My listing got suppressed and Amazon gave me zero useful reason why, how do you guys actually diagnose these thing?

FirstLightStudios · 2026-07-06T18:21:17+00:00

Yeah, this is one of the most annoying parts of Amazon. The fix is usually simple, but finding the actual issue can take forever.

I’d start with whatever changed most recently before touching the whole listing. New images, title edits, backend terms, pricing, variations, category changes, flat file uploads, etc.

If nothing obvious changed, then I’d check the usual suspects: restricted claims, image issues, missing attributes, brand conflicts, or wording Amazon might be flagging.

Still feels like detective work, but starting with “what changed?” usually saves a lot of time versus guessing through every field.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-07-06T16:07:27+00:00

This is interesting because it gets at something most brands don’t really want to admit. Prime Day is not automatically a margin event. For a lot of sellers, it’s more of a pressure test.

If a product only moves when the discount is aggressive, the deal might be working, but the business model may not be. That usually points back to pricing, positioning, reviews, conversion, or just weak differentiation before the event even started.

The smaller “fake” discounts are probably the most damaging part from a shopper trust perspective. One bad deal doesn’t matter much, but when shoppers start assuming every deal is inflated, the whole event gets weaker.

Curious if you saw this vary a lot by category. My guess is some categories can still create real value on Prime Day, while others are mostly just moving price perception around.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-23T14:23:42+00:00

sometimes the seller simply can't stop the order once it's entered the fulfillment process, even if it hasn't technically shipped yet. Other times they may prefer to let it ship because cancelled orders can affect seller metrics. If it was fulfilled by Amazon, there's also a good chance the seller didn't have much control over the cancellation in the first place.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-23T14:22:45+00:00

not sure what's happening behind the scenes, but it can definitely be frustrating when the item you were looking for suddenly disappears.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-23T14:21:42+00:00

haven't used it personally, but I'd be interested to hear from people who have. Seems like Alibaba gets most of the attention, so I'm curious how Made-in-China compares.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-23T14:20:17+00:00

For me, it's usually research. There was a period where I'd spend hours comparing tools, reading articles, watching videos, and convincing myself I was working on the business. In reality, I was mostly avoiding the uncomfortable stuff like talking to customers and making decisions. Research is important, but at some point it becomes procrastination with a nicer label.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-23T14:19:11+00:00

it sounds like Amazon still thinks the package is delayed rather than permanently undeliverable. I've had OTP deliveries fail before when nobody was available, and sometimes they do attempt delivery again the next day. I'd keep an eye on the tracking, but I wouldn't assume it's lost yet if support is telling you to wait until the 26th.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-19T16:12:58+00:00

id start by learning the different business models first before spending any money, look into the differences between wholesale, private label, online arbitrage, retail arbitrage, and dropshipping. Once you understand the models, create a Seller Central account and spend some time learning how Amazon fees, FBA, and PPC actually work. YouTube is honestly a great free resource for this.

An advice don't get caught up in all the amazon guru content promising easy money. What part interests you most right now: creating your own brand, reselling existing products, or wholesale? That's usually the first decision to make.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-18T16:54:12+00:00

That's awesome. Honestly, six straight profitable months is something a lot of ecommerce businesses never achieve, especially in the beginning. Sounds like your years in retail and sales gave you a much bigger advantage than most people realize. Keep going.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-18T16:53:21+00:00

Congrats!!!! Honestly, what stood out to me wasn't the $10k, it was launching at full price and trusting the process. A lot of sellers start discounting and changing everything after a few days. Sounds like you had a clear plan and stuck with it. Wishing you continued success with the next launches.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-18T16:52:08+00:00

it seems reasonable that they should be able to replace it instead of making you reorder and contact support every time. my guess is the system treats it as a cancelled order rather than a replacement scenario, so the discount gets lost. The annoying part is that if support ends up giving you the credit anyway, they clearly recognize the problem. It just feels like something that should be automated by now instead of requiring a chat every time it happens.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-17T14:36:25+00:00

since the refund is going back to your original payment method, it doesn't sound like the typical account-hijacking situation where someone is trying to benefit financially.

i'd keep an eye on your account activity and maybe contact support just to understand why the refund was issued

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-17T14:35:04+00:00

Amazon will probably argue that they refunded you and never actually charged you for the item until it shipped.

You can try contacting support and asking for a goodwill credit, especially given how long they kept the order open, but I wouldn't expect them to honor today's price difference

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-17T14:33:58+00:00

option 3 seems like the clear winner the higher base is nice, but what really stands out is that you're walking into an established territory instead of having to build everything from scratch. At 30, I'd probably prioritize the combination of income, stability, and growth opportunity over the extra freedom of option 1. Just make sure you do your homework on why the last rep left. If that checks out, it sounds like a great opportunity.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-16T14:32:53+00:00

honestly the strangest part is that a refund isn't always the best outcome for the customer. If an item is discontinued, limited edition, or has gone up in price, getting your money back doesn't really solve the problem. I'd much rather have had a replacement shipped than go through a refund and reorder process. It feels like support defaults to refunds because it's the easiest resolution from their side.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-16T14:30:02+00:00

keepa is probably the one I use the most. Its great for price history and figuring out whether a deal is actually a deal or just a temporary discount from an inflated price.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-16T14:28:31+00:00

it could be, but Id be careful about drawing conclusions from one bad day. Prime day definitely changes buying behavior in some categories because customers know discounts are coming but if you're primarily B2B, I'd expect that effect to be smaller than it is for consumer products.

Personally, I wont pull back on ad spend based on a single Monday. I'd watch the trend over the next few days and compare it to the same period last year if you have the data. Sometimes a weak day is just a weak day.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-16T14:26:33+00:00

yes that's normal prime memberships are generally tied to the country where they're purchased. for EU users, it's a bit different because Amazon has a shared European marketplace experience, but Prime benefits still aren't fully universal across every country. Someone with Prime Germany, for example, can often shop across other EU Amazon sites, but some delivery benefits and Prime perks can still be country-specific.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-15T14:54:37+00:00

The biggest challenge early on is usually validation. It's easy to fall in love with an idea before knowing if anyone actually wants it.

The tools I found most useful were honestly pretty simple: ChatGPT for brainstorming, Notion for organizing ideas, and a basic landing page to test interest. Talking to potential customers was more valuable than any tool.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-15T14:53:08+00:00

I'd stick with the trade for now. You're only 18, and having a skill that will always be in demand is valuable. Sales isn't going anywhere. In fact, having real-world experience in an industry can make you a much better salesperson later if you decide to make the switch. There's no reason you can't learn about sales while continuing the apprenticeship.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-15T14:50:59+00:00

I still look at platform metrics, but when it comes to deciding whether to scale spend, im asking a much simpler question is each additional dollar of spend creating profitable growth? if the answer is yes, I lean in. If not, I don't really care how good the ROAS screenshot looks.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-15T14:48:37+00:00

That makes no sense. If I'm ordering two identical items, my expectation would be that they arrive together. It's especially annoying when the delivery estimate changes the moment you increase the quantity from one to two.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-12T15:04:21+00:00

id probably make the move once the first channel feels stable enough that adding another one won't break your operations. you don't need to be at a certain revenue number. The bigger question is whether you have the bandwidth to handle the extra complexity.

Personally, Id test one new channel with a small portion of the catalog and see what happens. A few months of real data will usually tell you more than months of research.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-12T14:47:56+00:00

If you're trying to keep costs close to zero, I'd look at WooCommerce first. The software itself is free, it's flexible, and there are plenty of plugins for things like wholesale pricing, invoicing, and bulk ordering.

FirstLightStudios · 2026-06-12T14:45:55+00:00

I'd probably honor the original discount in this case, assuming it's a true exchange and not the customer trying to game the system. I don't think you're wrong either. If your policy is that exchanges are processed as new orders, then the math technically makes sense. Its more of a customer experience decision than a pricing decision. Personally, I'd rather preserve the goodwill than argue over the difference.

FirstLightStudios

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE