There’s a weird piece of Amazon folklore that refuses to die: “Just email Andy J
By Chris McCabe · February 10, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
There’s a weird piece of Amazon folklore that refuses to die:
“Just email Andy Jassy.”
Or worse: “Email Bezos.”
Newsflash: Bezos hasn’t been CEO for years, and even when he was, most of what sellers called a “Bezos escalation” wasn’t Jeff personally swooping in like Batman.
The success stories are rare, inconsistent, and usually missing the one detail that matters: what actually happened inside Amazon after the email.
Executive Seller Relations teams are not the be all, end all they were when I was at Amazon.
In the real world, what I see is this: sellers fire off a desperate, templated escalation email… then assume the system will suddenly become thoughtful, fair, and fast.
It won’t.
If you’re going to escalate, treat it like a legal filing, not a Hail Mary.
I'll be talking about this, and all manners of escalation, A LOT in New York this coming Thursday.
If you're based in the northeastern US or even if you're just passing through, we'd love to see you.
And, as always, I love this topic, because we continue to see it go wrong in so many, god awful ways.
Here’s what matters most, and this is what I'll speak to, in-person in NY.
1) Escalation messages have to match the audience, be tailored to them
If your email looks like a copy/paste template with vague claims and emotional panic, it gets ignored. Don't give a reason to get ignored.
Senior leadership paths require tight facts, clean chronology, and a clear ask.
2) Stop sending a Plan of Action when no one asked for one (!)
A lot of sellers auto-submit “POAs” because a consultant told them to. But if Amazon is asking for a dispute, certain documents for compliance reasons, or details on a service provider you erroneously hired, a POA can be irrelevant.
And sometimes triggers an instant rejection because you’re answering the wrong question with the wrong appeal in the worst format.
3) Be careful who you hire (also !!)
Some “experts” are basically "escalation spammers." They blast the same email everywhere, rack up denials, and call it “pressure.” Meanwhile, your account record is getting uglier with every failed attempt.
That part doesn’t get talked about enough:
Denied appeals can make them more likely to ignore you, after 2-3 tries.
One strong, targeted escalation beats ten rushed ones. Every time.