How to write an Amazon Plan of Action (with an example)

The three parts Amazon asks for

Amazon's guidance on Account Health appeals describes three steps, and its staff have said that vague or generic replies are unlikely to be accepted.

• Root cause: how the violation happened in your business. Specific and factual, owning the problem.
• Corrective actions: what you have already done to fix the immediate problem, with dates, ASINs and quantities.
• Preventive measures: the lasting changes to your processes, with an owner, a frequency and a start date.

Root cause: name the process that failed

"We made a mistake" is not a root cause. Neither is "our supplier sent bad stock". Keep asking "why" until you reach something you control. For example: customers received items described as "used". Why? Returned units were re-sent to Amazon as new. Why? Returns were added back to stock without inspection. Why? There was no written returns procedure and nobody had been trained. That last answer is the root cause the plan must fix.

If the notice covers several issues, give each its own root cause. A plan that explains one problem and ignores another is usually rejected.

Corrective actions: past tense, dated, specific

Write what you have already done, not what you intend to do. "On March 3 we removed all 412 units of ASIN B0XXXXXXXX from sale" is a corrective action. "We will review our inventory" is not. Include the ASINs, quantities, removal order numbers and dates, and attach evidence where you can.

Preventive measures: systems, not promises

Preventive measures are the changes that make the problem unlikely to recur: a written inspection checklist, a supplier verification step before every purchase, a named person who checks the Account Health dashboard daily, training with a recorded date. Each should connect to a root cause. Avoid promises like "we will be more careful"; they cannot be checked.

A short worked example

Fictional seller, product condition complaints ("item arrived used"):

• Root cause: Between January 5 and February 20, customer-returned units of one ASIN were placed back into inventory at our warehouse without inspection and later sent to Amazon as new. We had no written returns procedure, and the staff member processing returns had not been trained on Amazon's condition guidelines.
• Corrective actions: On February 22 we created a removal order for all 186 units at Amazon fulfillment centers. On February 23 all staff completed training on Amazon's condition guidelines. On February 24 we contacted the 14 affected customers through Buyer-Seller Messaging and confirmed refunds.
• Preventive measures: From February 26, every returned unit goes to a separate quarantine shelf and is inspected against a written checklist. Units that fail are never sold as new. The owner reviews a weekly returns log, and we check the Account Health dashboard and Voice of the Customer daily.

Format that gets read

Reviewers see a great many appeals. Short paragraphs and numbered points work better than long prose. Use the same policy names, ASINs and order numbers as the notice. Keep a professional, accountable tone with no anger, excuses or flattery. Attach evidence for every claim you can document, such as supplier invoices, inspection checklists and training records, and make sure names and addresses on documents match your Seller Central details.

Submitting and handling a rejection

Appeals are submitted from Account Health using "Reactivate your account" for a deactivation, or from the specific violation for a listing. If the appeal is rejected, read the reply closely; it often names the missing piece. Fix the gap, not just the wording, and resubmit. If you are still unsure what is missing, use "Call me now" and ask. Before you start, read what to do in the first 48 hours.

Templates for every common case

Reinstated ($9) includes a master Plan of Action and six fill-in root-cause blocks covering performance metrics, authenticity or condition complaints, IP complaints, listing or restricted product violations, review policy violations and related accounts, plus a pre-appeal self-review checklist. It is general information, not legal advice, and no appeal can be guaranteed to succeed.