such as “instruction,” “review,” and the like being used in messages, no matter how innocuously they were used.
As such, I’d likely be inclined to review all such B-SM responses to see if I couldn’t ferret out what might be the source of such an unwarranted violation.
P.S. - I, too, wish you the best outcome on your personal travails.
Makes sense. I was finally able to speak with somebody at AHS that I had previously worked with; he directed me to send an appeal, which was rejected shortly after. I called back and he is now personally investigating the case. Hopefully this will be cleared out soon.
