I had heard the stories from other sellers: generic appeal responses, unclear co
By Mansour Norouzi · May 30, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
I had heard the stories from other sellers:
generic appeal responses,
unclear compliance issues,
inventory stuck,
revenue gone overnight.
But you do not fully understand platform dependency until it happens to your own business.
If one platform controls your revenue, you do not really control your business.
I had heard this before.
I had heard stories from other sellers about listings being deactivated, generic appeal responses, unclear compliance issues, and businesses losing revenue overnight.
But honestly, until it happened to me, I did not fully understand how vulnerable that makes you.
About two weeks ago, several of my main Amazon listings were suddenly deactivated because of a compliance issue connected to Health Canada.
I understand compliance matters. I understand platforms need rules. I understand that regulated products need to be reviewed carefully.
But what shocked me was how difficult it was to get a clear answer.
I submitted appeals.
I opened cases.
I followed the process.
And I kept receiving the same generic responses.
No clear explanation.
No specific details.
No practical path to fix the issue.
Meanwhile, the impact was immediate.
Sales stopped.
Inventory was stuck.
Customers were affected.
Subscriptions were affected.
Cash flow disappeared overnight.
In about two weeks, the revenue impact was close to $90,000.
Eventually, I learned that the issue required a Health Canada amendment. Normally, that type of process can take one to two months or longer.
I pushed as hard as I could, contacted the right people, followed up relentlessly, and got it processed in about five days.
I then provided Amazon with the updated information and proof.
Hopefully, the listings will be reactivated soon.
But here is the part that still bothers me:
To this day, I am still waiting for a clear answer through the official Amazon Seller Central process.
The only reason I understood what was happening was because I had a direct contact who helped escalate it internally.
Without that, I honestly do not know how I would have figured out the actual issue.
And that is the part small businesses should pay attention to.
This is not a rare story.
This is not something sellers have not warned about before.
This is a structural risk of building too much of your business on a platform you do not control.
Amazon can be an incredible growth channel.
Marketplaces can open doors that would otherwise take years to build.
But they cannot be the whole business.
Because if one company can turn off your revenue overnight, you do not have a business.
You have dependency.
This experience made my next chapter very clear:
Own the customer relationship.
Build direct channels.
Diversify revenue.
Strengthen the website.
Never rely on one marketplace as the foundation of the business.
I had heard the warning before.
Now I understand it.