First a bit of background.

I have a website and use a program that will create listings on Amazon (or will match with an existing Amazon listing) for items I sell. It does the same on eBay and orders flow into the website and it keeps stock levels in synch. All well and good.

As such it is rare I need to look at 'Manage All Inventory' on Amazon.

However, orders/sales are well down on last year and I initially blamed the financial crisis. But this did not explain everything. Even good sellers that have been selling for years just stopped dead - no sales at all.

Anyway I checked inventory on Amazon Seller Central and was amazed to find so many products now marked 'Detail page removed', 'Inactive' or 'Search suppressed' - ever likely sales had dried up. Now I have no idea why so many are now like that as I have been selling these items for years with no problems,

Problem 1: Checking one of the 'Detail page removed' and I get told 'Browse node missing' - like how did that happen? I try to edit and I get told I am not authorised to make any changes - only brand owner can do so. Now if I was trying change colour or something I could understand - but I am just trying to give it a browse node to make it active. It did have one but for some reason it now no longer does. Anyway, I contacted my supplier (who are the brand owners but not in Brand Registry) but they are also unable to make the change. I have opened a case with Support but no response.

Problem 2: I looked at one of my 'Inactive' listings and was told to supply pictures of the product showing branding etc to make the item active. I did so but keep being rejected. Now I buy these items a company called (for example) 'XXXX UK'. Their branding on the product is however just XXXX. The product (when it was created) was given the Brand attribute 'XXXX UK'. So my pictures of the item keep getting rejected because Amazon want to see 'XXXX UK' and not 'XXXX' as the brand logo. So I tell Amazon the brand 'XXXX UK' never existed. That is the company name. The brand logo they use on all their products is just 'XXXX' and so the Brand attribute on the product is wrong and they should change it.

Support keep rejecting this insisting they need to see 'XXXX UK' as the product branding.

Now this is where it gets even more comical (if that is possible). as Support goes on to say in their message:

Aternatively, you can provide a different brand name for review.

But I just tried that as I said the brand should be 'XXXX' and not 'XXXX UK' and it got rejected

Then later they say:

You can still list the ASIN you were trying to create, with the brand name Generic or a brand name already approved for use, in accordance with the Amazon Brand Name Policy:

Now there is so much wrong with that statement.

1. I am not trying to create a new ASIN but get a current one corrected
2. I cannot create a new ASIN without using a new EAN, so creating a new entry using 'Generic' for Brand just makes a complete mockery of the whole catalogue as it will lead to multiple entries of same product each using 'Generic' for brand and each having its own EAN (and not the one printed on the product itself).

The company I buy my items from are not in Amazon Brand Registry. They make lots of licensed products and a quick check of their items sees the Brand attribute on their products set to 'XXXX', 'XXXX UK', the brand license or even something completely incorrect like 'Funko'

Amazon have made no checks at all on whoever created the original listings allowing anything to be used for Brand name but have now locked the listings so no one can make any changes - not even the company who makes the products.

This is a ridiculous state of affairs. Support completely useless with not an ounce of common sense and giving out completely incorrect advice.

I have a good mind to actually follow their advice and create new listings using my own EAN and Generic for Brand so creating duplicate entries in the catalogue.