Amazon listing removed for a claim: what to do next

1. Find the notice that names the problem

Amazon's help page Appeal an account deactivation or listing removal gives these steps for a removed listing:

1. In Seller Central, go to Account Health.
2. "First, check the Product Policy Compliance tab for the issue."
3. "If your listing doesn't appear there, check Manage Inventory for inactive listings."
4. "Review your Performance Notifications for removal details."

Copy the exact policy name and any quoted words from the notice. They tell you which rule to read next.

2. Work out which kind of claim it is

Most wording removals fall into one of these groups. Each links to a guide with Amazon's exact lines.

• Disease or health claims such as "cures", "treats" or "relieves joint pain". Amazon says it prohibits products that claim to "diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent diseases" without FDA approval. See Amazon prohibited product claims.
• Pesticide or antimicrobial wording such as "antibacterial", "kills 99.9% of germs", "prevents mold" or "repels insects". These can make Amazon treat the product as a pesticide. See Amazon pesticide and antimicrobial claims.
• Certification and approval wording such as "FDA approved" or "CE certified", and unsupported superlatives such as "best" or "guaranteed". Amazon's Misleading and prohibited claims page names both.
• A single restricted word or character in the title or bullets. See the Amazon prohibited words list.

3. Before you delete the word: is the claim true and needed?

Removing a word is the right fix only when the product does not need that claim. For pesticide claims, an Amazon staff member in Restricted Product Scenarios: Pesticides warns: "If you remove essential verbiage from the listing just to avoid obtaining the EPA registration, this will be seen as an attempt to circumvent the process, which can lead to further listing restrictions and account suspension."

So decide first: if the product really does what the claim says and that needs registration or approval, the path is the paperwork Amazon asks for. If the claim was marketing wording the product does not depend on, rewrite it as a plain, true description.

4. Check every text field, not just the title

Amazon's claims policy applies to "images, descriptions, packaging and marketing materials" (source). The staff pesticide example above was a pillow case flagged because the description and keywords mentioned "antimicrobial fabric that prevents the growth of bacteria, mold and mildew."

• Title, bullet points and product description
• Backend search terms (they are not shown to shoppers, but they are still listing text)
• A+ content and brand story text
• Image text, packaging and inserts (check these yourself; a text scan cannot read them)

5. Fix or appeal from the same page

Amazon's instruction is to "Follow the instructions within the page to submit your appeal or modify the details on your listing to comply with our selling policies", then "monitor your email for a decision from Amazon" (source).

Keep a short record of what you changed and why, with the policy name from the notice. If Amazon asks for more information, you will need it.

Short on time? The Claim Fix rewrites the risky claims in up to 5 listings within 48 hours, with the reason for each change. It does not file appeals.