# Amazon has locked me out of my sales AND personal account **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 13, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004 "2023-05-13T21:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/1 "2023-05-13T21:34:37Z")
They’re saying that I needed to provide certain forms of documentation, which I have been doing, starting on Wednesday when they locked me out. Driver’s license (both sides), bank statements, credit card statements - so far, nothing has satisfied them. And I have an e-mail from them stating that if I don’t start shipping things, I will get demerits for late shipment. It’s kind of hard to do that when I can’t access the account. So, that’s my first-world problem rant for the day. I can’t even access the message board to find out if other people are experiencing the same thing, although in the days preceding this, I did see some posts implying this. At least THEY were able to sign on. I just came here to vent; sorry. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/2 "2023-05-13T21:41:27Z")
They asked me for similar documentation once. I sent it, and I’ve been fine ever since. I don’t sell a lot, but if I have a book that’s worth some bucks, I’ll try to sell it. I’ve sold a half dozen or so since I had to submit that documentation over a year ago. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/3 "2023-05-13T21:43:44Z")
I mentioned it on Facebook, and two people that I don’t know replied with the names of people who could possibly help me. I’m not going to do THAT, not yet anyway. I’m just very fortunate that I don’t have to rely on this money. However, my customers want their things. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/4 "2023-05-14T03:49:51Z")
Are you sure it is Amazon. I get emails from domains like [AMAZ0N.COM](http://AMAZ0N.COM) telling me I need to send information to get back into my account. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/5 "2023-05-14T04:25:56Z")
Yes. It’s definitely from Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/6 "2023-05-14T14:17:59Z")
Amazon has a seller forum where undoubtedly there are lots of complaints about this re-verification. Can you still access that? [https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums](https://sellercentral.amazon.com/seller-forums) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/7 "2023-05-14T17:57:34Z")
Odd. I’m webmaster for a club which uses PayPal for online renewals. It also got locked pending recertification. I don’t think our treasurer who is in charge of the account got any notification. I wonder if this re-verification thing is widespread. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/8 "2023-05-14T18:50:35Z")
Nope, can’t access Amazon AT ALL. And now I have a message stating that they have shut me down, after 10 years and no demerits. Guess it was for the best in the long run. This is totally insane. Now, I have more than 6,000 items that have nowhere else to go. I do have an Alibris account, but I’m lucky to sell a book from it every 2 months. I tried to sign on to Abe Books, which is owned by Amazon, and that was a futile endeavor too. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/9 "2023-05-14T20:23:42Z")
Besides those three sites, eBay and Biblio ([https://www.biblio.com/](https://www.biblio.com/)) are alternative bookselling venues. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/10 "2023-05-15T04:38:46Z")
I’ve never been a big fan of eBay. I did sign onto Biblio, and listed a few items, FWIW. Not only can I not access my sales account, I can’t access Mturk (where I did surveys) either. This is weird, especially because the e-mail said my sales account has been disabled but I am still getting orders. I can’t delete inventory because I can’t access my account. Whatever, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/11 "2023-05-15T05:07:39Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I did sign onto Biblio, and listed a few items, FWIW. Why didn’t you list your entire 6,000 book inventory there? Don’t you have your books listed in a inventory file? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/12 "2023-05-15T05:44:13Z")
Yes, I do. On Amazon. Which I can’t access. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/13 "2023-05-15T12:58:00Z")
I thought you also listed your inventory on Alibris. You can download your Alibris inventory (for example in UIEE format) and upload it to Biblio. There is software you can get to upload to multiple sites. I have an acquaintance who uses Booktrakker ([https://www.booktrakker.com/](https://www.booktrakker.com/)) to upload to the 5 sites mentioned (Amazon, Abebooks, Alibris, Biblio and eBay) [Booktrakker also uploads to other sites]. They offer a free trial for their software so if you can get an inventory list anywhere you can upload to multiple sites. Anyway contact them (either via phone or email from the website) and get their thoughts on how to solve your problems [there are only two people there: Andy, a bookseller, and Jim, a software guy.] I had a similar problem applying for a credit card from a big company a few months ago. I was rejected because they couldn’t verify my identity. Nothing ever helped–even writing them a letter. My theories are that it was one of two things: their computer OCR programs couldn’t read my images (of driver’s license, etc) because the surfaces were scratched–even though they were quite readable manually or of a discrepancy in my address (I have both a PO Box address and a street address). Your issue has arisen because of a new federal law, the INFORM Consumers Act: > **[New INFORM Consumers Act Imposes Seller Diligence and Disclosure Requirements...](https://www.gibsondunn.com/new-inform-consumers-act-imposes-seller-diligence-and-disclosure-requirements-for-online-marketplaces/)** > > Gibson Dunn lawyers review the new INFORM Consumers Act and how it will impact online marketplaces. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/14 "2023-05-15T18:37:20Z")
I do have an Alibris account, and I want to keep those inventories separate. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2023, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/15 "2023-05-16T22:21:40Z")
I contacted Book Trakker, and while they did get back to me, there was nothing they could do from their end either, even if I was registered with them. And I am STILL getting orders on this (temporarily?) defunct account. It will be a week on Thursday; one can only hope. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/16 "2023-05-18T02:56:49Z")
I may have found out what happened. I checked spam tonight, and there was an e-mail from late April thanking me for starting a Seller Account. WTELF? I already DID that, in 2013. Amazon does not allow more than one seller account per person, or even per household, without lots of permission and documentation. I wonder if I was hacked. And I STILL can’t do anything about it. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/17 "2023-05-18T04:47:23Z")
You need to go to a more specialized forum for advice, for example: > **[r/AmazonSeller](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmazonSeller/)** > > r/AmazonSeller: \*\*The Amazon seller community you're looking for\*\* - Want sincere discussion about selling on Amazon but tired of forums filled with … ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/18 "2023-05-18T04:49:44Z")
I’ve actually posted on that exact board. Besides other people telling me that they’ve had similar experiences and no recourse, I have received no useful feedback. I’m really just here to rant, mmmkay? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2023, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/19 "2023-05-25T22:51:48Z")
Update: I found out last night that this kind of thing has been going on for at least two years, to other people. Same badges, same e-mails, etc. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2023, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004/20 "2023-05-27T21:52:40Z")
In the meantime, I found a law firm that is mainly staffed by former Amazon employees, and specializes in this kind of thing. I did a free phone consultation yesterday, although I’m not going to pursue anything further because the starting price is $2,500. (OUCH) He did say he could send me a form letter, and the proper e-mail link to send it to, and while I haven’t received it (yet), I did tell him that I appreciated him taking the time to speak to me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-has-locked-me-out-of-my-sales-and-personal-account/984004.md?page=2)