“Product Authenticity” and “Product Condition” violations often leave many sellers unsure where to start when preparing an appeal because of the wide variety of violation types. This article mainly explains ASIN-level and account-level violations, shares important appeal tips, and answers common appeal questions to help you better avoid these violations, maintain your Account Health, and keep your business running for the long term!

Type 1
🔹 Definition: The product itself is a counterfeit product, but the product detail page contains misleading content.
🔹 Complaint example: On the product detail page, the seller describes the product as a generic product in the brand field, but enters a well-known brand in the manufacturer information field. After receiving the product, the buyer finds that it is not that brand.

Type 2
🔹Definition: Part of the product is not original or in its original packaging, causing the buyer to mistakenly believe they received a counterfeit product.
🔹 Example of complaint: The buyer received the item, discovered that it was not in the original packaging, and questioned the authenticity of the product.

Type 1: Defective
🔹Definition: The buyer reports that the entire product or part of the product does not work properly.
🔹Complaint example: The buyer said the product broke shortly after they received it, was very upset, and believed it was a low-quality product.

Type 2: Product expired
🔹 Definition: The customer reports that the product is nearing its expiration date or has expired.
🔹 Example complaint: The buyer received the product showing an expiration date of February, but it is already April.

Type 3: Used items sold as new
🔹 Definition: The product advertised on the product detail page is a new product. After receiving the product, the buyer finds signs of physical use, or the packaging has been opened or damaged.
🔹 Example of complaint: The product detail page says the item is new, but the buyer actually received an item with creases and signs of use, and believes it is not new.

Type 4: Wrong item sent
🔹 Definition: The item the buyer received does not match the item as advertised, which may include differences in color, size, and quantity.
🔹 Example of complaint: The buyer ordered a size L item, but received a size M item.

Type 5: Wrong version
🔹 Definition: The item the buyer received did not match the advertised version of the product.
🔹 Example complaint: The buyer received a product version that did not match the version described by the seller on their product detail page.

Type 6: Not as described
🔹 Definition: The item the buyer received did not match the description on the product detail page.
🔹 Example complaint: The image on the product detail page shows two products, but the customer only received one of them.

Type 7: Damage
🔹 Definition: The buyer claims that the item was damaged out of the box and is defective.
🔹 Example complaint: The buyer received an item that was crushed and said the item was poorly packaged.

ASIN-level product authenticity (counterfeit product) buyer complaints and product condition buyer complaints refer to violations marked on the “Amazon Seller Central > Performance > Account Health > Policy Compliance” page (as shown below). If these violations are not appealed within the specified time or if the appeal fails, they may affect your Account Health, so we recommend that you resolve them as soon as possible.

Appeal requirements for “admit the violation”
Sellers can resolve the violation by acknowledging it and checking the violation box on the Account Health page. Please note that once the seller has acknowledged the violation, they will no longer be able to sell the offending product. If you relist the offending product, the violation may escalate from the ASIN level to the account level, ultimately putting your account at risk of deactivation.

Appeal requirements for “not acknowledging the violation”
If the seller chooses not to “acknowledge the violation” and appeal, they will need to provide sufficient explanation that the violation did not exist or was mismarked as a violation. If the seller believes the complaint is unreasonable or that the violation they received was issued in error, they need to describe in their appeal how they discovered this issue and provide supporting evidence (for example, that the complaint was submitted by the seller’s competitor on Amazon). In addition, sellers must provide a valid VAT invoice for the violating ASIN from the past 365 days.

Appeal requirements for “admit the violation”

Pay attention!Once a seller admits the violation, they must first take corrective action before acknowledging and checking the violation. If they relist the product without taking corrective action, the ASIN-level violation may escalate to an account-level violation, which could ultimately put the account at risk of deactivation.

Appeal requirements for “not acknowledging the violation”
If the seller believes that the complaint about their product condition is unreasonable or that the violation they received is incorrect, they can choose “not acknowledging the violation” and appeal. Please select the appropriate checkbox based on the prompts in the dispute channel, and submit the corresponding evidence.

Note: The appeal paths above are for reference only. Your actual appeal may require you to complete one or more appeal requirements. We recommend that you first review the appeal requirements on the appeal page, and then take the corresponding appeal steps.

The following types of violations may result in account-level violations:

🔹After admitting an ASIN-level violation, you relisted the violating product without correcting the violation.
🔹Counterfeit complaint: A buyer complained about the authenticity of the product.
🔹Regular buyer complaints about product condition: buyers repeatedly complain about the product condition (for example, defects, expired products, etc.).
🔹 The wrong item was sent.
🔹Forged invoices: submitting forged or altered Value Added Tax invoices.

Depending on the type of violation, you can choose to “acknowledge the violation” or “not acknowledge the violation” and complete the corresponding appeal requirements. See the table below for details:

Note: The above list is for reference only. The actual appeal may require you to complete one or more appeal requirements. We recommend that you first check the appeal requirements on the appeal page before taking the corresponding appeal steps.

Appeal requirements for "Admit the violation"
Since the appeal methods and requirements have already been explained in detail above, next, we’ll provide corresponding appeal guidance for the appeal requirements of certain violation types.

🔹 Counterfeit Complaints: Sellers are required to provide a valid VAT invoice for the offending ASIN.
🔹 Common buyer complaints about product condition: Sellers need to identify the root cause of the complaint, such as misleading product detail pages, inadequate quality control, improper packaging, or poor inventory, and use this to analyze the issues with their account. Sellers must then make the correct selections based on the root cause of the complaint and submit an appeal in questionnaire form.
🔹 Wrong item: Sellers need to make the correct selections based on the root cause of the complaint and submit an appeal in questionnaire form.
🔹 Forged or altered invoices: Sellers must acknowledge and check the violation, and provide a valid, unaltered VAT invoice.

Appeal requirements for “not acknowledging the violation”
If a seller chooses “not acknowledging the violation” and submits an appeal, they must provide a sufficient explanation showing that the violation did not occur or was incorrectly flagged as a violation. If a seller believes that a complaint about their product’s condition or description is unreasonable, or that the violation they received was issued in error, they need to describe in the appeal how they discovered the issue and provide relevant evidence.

In addition, if the seller selects “not acknowledge the violation” for a counterfeit complaint/wrong item, they need to provide a valid VAT invoice for the violating ASIN from the past 365 days. You can view the page shown for this type of appeal in the image below.

When appealing a violation, Amazon may require sellers to provide VAT invoices for the violating ASIN. The specific requirements are as follows:
🔹 The invoice must reflect the sales volume of the violating ASIN over the past 365 days (counting back 365 days from the date the ASIN was flagged for a violation).
🔹 The invoice must show the supplier's contact information, including name, phone number, address, and web address.
🔹 The invoice must show the seller's information, including company name, phone number, company address, and email address, and this information must match the information in Amazon Seller Central.
🔹 The invoice must be authentic and unmodified. Sellers can hide pricing information, but the content of the file must be clearly visible.
🔹 The product description on the invoice (such as the ASIN number shown on the invoice) should be as consistent as possible with the information on the Amazon website;
🔹 The following formats are accepted: .pdf/.jpg/.png/.gif.

Here, based on Amazon VAT invoice requirements, we’ve summarized the common reasons VAT invoices are rejected for your reference:
🔹The quantity on the invoice does not match the quantity sold. For example: the seller sold 10 items, but the quantity on the invoice is only 5.
🔹The invoice is forged, and the verification result shows “No such invoice found.” Example: The invoice was not issued by the vendor.
🔹 The invoice has been voided.
🔹The invoice is not in the format of a Chinese VAT invoice.
🔹 The product name on the invoice does not match the product sold on the Amazon Marketplace. For example, the seller's flagged product is shoes, but the product on the invoice is clothing.
🔹 The supplier's information on the invoice is inconsistent with the products sold. For example, the name of the supplier provided on the seller's invoice does not match the information of the authorized supplier of the actual product.
🔹 The seller information on the invoice is inconsistent with the information on Amazon Seller Central.