The Risk of "Almost" Following the Rules on Amazon

We’re already in Q4 (peak chaos season) and Amazon is rolling out massive layoffs. When 30,000 people leave in the middle of the busiest quarter of the year, sellers could feel it first. In this episode, Chris McCabe breaks down what these cuts actually mean for sellers, how internal churn impacts Account Health and enforcement, and what you can do now to stay ahead of the fallout.

It’s Q4, and “escalation” is officially the most overused word in Sellerland.Everyone’s talking about “taking it up the chain,” but most sellers are just sending the same broken appeal to more inboxes. In this episode, Chris and Leah break down what a real Amazon escalation is, and what it’s not.

When one Amazon marketplace goes down, they can all go down. In this episode, Chris McCabe and Leah McHugh break down how international marketplace issues—like Brazil verification failures, account linkage, and Build International Listings (BIL) errors—are deactivating U.S. seller accounts right before Q4.

Think you’re “mostly” following Amazon’s rules? In this episode, Chris McCabe breaks down why “almost compliant” is a fast route to suspension in Amazon’s new zero-tolerance era. Amazon’s patience for gray-area behavior is officially gone.Chris explains what really triggers enforcement, how to build a bulletproof appeal, and why relying on shortcuts, masterminds, or cheap Fiverr fixes is a guaranteed way to lose your account in 2025.

Drowning in tool fatigue? In this episode, Chris McCabe sits down with Yoni Mazor of GoFlow to cut through the chaos and map a simple operating system approach for Amazon-native brands to scale across Walmart, Shopify, eBay, and fast-growing channels like TikTok Shop, Temu, and Shein.

Sellers came home from Accelerate buzzing about “account health improvements” and AI helpers, but what really changes your odds on reinstatement? In this epis0ode Chris McCabe debriefs Leah McHugh on what he heard directly from Amazon teams and execs: tighter intake rules at the on-site support desk, a push to explain denials better, and a higher bar for evidence on review-manipulation cases.

Before you chase rank, name the margin you’re willing to sacrifice. In this episode, Chris McCabe sit's down with Michael Maher of Cartology to break down when to keep work in-house vs. hire an agency (and dodge “agency burn”) and how to set goals you’ll actually honor when rank and margin pull in opposite directions

Amazon just pulled the plug on FBA prep — now what? If you’ve relied on Amazon to handle labeling, packaging, and prep, 2025 just threw you a curveball. In this episode, Chris McCabe sits down with Ephraim Ausch of Tactical Logistic Solutions to unpack Amazon’s decision to exit the FBA prep business — and what smart sellers are doing in response.

When it comes to Amazon suspensions, your first move matters more than you think. Amazon’s enforcement is only getting tougher. Sellers are seeing escalations hit walls faster than ever, especially as we head into Q4. In this episode, Chris McCabe and Leah McHugh break down the rising complexity of Amazon appeals, why Account Health reps are pushing bad advice, and how DIY appeals are killing your chances of reinstatement.

Amazon is set to deprecate over 7,000 variation themes starting September 2nd, and if you're not prepared, your ASIN families could be split apart without notice.In this episode, Chris and Leah dive deep into what this massive variation update actually means for sellers. They break down how to identify if your listings are at risk, what happens when variation themes are retired, and why misuse (even accidental) can now lead to suspension with no Plan of Action option.