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This article discusses in detail how to fix inactive, suppressed, and deleted listings on Amazon.
Surprisingly, suppressed listings on Amazon are a typical occurrence for online retailers, particularly for those who are new to the market or for those who sell a wide variety of products. You must respond right away if Seller Pulse notifies you that your Amazon listing has been inadvertently deleted, inactivated, or search suppressed.
The good news is that it’s simple to fix listings on Amazon, even though it can be shocking at first. We look at what they are, the reasons behind them, and what we can do to prevent them from happening again.
Amazon Listing Status: Comparison
| Listing Status | Description | |
| 1 | Inactive Listings | Such listings are not visible to buyers on Amazon (they are only visible to sellers). This can happen for various reasons, such as low inventory, seller issues, or product removal. However, the listing remains in the seller’s inventory and can be reactivated under certain conditions. |
| 2 | Suppressed Listings | Such listings are temporarily hidden from search results. This can happen for various reasons, such as pricing errors, quality control issues, or violations of Amazon policies. Often, suppressed listings can be reactivated once the underlying problems are resolved. |
| 3 | Deleted Listings | Such listings have been permanently removed from Amazon. This can happen for various reasons, such as serious policy violations, safety concerns, or product discontinuation. A deleted listing cannot be reactivated. |
Now let’s understand each listing status in detail-
1. Inactive Listings on Amazon
Inactive Listings On Amazon: What is it?
Because Amazon has taken down the “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” buttons, inactive listings are ones that customers are unable to purchase.
What Caused The Inactivation Of My Listing?
When a listing is disabled, Seller Central’s “Fix Your Products” page will display the reason from Amazon. Typical causes include:
- The listing’s price did not make it comparable with those on other websites. (Amazon may delete your listing if you offer the same product for less money on different websites.)
- To sell this product, you must have approval.
- Complaints about the product being hazardous, out-of-date, or not authentic have been made to Amazon.
- The item is not available.
- The two listings are identical to one another.
What Effect Does An Inactive Listing Have On My Business?
A listing is only for sale if it is active. As a result, sales are impacted until the listing becomes active again. Additionally, the product’s rating may shift due to lower sales, making it more difficult for sales to increase to previous levels when the listing becomes active again.
How May An Inactive Listing Be Fixed?
To make the listing active once more, follow the instructions on the Seller Central Fix Your Products page.
If the listing is inactive because the item is out of stock, restock the item (FBA) or adjust the item quantity to reflect the inventory you have on hand (MFN). If the listing isn’t active because you require permission to sell the goods, go to Fix Your Products or Fix listings on Amazon and submit a request for permission.
How Can I Stop Listings From Being Removed From The List?
To maintain the activity of your listings:
- Observe all of Amazon’s guidelines in relation to the listing details, title, and photos.
- Don’t make duplicate listings.
- Maintain a current inventory quantity and stay stocked.
2. Suppressed Listings On Amazon
Search Suppressed Listings: What is it?
Amazon states that “Suppressed listings are products that Amazon has taken out of the product search on the Amazon website for reasons related to quality.” Until action is taken, search-suppressed products will not appear in customers’ searches.”
This indicates that because Amazon has found an issue with the listing, customers who look for products similar to yours won’t see the product detail page for your listing in search results.
Why Do Amazon Listings Get Search Suppressed?
Amazon listing suppression is a common occurrence when sellers need to follow Amazon’s guidelines. Your product listings can get search suppressed due to incomplete listings, poor performance metrics, selling prohibited items, pricing issues, intellectual property violations, or lack of inventory. To avoid suppression, sellers must ensure their listings are accurate and complete and comply with all relevant Amazon policies.
Why Are Listings Removed From Searches?
Common causes of suppression include the following:
- The product category, price per unit, category, and other details that are necessary for this particular product category should be added to the listing (e.g., child listings in the jewelry category that are missing a material type).
- The listing title is excessively lengthy (more than 130 characters for all other categories and more than 80 characters for clothing, shoes, and bags).
What Are The Effects Of Search Suppression On My Business?
Buyers searching on Amazon won’t be able to discover the listing’s detail page while the search is suppressed. Since shoppers mostly utilize the search bar to find products, they won’t purchase them, which lowers sales.
Even after the problem has been fixed, your product can still lose ground in Amazon’s search ranking, which can slow down sales.
How Can I Restore A Listing That Has Been Suppressed?
On the “Fix Your Products” page, Amazon will explain the cause of the search suppression and provide a recommended course of action. Fixes could consist of:
- Add product details or missing images.
- Update inaccurate product details.
In What Ways Can I Stop Listings From Being Suppressed In Searches?
Most significantly, full product listing optimization is necessary to prevent any listing from being deactivated or suppressed. While fix listings on Amazon, ensure that your listing complies with all of Amazon’s guidelines—including those regarding images, title and detail page content, etc.—to help lower the chance that it gets search suppressed. Additionally, sellers need to maintain good performance metrics and regularly monitor their product listings for any issues.
3. Deleted Listings on Amazon
Deleted Listing: What is it?
All information associated with deleted entries has been eliminated from your catalog. Sellers typically do this on purpose, though occasionally, Amazon will remove a listing after it has merged with another listing.
How Can I Restore A Listing That Has Been Deleted?
You can relist a listing that you unintentionally deleted by selecting Manage Inventory > Add a Product, looking for the UPC or ASIN that the item was previously listed under, and selecting “Sell this product.”
In case Amazon combined listings that weren’t supposed to be combined, contact Seller Support and ask for the listings to be divided once more. Provide the two combined ASINs and as much proof as you can that the products are different (pictures, for example).
Amazon Inactive vs. Suppressed vs. Deleted Listings: Comparison
| Status | Visibility | Reason | Action |
| Inactive | Sellers only (Not Buyers) | Draft, Out of Stock, Pending Approval | Find the underlying reason (e.g., replenishing inventory, waiting for approval) |
| Suppressed | Neither sellers nor buyers | Performance issues, policy violations, product safety issues | Find out the cause and make necessary changes (e.g., improve product quality, resolve violations) |
| Deleted | Neither sellers nor buyers | Severe policy violations, product safety concerns, or seller account closure | It cannot be reactivated; contact Amazon seller support if necessary. |
Are your Amazon listings facing challenges? Fix them today. Our professional Amazon seller consultants have expertise in fixing inactive, suppressed, and deleted listings. They carefully analyze your listings, identify the root causes of their problems, and implement effective strategies to restore their visibility and performance.
Try our limited-time free listing error-fixing consultancy; contact us now to improve your listing health.
