[Urgent] Amazon cuts off the brand accelerator! And launches a new plan that will never close stores?

Yesterday, a seller friend in our Damai Circle broke a big news about Amazon! Amazon’s brand accelerator program is about to be cancelled! And Amazon’s own brands will be cut down!

According to online news, the Amazon Accelerator Program will stop all services within three months, and the entire Accelerator Program project team will be laid off! The Accelerator Program is a brand support program that Amazon has been operating before. It will provide a lot of support to third-party seller brands that participate in the program, and there is even a chance for them to be acquired by Amazon. There are still many sellers using this program, and it will have a big impact if it is really cut off.

Today, some sellers in the Accelerator Program have received official notices from Amazon , confirming that the Accelerator Program will stop charging program fees in December this year, and will terminate the program after March next year . During this period, sellers in the Accelerator Program can enjoy the program benefits normally, which is equivalent to giving away three months of support for free.

This confirms that the acceleration period plan is really over, confirming the news previously revealed by our big selling circle. I have to sigh that our big selling circle is still very well-informed (if you want to join the group, scan the QR code at the end of the article and chat with me privately).

I initially speculated that this situation is related to Amazon's current huge losses and severe antitrust investigations . Previously, Amazon was reported to be laying off 10,000 people in retail, equipment and human resources departments. Note that this is not a large base of front-line workers, but a pure logistics and technical personnel layoff. There will definitely be many departments and teams that we are familiar with that will be affected, and the entire accelerator program department will be cut.

As for why I guess it is related to the antitrust investigation, you can see the following content.

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Private label brands were hit hard

In the initial rumors, in addition to the accelerator program being terminated within three months, there is also news that private brands, including Amazon basic, will have their FFOB (Featured from our brands) placement cut. This position often appears at the top of the search page, ahead of many sponsored ad placements.

Moreover, this position only displays Amazon’s own brands, which has been criticized by many media and sellers for taking up too many display resources and leaving the best position for themselves. According to the news, this display position will be cancelled soon , and self-operated products will no longer occupy the golden position of the first search page. The top three displays will be returned to sponsored products.

The sales of private brands have contributed a considerable amount of revenue to Amazon. In such a difficult situation this year, it still has to cut the display of its own brands. This is definitely an operation made under antitrust pressure and it is forced to do so.

However, it is still good for Amazon sellers, as it means that some of the unequal support for private brands will be gradually withdrawn. Without the inclination and favoritism of platform traffic, the competitiveness of self-operated businesses will decline, giving sellers more opportunities.

In addition, there is another great news for sellers. While Amazon is restricting its own brands, it has launched a new plan to protect seller accounts! As long as you participate in the plan, Amazon will not close your store!

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Amazon Account Protection Program (AHA)

Today, many sellers received the following message, inviting sellers to participate in the new Amazon Account Protection Program (AHA). As long as the compliance conditions within the program are maintained, Amazon will not deactivate the seller’s account!

I have summarized the participation requirements of the AHA program:

1. The seller’s account status rating score must remain above 250 for at least 6 months, and the time it is below 250 cannot exceed ten days.

2. The seller is required to provide an emergency contact number and must ensure that contact and cooperation can be maintained within 72 hours.

When a store in the AHA program encounters major policy issues, an Amazon specialist will personally review the problem and contact the seller, asking the seller to work together to resolve the issue . As long as the seller guarantees that they can be contacted within 72 hours, the store will not be closed.

This is great news. One of the time requirements is quite generous, and there is no problem in contacting within 3 days. The other plan is free of charge, which provides a super strong guarantee for white hat sellers. It is definitely a big benefit. I really want to give Amazon a thumbs up here!

A series of good news has given sellers a shot in the arm at this time of the year. The overall environment of Amazon will be much clearer tomorrow. Our big seller circle is also discussing the situation of this new AHA plan. Some people are worried that it is just a three-day advance notice of store closure.