What is Amazon’s restricted list, and can you sell from it?
Amazon has taken steps to remove offensive and dangerous materials from their site, so wary sellers had best to get up to date on all items in Amazon’s burn book.
If you are selling in a restricted category or selling restricted products without permission, they will suspend or terminate your ability to sell.
And they ain’t kidding! Recently, Amazon made good on their threat to drop products that violate their content guidelines when they banned a book for labeling LGBTQ+ as a mental illness. (There is some political controversy about whether or not that is censorship, but Amazon reserves the right to determine what is offensive. Because they are all-powerful now.)
These restricted categories can be a bummer for sellers because they have high demand and low competition. And we all have stories about suspended listings.
But it turns out there are ways of pushing past the bouncer and getting that money! In a recent poll of 1,000 Amazon sellers, 7% of them are successfully selling in gated categories. So how did they do it?
It’s not easy. Each category has a different process for being able to sell; for instance, some require fees or performance checks. Junglescout has a helpful guide for each category, so you can sell without getting bounced!
Basically, you have two choices:
- You can jump through those hoops and potentially earn big, or
- Keep it simple and ensure that you and your products are like me at a nightclub: off the list.
A few rules of thumb to avoid selling restricted items:
- Be aware of what you are selling. You will be held accountable if even one of your products violates the rules.
- Double check the specific FBA product restrictions and make sure your products are in line.
- Do your research. Make sure that the fees/risks associated with a restricted category or product are worth the cost in the long run. Helium10 has some great suggestions on how to proceed with caution!
