Amazon Setup Top Tip: Never Overlook the Simplest of Things
Setting up your Amazon account is an exciting moment for any business and the race to ‘hit go’ begins. Entering your information is pretty straight forward with an easy step by step guide to help you…but is it really that simple?
To some degree, yes! However, if you speak to other like-minded Amazon sellers, they’ll almost certainly be able to share a story or two of frustrations they’ve encountered along the way. To help you avoid any unnecessary, time-consuming hiccups, today we want to share with you our Amazon setup top tip; never overlook the simplest of things.
Never underestimate the importance of accuracy in your Amazon setup process
1. Enter information accurately
The setup process is a simple one. You’ve decided you’d like to sell your products on Amazon and you gather and prepare all your business information. Entering the information accurately is SO important! To go back and change it later is extremely difficult, especially when you reach the section on shareholders.
If the information you input is incorrect or doesn’t match your National ID, you could end up coming face to face with what we lovingly call, the ‘bot wall’ – a vicious circle of error messages that will see you practically pulling your hair out as you try to figure out what the problem is.
Read all the requirements for scanning or photographing your National ID
2. Double check the ID requirements
Next, Amazon asks you to provide a copy of your National ID; a driving licence or valid passport. This is where the Amazon bots scan your ID to match the information you’ve previously entered…and where one of the most common errors occurs. One small mishap in preparing your ID will leave you stuck in an automated verification spiral. For example, if you scan or take a picture of your passport and crop the edge ever so slightly, this will be enough for the Amazon bots to refuse the scan, even if the data is visible and matches what you’ve entered. Errors like this can be easily avoided by making sure you double check the ID requirements before submitting your image.
Below is the official list from Amazon – we’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the points that can sometimes be overlooked.
Check, check and check again to avoid facing the ‘bot wall’
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The National ID must be a government-issued identity card that is distributed and recognized by the country where you are a citizen or resident.
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The full name on the National ID should match the full name on your registered Amazon account.
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Scan the original document in colour or take a picture using your mobile device. Do not submit a screenshot. Black and white copies will not be accepted.
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Copies should be legible. The document image must be high quality, colored and unobstructed. The image must show a full document page or in case of National ID, both sides of the card.
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For multi-page files (for example: both sides of the ID card), you may merge the separate documents or images into one file for uploading to Seller Central.
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The document should not be expired.
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The date of birth in the National ID should match the date of birth provided during the Amazon seller account registration process.
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Your identity document must be in one of the following languages: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, or Spanish. If it is not in one of these languages, provide a copy of your passport or a notarized translation of your document in one of these languages.
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If you submit a copy of your passport, please ensure that the passport has the bearer’s signature.
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Document should be less than 10MB in size.
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Accepted formats are .png, .tiff, .tif, .jpg, .jpeg, and .pdf. Do not include special characters in the file name (Examples: $, &, #)
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Companies/Corporations need to submit a government issued National ID for the primary contact or beneficial owner.
We’ve had clients come to us with cases which have caused months of delays. If not resolved within 30 days, this can eventually lead to suspension of an account. Take your time with your Amazon setup and follow every instruction carefully, even when scanning your ID.
Book a live video session with us if you’d like to go through the above in more detail.