Mastering Your Amazon Account Health Rating: A Comprehensive Guide for Sellers

Are you confused about Amazon's Account Health Rating (AHR)? You're not alone. Amazon has recently updated its AHR guide to address common seller concerns and provide greater clarity on the system. This article dives into these updates, answering frequently asked questions and offering practical advice for maintaining a healthy AHR score.

Your Account Health Rating (AHR) is a key metric that Amazon provides to help you monitor the overall health of your seller account, based on your adherence to Amazon's stringent selling policies. This color-coded score, ranging from 0 to 1,000, offers a quick visual assessment of whether your selling account in a specific store is at risk of deactivation. Understanding the AHR and how it's calculated is crucial for maintaining a successful and compliant presence on the Amazon marketplace.

Let's delve into some common misconceptions and important details about the AHR:

Addressing Common Misconceptions:

Misconception #1: I need an AHR of 1,000 to ensure my account is safe from deactivation.

Reality: While striving for a perfect score is admirable, Amazon considers any AHR above 200 as generally healthy. Amazon recognizes that sellers can sometimes encounter policy violations. The system uses four severity levels for policy violations: critical, high, medium, and low. You can maintain a healthy account even with non-critical policy violations, provided you address them promptly and effectively.

Important Note: Regardless of your AHR score, Amazon may deactivate your account immediately if they suspect fraudulent, deceptive, illegal, or otherwise harmful activity. Maintaining ethical and lawful business practices is paramount.

Misconception #2: If I delete a listing that has a policy violation, my AHR will improve.

Reality: Simply deleting a listing with a policy violation will not improve your AHR. Your AHR will only improve if you successfully address the policy violations directly on your Account Health page, including any violations associated with deleted listings. Even if you remove a listing, you'll still need to address the violation through the Policy Compliance section of your account. This demonstrates to Amazon that you've acknowledged the issue and taken corrective action.

Misconception #3: If my order numbers drop, my AHR can fall below 200.

Reality: While a decrease in your fulfilled order count over the last 180 days can cause your AHR to decrease, it won't fall below 200 unless you have existing policy violations. Maintaining policy compliance and quickly addressing any violations are the most important factors in maintaining a healthy account. Focus on providing excellent customer service, adhering to Amazon's policies, and resolving issues promptly.

Amazon Account Health Ratings

Understanding AHR Impact by Severity:

To calculate your AHR, Amazon assigns points to each policy violation based on its severity. Here's a breakdown of the four severity levels:

• Critical: These are the most serious violations and can lead to immediate account enforcement actions, including suspension or deactivation.

• High: These violations significantly impact the customer experience or contravene applicable laws and regulations.

• Medium: These violations have a moderate impact on the customer experience or represent a moderate breach of Amazon's policies.

• Low: These are the least severe violations but still require attention and resolution.

  
  

When determining the severity of a violation, Amazon considers factors such as the degree to which the violation negatively impacts the customer experience and whether the policy violation contravenes applicable laws and regulations.

The Impact of Repeat Policy Violations:

Multiple violations of the same policy can significantly impact your account health in two key ways:

1. Increased Point Values: The point values associated with violations included in your AHR increase each time the same policy is violated. This means that repeat violations will cause your AHR to degrade faster, with higher severity repeat violations having the most impact.

   
   

2. Immediate Risk of Deactivation: Your account may be at immediate risk of deactivation if you reach the maximum number of repeat violations for a single policy within a 180-day period. The maximum number of repeat violations for a given policy may vary depending on the severity of the violation, but can be as low as two violations for higher severity violations.

   
   

Amazon plans to add features to the Account Health page to help you better track repeat violations and will continuously evaluate the program to improve it.

Key Takeaways for Maintaining a Healthy AHR:

Proactive Monitoring: Regularly monitor your Account Health dashboard for any policy violations.

Prompt Resolution: Address policy violations promptly and effectively by providing the requested information and taking corrective action.

Policy Compliance: Thoroughly understand and adhere to Amazon's selling policies to avoid violations in the first place.

Customer Focus: Provide excellent customer service and resolve customer issues quickly and efficiently.

Ethical Practices: Maintain ethical and lawful business practices at all times.

Track Repeat Violations: Be aware of repeat violations, as they can lead to more severe consequences.

By understanding the AHR, addressing misconceptions, and proactively managing your account health, you can ensure a thriving and compliant business on the Amazon marketplace.