A true story of an online retailer who almost became homeless even though he had a profitable business.
Let’s call him Ken.
Ken is a successful seller on Amazon and recently got a Kindle Fire for his five year old kid. While setting up the Kindle Fire, he changed his profile name on the Kindle Fire to Baba (which means dad in Ken’s language) to make it easier for his son to use.
Three days later, his Amazon seller account was suspended.
When Ken inquired, he was told to send a passport for Baba to fix the problem. This is impossible since Baba is not a real person.
Ken tried to explain the situation but the folks at Amazon account re-activation would not budge. He kept getting automated emails like this:
Hello, we understand your concern about our review of your account. If we are not able to properly complete this process we are required to suspend account privileges until the matter is resolved. While we do not wish to cause our customers any unnecessary inconvenience, please understand this is simply an unavoidable requirement. Our request for information does not suggest any wrongdoing on your part. We will use the information only to confirm identity. Your privacy is very important to us.
This guy’s entire livelihood depended on selling on Amazon. Also his wife was eight months pregnant with their second child.
Since Amazon was holding on to his cash and inventory, he was at risk of losing his house, firing his employees and moving in with his parents.
After trying repeatedly and getting nowhere with Amazon, he posted his story online. When it went viral, the Amazon clowns reinstated the seller account.
This is a cautionary tale if you are dependent on a single source for all your business. You are literally giving them the power over your life.
The best defense is to have multiple sources of customers.
But if you can’t do that right away, then the next best option is to have loyal customers.
They will rally to your defense when you get in trouble.
They will follow you to another platform.
They will keep your afloat during tough times.
The fastest and easiest way to build customer loyalty is to offer rewards using RewardCamp.
Sign up now at www.rewardcamp.com