Amazon Code of Conduct: Seller Abuse Appeals
An allegation of damaging or abusing another seller needs a factual review of the activity Amazon cited. Preserve the notice and relevant records, build the timeline, and address the specific conduct in the response.
Amazon has dramatically increased enforcement in 2025, flagging sellers not just for black-hat tactics, but for ordinary activities that seem harmless – like testing a competitor’s product, leaving what you thought was an “honest” review, or even just clicking “helpful” or “not helpful” on competitor reviews.
The common thread? Amazon’s demand that all sellers must always “act fairly.”
In this article, you’ll learn:
What this violation actually means.
The honest mistakes that can still get you flagged.
The obvious infringements Amazon designed this policy to stop.
Why your buyer account often gets banned at the same time.
A practical, step-by-step playbook for safe competitor research.
How to appeal if you’ve already been flagged.
What Does “Attempting to Damage or Abuse Another Seller” Mean?
Amazon’s Code of Conduct includes one broad but powerful principle:
👉 Sellers must always “act fairly.”
Under this umbrella, Amazon prohibits:
Manipulating reviews or ratings.
Voting “helpful” on negative reviews or “unhelpful” on positive reviews of competitor listings.
Misusing Q&A, reporting tools, or buyer-seller messaging to disadvantage others.
Any attempt to damage or abuse another seller’s reputation or performance.
This language is intentionally broad. It allows Amazon to act on both blatant manipulation and subtle “grey area” actions that distort the customer experience.
Honest Activities That Still Get Flagged
Here are real examples of behaviors many sellers think are harmless – but Amazon interprets as violations:
Buying a competitor’s product for research
Looks normal to you; to Amazon, it looks like conflict of interest if the account is linked to your seller profile.Refunding after testing a competitor’s product
Refunds combined with review activity are seen as manipulation – even if the intent was honest market research.Leaving an “honest” negative review
Amazon doesn’t measure honesty. Any negative review from a competitor-linked account is treated as an attempt to damage.Voting “helpful” on a negative review of a competitor
Amazon considers this a way of amplifying harm against competitors.Voting “unhelpful” on a positive review of a competitor
This is treated as suppressing competitor credibility – even if you just thought the review looked fake.Communicating with competitor sellers
Asking questions through Buyer-Seller Messaging can be misinterpreted as intimidation or interference.
And note: Amazon’s enforcement is not limited to recent activity. Even competitor orders or review-related actions made years ago can trigger this violation today, because Amazon’s systems are now back-checking historical buyer and seller activity under stricter rules.
Obvious Infringements Amazon Designed This Rule to Stop
On the other end of the spectrum, here are clear black-hat violations that Amazon aggressively pursues:
Agencies or VAs running mass review-voting campaigns.
Fake buyer accounts created solely for negative reviews.
Friends, family, or employees reviewing competitor products.
Incentivized review schemes (rebate clubs, free products for reviews).
Misusing Q&A to plant misleading or harmful questions on competitor listings.
Bulk “report abuse” campaigns to suppress competitor reviews.
Unauthorized account access to post reviews or votes.
These activities can raise serious acting-fairly concerns, especially where the purpose or effect is to manipulate another seller’s performance. Examine the actual activity and notice rather than assuming the same outcome for every case.
Golden Rule of Competitor Research
If you buy a competitor’s product:
Never refund it. Never review it. Never vote on its reviews. Never contact the seller.
Keep ordinary competitor research separate from conduct intended to damage the seller. Do not post conflicted reviews, coordinate votes or manufacture complaints. If a real safety or IP concern arises, use the proper factual reporting route.
Safe vs. Risky vs. Prohibited Activities
| Category | Examples | Risk Level |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Safe | Buying a competitor product (no refund, no review, no votes, no communication). | Low |
| ⚠️ Risky | Buying and refunding; purchasing multiple competitor ASINs in short succession; testing and documenting but on a buyer account linked to your seller account. | Medium |
| ❌ Prohibited | Leaving reviews (positive or negative) on competitor listings; voting “helpful” on negative reviews or “unhelpful” on positive reviews; incentivizing reviews; running VA vote campaigns; misusing Q&A or report abuse. | Very High |
How Linked Accounts Affect Seller Enforcement
Amazon often disables your buyer account’s community privileges when issuing this violation. That’s because:
Accounts are linked by IP addresses, Wi-Fi networks, cards, or devices.
Amazon assumes buyer actions (reviews, votes, refunds) are part of your selling strategy.
Even relatives or employees with separate accounts can get banned if their activity connects back to you.
How to Appeal If You’re Flagged
If you receive this violation, you need a strong Plan of Action
1. Acknowledge the violation under “Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct (attempting to damage or abuse another seller).”
2. Root cause: Explain what led to the trigger (e.g., competitor research misunderstood as manipulation).
3. Corrective actions: Stopped risky behavior, separated buyer and seller accounts, ended VA/agency activity.
4. Preventive actions: New SOPs, employee training, contractual bans on review manipulation, internal monitoring.
5. Evidence: Screenshots of buyer account contributions, logs, termination letters, and SOPs.
FAQs
What does “Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct (attempting to damage or abuse another seller)” mean?
It refers to Amazon’s “acting fairly” rule, which bans manipulation of reviews, votes, and competitor reputation.
Can voting “helpful” or “unhelpful” get me flagged?
Yes. Voting “helpful” on negative competitor reviews or “unhelpful” on positive competitor reviews is treated as manipulation.
Is buying a competitor’s product allowed? A purchase for product research is different from manipulation. Avoid conflicted reviews, coordinated voting, false returns or false reports. Legitimate reporting remains available when the facts support it.
Why was my buyer account banned from reviews?
Amazon detected unusual reviewing or voting activity linked to your seller account.
How do I appeal?
Submit a structured Plan of Action with root cause, corrective actions, preventive actions, and evidence, reaffirming your commitment to “acting fairly.”
Final Word
Amazon’s crackdown on the Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct (attempting to damage or abuse another seller) is broader than ever.
The key truth: intent doesn’t matter – patterns do.
That means even one “helpful” click on a negative competitor review, or one refund paired with a review, can be enough to trigger enforcement.
The safest approach is to treat competitor research as a purely internal exercise: buy if necessary, but never refund, never review, never vote, never communicate. Use data tools wherever possible, and keep strict logs of any actions.
If you’ve already been flagged, act quickly with a professional appeal that shows Amazon you understand the issue, have corrected it, and are committed to “acting fairly.”
Need Help?
Received a “Selling Policies and Seller Code of Conduct (attempting to damage or abuse another seller)” warning? Don’t let it escalate. Contact ASA Compliance Group today – we’ve resolved thousands of Code of Conduct and review manipulation cases since 2016, and we know how to protect your account.
Review your team’s activity
- Reviews and votes: check work performed by staff, agencies, and contractors on products connected to your business or competitors.
- Reports: review the evidence and grounds for complaints submitted on your behalf.
- Listing changes: identify unauthorized or misleading edits and who made them.
- Messages: preserve communications relevant to the allegation.
- Access: review named users, authorized partners, and connected tools.
Shared devices or ownership can be relevant facts, but do not claim to know Amazon’s complete detection logic. Separating logins does not make prohibited conduct permissible.
How to prepare a response
- Save the notice. Record the policy, affected accounts or listings, deadline, and available appeal route.
- Build the timeline. Link the cited activity to actual records. Preserve evidence before changing access or procedures.
- Determine whether the allegation is supported. Acknowledge conduct that occurred accurately. If the allegation is mistaken, explain the discrepancy and provide evidence instead of inventing a confession.
- Address confirmed problems. Stop prohibited activity, correct inaccurate material through the proper process, and remove access that is no longer appropriate.
- Explain prevention. Describe concrete approval, training, access, or monitoring changes relevant to the failure.
- Submit and track. Follow the notice’s format and retain the case reference and replies.
Example: an agency submitted unsupported complaints against competing listings. A useful response identifies the reports, explains how they were authorized or discovered, records the corrective steps, and shows the revised approval process. “We will follow all policies” does not explain the failure or the fix.
Facing a seller-abuse allegation?
Describe the activity Amazon identified, who carried it out and the records you can provide. We can assess the notice, your prior responses and the scope of work needed to handle the appeal.