How to appeal a Walmart Marketplace suspension

Jan 5

For Walmart Marketplace sellers, Walmart Performance and Policy Standards are required. In collaboration with sellers, Walmart works to understand what is causing performance issues or policy violations in their walmart account management strategies and to work with sellers to resolve these issues. Seller accounts may be temporarily or permanently suspended if issues persist or violations occur.

You don't have to panic if you have been suspended. Even though you might not want to find yourself in this situation, it is possible to recover your account once the incident has passed. But don't be fooled: the process is demanding, and if you wish to remain a Walmart Marketplace Seller, you must devote yourself to it and continuously improve. Let’s dig in.

Reasons for suspension

According to Walmart consultants, In order to remain in good standing on Walmart Marketplace, sellers must consistently meet high standards of service and quality. In general, suspending accounts is the result of four major reasons.

Non-compliance with seller performance standards

Walmart's sellers must follow the following performance standards (but they are not limited to):

A 2% Order Defect Rate (ODR) is considered acceptable over a 9-month period.
It should be possible to ship in time more than 99% of the time.
More than 99 percent of the time, Walmart's sellers must provide accurate tracking information within 24 hours of shipment.

Breach of Marketplace Retailer Agreement

The Marketplace Retailer Agreement applies to sellers who join the Marketplace. There is no doubt that the Agreement is more than simply a set of instructions - it is a legally binding contract, which you must abide by once you've signed.

Inauthentic merchandise, used goods, and selling items you're not lawfully allowed to sell are some examples of violation. Other violations include failure to fulfill orders, failing to notify customers of shipping status, or failing to process returns, refunds, or order cancellations.

Non-compliance with operational standards

Top-level operations must always be maintained by Walmart Marketplace sellers. Our customer service team ensures on-time delivery of products, provides excellent customer service, and issues refunds within the specified timeframe.

Violations of safety and trust guidelines

The Walmart Marketplace requires that sellers maintain the Walmart Trust and Safety Standards, or else their accounts will be suspended. The Walmart Trust and Safety Standards include the following clauses:

Regulatory compliance. Listing on the Marketplace of a banned product or one that violates product safety and food safety regulations is considered a breach of this standard. For instance, uncertified or untested prescription drugs, gambling or surveillance products, or baby items might fall into this category.
Offensive product. If you have listed an item that violates this standard, such as items that are offensive to customers, such as harassment or violence incitement or items that display profanity or nudity, then you have broken this standard.
Intellectual property. In this clause, your responsibilities include not citing the designer or creator of a painting or other product, or not having the right to distribute that product.

How to appeal your suspension

You can try to appeal your suspension and have your account reinstated by following these steps. Your account suspension is only valid if it wasn't related to a Trust and Safety Standard violation.

Check for compliance with retailer agreements and/or seller performance standards

You made a mistake, now you have to dig deeper to understand what happened. You need to determine exactly what factors or reasons led to your violation of Walmart Performance Standards or Retailer Agreement Policies.

If an increase in your ODR is the culprit, you may need to consult with an expert to pinpoint the cause. If so, keep track of various types of orders that have been damaged and their causes. Determine what went wrong and what you can do better in the future.

Get you back in compliance by creating an action plan

You have to formulate a strategy based on the insights you gained during your analysis to get you back into the game. Make sure your plan ensures the highest level of excellence for your future business at Walmart Marketplace. Provide clear explanations of how your trade practices will remain in compliance with Walmart's Retailer Agreement and Quality Standards. The action plan you develop must reflect your understanding of the issues, the causes, and the solutions. Make sure you address the issue in such a way that Walmart cannot refute your ability to do so.

Make Walmart aware of your business plan of action

The time has come for you to send Walmart your Business Plan of Action. You can do so as follows:

Sign in to Seller Central
Account suspensions can be appealed via Partner Account/Profile in Support
Your Plan of Action should be attached
Submit your case

It is important to understand that merely submitting the plan will not reinstate your account. You will be notified of Walmart's decision within two days after you submit your Business Plan of Action. If you are reinstated, you will be given strict guidelines to follow in order to maintain compliance, along with steps you must follow in order to get your account reinstated.

Upon reinstatement, continue to improve your performance

However, you are not in the clear just because your account has been reinstated. Taking your business action plan seriously and pushing your performance standards higher is imperative right now.

Upon revocation of the suspension by Walmart, you must improve your ODR to avoid future violations and ensure full compliance with all Retailer agreements and Standards. It is possible, however, that you may be suspended again or even terminated if your performance does not improve.

Conclusion

You should avoid violating any Walmart Marketplace policies when you begin selling on the marketplace. Since you can't be guaranteed to be reinstated after a suspension - and you can't be guaranteed to stay employed - we're sure you'll agree the best course of action is to prevent putting yourself in that position.