Door A — Amazon

Amazon deactivated your account.

The email is three paragraphs of legal fog, your listings are gone, and your balance is frozen behind them. The notice in front of you is one of a small set of types — and each type has its own path. Naming yours correctly is the whole first day.

The notice types, in plain words

Section 3 / Code of Conduct deactivation ("your account has been deactivated")

The most serious marketplace notice. Amazon believes the account broke its seller code of conduct — fake reviews, deception, linked bad accounts, or fraud signals. It is an account-level shutdown, not a listing problem.

The path: Appeal with a full Plan of Action, or — if the appeal is refused — protect the money on the disbursement track.

Intellectual property complaint / "inauthentic" item notice

A brand, or Amazon itself, says your items may be counterfeit or unauthorized. Amazon wants proof the items are genuine: invoices from real suppliers, in your name, dated within the last 180 days.

The path: Evidence appeal: invoices + a Plan of Action that names the sourcing failure.

"Related account" / linked-account deactivation

Amazon believes this account is tied to another account that was shut down. The linked account's problem becomes your problem until the link is disproven or the other account is cleared.

The path: Disprove the link with business documents, or clear the linked account first — appealing the symptom alone rarely works.

Performance / order defect rate (ODR) deactivation

Your defect rate, late shipments, or cancellations crossed Amazon's line. This is the most 'fixable' deactivation: metrics, not trust.

The path: Plan of Action with the metric math: what broke, the fix, and the system that keeps it fixed.

Restricted product / policy violation listing removal

Specific listings broke product rules. Often listing-level, but repeated ones escalate to the whole account.

The path: Correct or remove the listings; appeal only the listings you can defend with documents.

Verification hold ("we need more information about your business")

Identity/business verification was not satisfied. Money is held until the documents pass — or the account is closed.

The path: Document response, exactly matching the names and addresses on the account. No Plan of Action needed.

Account is fine or already decided — I only need my money out

The selling decision is settled (or the account is healthy) and the only problem left is the balance. Disbursement is a separate track from reinstatement.

The path: Disbursement track: 60-day disbursement appeal, then the 90-day clock. No Plan of Action required for the money.

The clocks that started the moment the email landed

ClockWhat it isSource
Balance held after deactivationGenerally 90 days from deactivationPublished policy
Amazon Funds Disbursement Eligibility Policy (Seller Central help), checked 2026-10-18
Disbursement appeal opensAt 60 days after deactivation — a separate appeal for the money, even if reinstatement was refusedPublished policy
Amazon Funds Disbursement Eligibility Policy, checked 2026-10-18
FBA inventory instructionsWithin 30 days of deactivation, or inventory may be disposed ofPublished policy
Amazon deactivation notices / Seller Central help, checked 2026-10-18
Invoices Amazon accepts as sourcing proofDated within the last 180 days, in the account's namePublished policy
Amazon Seller Central appeal guidance, checked 2026-10-18

Checked 2026-10-18. Where the source class says "reported," that is the range sellers report in practice — it is not the platform's promise, and your notice controls.

Traps

The escalation ladder, in order

  1. Account Health / case escalation inside Seller Central
  2. A second, stronger Plan of Action after a refusal (fix the gaps Amazon named)
  3. Executive Seller Relations (jeff@amazon.com is the long-published executive contact pattern)
  4. BBB complaint (Amazon responds to most)
  5. State attorney general consumer complaint
  6. Demand letter — usually with a lawyer; see the lawyer page for real prices

Included in the $59 MoneyFrozen Kit

  • The Plan of Action builder, per violation family — Section 3, IP/inauthentic, related accounts, performance: the questions that force your real root cause out, not a copied template
  • Worked examples: a strong Section 3 appeal and a refused one, annotated line by line with what the reviewer saw
  • The evidence-pack checklist for each family — invoices, ID, tracking — assembled before you write
  • The re-appeal playbook: how to answer a refusal by fixing what Amazon named, instead of repeating yourself
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