Warning: Amazon’s Banned Wording When Emailing Customers

As an Amazon shopper, you may occasionally receive an email from a third-party seller. That’s not a problem, and those emails are allowed in certain situations we’re going to talk about.

But There’s a Big Mistake Amazon Sellers Are Making

Even legitimate uses of the Amazon Buyer-Seller Messaging system can get your business in trouble, and it has to do with the wording sellers use.

First Off: Appropriate Use of Amazon’s Messaging Service

If a customer places an order for a product you sell, you can email them about the order or respond to their customer service inquiries. From Amazon’s Policy Page:

In general, you may contact buyers only to complete orders or to respond to customer service inquiries. You may not contact buyers for marketing or promotional purposes (including via email, physical mail, telephone, or otherwise).

Inappropriate Uses of the Amazon Messaging System

Again, from Amazon’s Policy Page:

If you send a permitted email to an Amazon customer, your email may not include any of the following:

Links to any websites Links to Amazon detail pages or storefronts Seller logos if they contain or display a link to the seller’s website Any marketing message or promotion Any promotions for additional products or referrals to third-party products or promotions

I order items from Amazon, and I cringe when I receive messages from third-party sellers who are using coupons to try to lure me back to Amazon to buy their products, or they simply keep emailing even though the order is now complete.

This is a no-no, and they’re just waiting to get investigated and potentially banned from selling on Amazon.
Just a note: Amazon can update these policies any time it wants, so it’s good to check in every once in a while.

So What’s the Wording Problem for Legitimate Emails?

The folks at eGrowth Partners have recently written about sellers who are trying to manipulate the Amazon messaging system to gain more reviews from Amazon customers. When will the madness stop, people?

Trying to manipulate the system may give a short-term burst, but it will also get you banned from Amazon. How’s that for long-term thinking?

Some sellers may not know that they’re skating the line or have crossed it.

That won’t be you. Head on over to read the article about sending messages through Amazon for reviews.