Amazon Sends Email in Chinese to Suspended Sellers

The massive growth of Chinese sellers on Amazon.com's marketplace has caused all sorts of problems with U.S. merchants, who see counterfeits and manipulative tactics creeping into their listings. Sometimes things just turn weird. Last week, Amazon sent emails to a number of U.S. sellers, whose accounts were suspended for one reason or another, telling them they can resume business. But there was one problem: the emails were in Chinese.

Total Retail's Take: This bizarre case underscores a larger issue for Amazon sellers: the fear of getting kicked off the marketplace for noncompliance. Amazon frequently suspends sellers’ accounts for a variety of infractions, which can include slow delivery times, selling unsafe or expired products, customer complaints, among others. The email in question — i.e., the one in Chinese — welcomed suspended sellers back to the marketplace. That is if they're fluent in Chinese, of course.