Amazon tightens policy on seller nicknames

Amazon announced this new policy for seller nicknames to be enforced starting September 5:

Nicknames are meant to provide internal branding for your account on Amazon.com. However, a number of accounts are currently using nicknames for external branding. Using an email address or website URL address (or any variation of either) in your seller nickname is against our community rules. Effective immediately, we are monitoring for these violations.

If you are violating this policy, please change your nickname by September 5. Accounts that do not comply by this deadline will risk suspension.

Thank you for your help in continuing to improve Amazon.com for buyers and making it the preferred marketplace for sellers.

What community rules are being violated?

• Do not divert transactions or buyers. Any attempt to circumvent the established Amazon.com sales process or to divert Amazon Marketplace participants to another Web site or sales process is prohibited. For example, sellers are prohibited from including e-mail addresses or any other reference to an external website in listing comments.

• Advertisements. Listings that are intended wholly or mainly as “portals” to commercial or private Web sites for the purposes of advertising, or that offer contact information for non-Amazon.com transactions, are prohibited. Links to outside Web sites intended to sell items–particularly those with non-Amazon.com ordering tools or information–are prohibited. Promotional logos to credit outside services are prohibited.

These community rules are located on this Help page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=537780

How do I know if I am in violation?

You are in violation if you use any of the following in your nickname or listings.

• Domains. Examples: “com”, “ca”, “net”, …
• URL/email symbols. Examples: “www”, “@”, …
• Names for URL/email symbols. Examples: “dotcom”, “dtcom”, “atdotnet”, …

Who is impacted?

• All sellers, large and small, will be included in this cleanup and will be treated equally.

What should I do if I need to change my seller nickname?

• If you need to change your nickname, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible so you will have a greater chance of claiming your preferred nickname.
• Change your seller nickname prior to September 5 to avoid risk of suspension.
• Steps for changing your nickname:
1. Go to your Seller Account page: http://www.amazon.com/gp/seller-account/management/your-account.html/
2. Click “Edit your seller settings.”
3. Next to your nickname, click the “Edit” button.
4. Enter your new nickname, and click the “Submit” button.
5. In most cases, changes will appear live on the website within 24 hours.