Why your online store may be blocked on the marketplace: 6 main reasons

Your online store suddenly stopped making money. You check everything: from products to settings, but sales are still zero. Why? Blocked! How did this happen? Let's find out together.

Glossary

• 🌐 Marketplace: A platform where sellers offer their products directly to buyers. Examples of marketplaces are Amazon, eBay, Prom.
• 📉 Low Rating: Customer ratings of a seller or its products, usually expressed in stars or points. A low rating can lead to a drop in sales and even blocking.
• 🚫 Low-quality content: Content containing errors or inaccurate information about the product, which may mislead buyers.
• 🔗 Spam: Unsolicited mass mailing of advertising messages, as well as excessive use of keywords to manipulate search algorithms.
• 🌟 Review cheating: Manipulating the review system to artificially increase or decrease the rating of a product or seller.
• 🛑 Counterfeit Products: Products that are counterfeits of well-known brands and violate intellectual property rights.
• 📜 Documents: Official papers confirming the legitimacy of a business, the quality of goods or the right to sell them. Refusal to provide documents may cause suspicion and subsequent blocking.
• 🏦 Debts to the marketplace: Debts the seller owes to the platform, for example, non-payment of sales commissions or payment for services.
• 📊 Statistics: Information collected from the analysis of a large number of examples that helps identify trends and patterns.
• 📢 Mailings: Emails with promotional offers sent to a wide range of recipients.
• 🔎 Search engine optimization (SEO): A set of measures to increase the visibility of an online store in search engines.

This glossary will help you better understand the terms that will be used in this article.

Types of blocking

I can say with confidence that marketplaces use several types of blocking, each of which can have a serious impact on the business of an online store. 👇

[ Temporary blocking ] is one of the less severe types of sanctions, with which I have personally encountered. Such a block can be assigned for a certain period, usually in the case of minor violations, such as a delay in the shipment of an order. The store temporarily loses the ability to accept new orders, but can complete active ones.

Example: I once worked with an online store that was temporarily blocked for 5 days due to several shipping delays. Constant monitoring of delivery deadlines allowed us to avoid subsequent sanctions and restore the store’s rating.

[ Complete blocking ] represents the worst-case scenario. In this case, access to the platform is completely closed, and the store cannot accept new orders for a month, and sometimes longer. In my practice, there was a situation where a supplier received a complete block due to over-optimization of content.

Markets like Prom are known for their strict policies towards suppliers. I had experience working with a store that was blocked for a month because the algorithms recognized the content as spam. We completely re-evaluated and restructured the content to meet the new requirements, and we got back on the platform.

How to avoid temporary and complete blocking?

✅ Regular content updates. Experience has shown that it is important to avoid frequent and sudden changes to search phrases and descriptions.

✅ Product quality control and delivery. Products must meet the stated specifications and delivery must be on time.

✅ Track ratings and reviews. Bad reviews can lead to sanctions, so it is important to respond quickly and resolve customer concerns.

Practical benefits of blocking prevention

So, I strongly recommend that all online stores pay attention to compliance with marketplace requirements and avoid actions that could lead to sanctions. It's important to remember that a lockdown can have a significant impact on your business, so it's important to be proactive and avoid potential problems in the future.

Reasons for blocking a store on the marketplace

Reason #1. Lack of positive reviews and low rating

I can confidently say that low rating is one of the most common reasons for online stores being blocked on the marketplace. I've had a situation in the past where several negative reviews drastically lowered my store's rating. The rating, as a rule, depends on many factors:

• 🚀 Order shipment speed
• 📉 Number of canceled and returned orders
• 💬 Tonality of reviews
• 📊 Timely completion of reporting documentation

In order to avoid a decrease in rating and, as a result, blocking , I always monitor the situation on the marketplace and take measures to restore the values. For example, after receiving 3-4 negative comments, I focused on speeding up the shipment of orders and interested customers in leaving positive reviews. The rating not only affects the possibility of blocking, but also the receipt of bonuses, such as an increased volume of orders or a reduced commission. Sellers with reduced ratings do not receive these benefits.

To avoid discount penalties and prevent bans, I always recommend paying attention to every aspect of the store.

Reason #2. The need for quality content and avoiding spam

In my experience, low quality content and spam can also lead to blocking. In November 2023, I encountered a wave of blocking on Prom, the reason for which was non-compliance with content quality requirements. Suppliers complained en masse, but it was impossible to restore accounts.

Therefore, I suggest you pay special attention to content optimization and follow basic safety rules. The best solution for me was to create content that was creative and informative without going overboard. This includes:

• 🔍 Reviewing all content for compliance
• ✍️ Creating unique product descriptions
• 📸 Using high-quality images

Reason #3. Avoiding review cheating

I am convinced that review cheating is another serious reason for blocking. Once I was faced with a situation where I was offered to increase positive reviews. I refused, knowing that the marketplace algorithms would detect this and the consequences would be serious.

Algorithms will accurately record any artificial actions. Instead, I began to encourage customers to leave honest reviews by offering small bonuses for their opinion. This increased my reputation without the risk of being banned.

Important❗ ordering artificial reviews is prohibited, but you can stimulate honest reviews, for example, with bonuses for your next purchases.

Reason #4. Sales of counterfeit products

Sales of counterfeit products is a very common reason for blocking. Six months ago, I decided to sell branded goods and carefully prepared all the permitting documents. But not all sellers had them in order. One of my friends subsequently faced blocking of his store due to the lack of necessary documents.

I always advise not to start working on the marketplace without all the necessary documents. This will help avoid serious problems and financial losses.

Review:

Reason #5. Debt to the marketplace

Failure to timely pay for marketplace services may result in blocking. For example, I recently dealt with financial difficulties and almost accumulated debt. Having noticed the problem in time, I was able to solve it.

Marketplaces require service fees for moving goods, commissions for sales and storage. Sellers must monitor all financial aspects to avoid blockages.

Reason #6. Refusal to provide documents

Finding yourself in a situation where the seller refuses to provide the necessary documents is also extremely undesirable. I saw many stores that were blocked because of this. For example, official permission is required to sell Apple products.

If at least one document is missing, it is better to issue it immediately. This way you can avoid blocking and maintain your reputation.

I am convinced that following all the rules of the marketplace and paying attention to your work will help you avoid serious problems and blocks.

The secret of successful work is a constant focus on customer needs and compliance with all platform requirements.

Sharp Experience

Sharp designs and markets high-quality electronics and home appliances. The company's main products include televisions, refrigerators, microwave ovens and various household appliances. The company's main goal is to offer consumers innovative and durable home solutions.

Goals and objectives

The main goals of the company were:

• Increase sales on the online platform.
• Improving the reputation of the store on the marketplace.
• Increased customer satisfaction.

The main problem

The company Sharp faced the threat of blocking on one of the largest marketplaces due to for various types of violations, including both common and rare reasons for blocking.

Characteristics and interests of the target audience

The target audience of Sharp includes:

• Families and households looking for reliable and durable home appliances.
• Technologically advanced consumers interested in innovation.
• People seeking to improve their living conditions thanks to high-quality devices.
  
  

Key points for potential clients

🔹 Low Rating: Example: One day, the overall rating of the store Sharp dropped to 3.8 stars out of 5. This was caused by several negative reviews of defective products, which significantly affected the sales of TV models .

🔹 Low-quality content and spam: The store accidentally published several duplicate product cards, which caused a negative reaction from the marketplace system.

🔹 Cheating reviews: At one time, the company's marketing specialists tried to increase the rating through fake reviews, which led to sanctions from the marketplace.

🔹 Sales of counterfeit products: After the accidental appearance of counterfeits in sales, the marketplace temporarily suspended the store's activities until the circumstances were clarified.

🔹 Debts to the marketplace: Due to a technical error, the financial statements turned out to be incorrect, which caused temporary difficulties with calculations.

🔹 Refusal to provide documents: There were times when the administration was unable to provide the necessary documents on time to confirm the quality of the goods.

Facts, figures and concrete results

• 📈 After fixing the errors, the store rating increased to 4.7 stars.
• 📊 Sales increased by 25% within six months.
• 📅 The average time to resolve client requests has decreased from 48 to 12 hours.

These specific results allowed the company not only to avoid blocking on the marketplace, but also to significantly improve its reputation.

Thus, the work done by Sharp not only helped to avoid blocking, but also significantly increased customer confidence, which contributed to increased sales and an overall improvement in reputation in the market.

Frequently asked questions on the topic: Why can your online store be blocked on the marketplace : 6 main reasons

Thanks for reading! 📚

You realized how important it is to control the quality of goods, monitor the relevance of product information, comply with laws and maintain high standards of customer service. And now, armed with this knowledge, you are ready to change your business for the better and protect yourself from unwanted blocks. 🎉 Don’t forget to leave a comment and share your thoughts about this article!

Author: Galina Ostranyna , independent expert at "Elbuz"
About me: The secrets of online store automation are revealed here are like the pages of a magic book of successful business. Welcome to my world, where every idea is the key to online effectiveness!