21 terms
Glossary of suspension, appeal and payout terms
Short definitions of the words platforms use in their notices. Each one links to the page that explains it in context and, where it describes a platform rule, to the official source.
General terms
- Appeal
- A request to the platform to review a decision such as a suspension, deactivation, closure or listing removal. Each platform has its own appeal route and form, and the seller submits it from their own account. The decision is always the platform's.
- How it works
- Appeal window
- The time a platform allows for an appeal. Etsy, for example, gives 6 months from a permanent suspension or listing removal, while other platforms describe review times instead of a fixed limit.
- Appeal deadlines by platform
- Chargeback
- A payment reversed by the customer's card issuer after a dispute. Platforms list chargebacks and refunds among the risks that reserves and holds are meant to cover.
- Etsy Payment account reserves
- Reserve
- Money a payment provider holds back from your sales for a period as a buffer against refunds and chargebacks. Etsy and Shopify Payments both use reserves; a reserve is not the same as a suspension.
- Etsy Payment account reserves
Etsy
- Temporary suspension (Etsy)
- A suspension that usually comes with instructions for a fixable issue, such as an overdue bill, missing tax or bank details or identity verification. Several lift automatically once the issue is resolved.
- Temporary vs permanent suspensionOfficial source
- Permanent suspension (Etsy)
- Etsy says the email for a permanent suspension includes “permanently suspended” in both the subject line and the body. Only permanent suspensions go through Etsy's Appeals Center, within 6 months of the suspension date.
- Etsy suspension appeal supportOfficial source
- Listing removal (Etsy)
- A listing taken down for a policy violation. It is appealed from the Policy violations page in Shop Manager; each listing is appealed individually, and once an appeal is denied the same listing can't be appealed again.
- Etsy listing removal appealsOfficial source
- Payment account reserve (Etsy)
- A percentage of each new sale of a physical item held for a set time. Etsy releases the funds when tracking shows the order in transit, or when the holding period shown in the Payment account ends.
- Etsy Payment account reservesOfficial source
Amazon
- Account deactivation (Amazon)
- Amazon's term for removing a seller's selling privileges. The appeal starts on the Account Health page with “Reactivate your account”; Amazon's US help page says to expect a reply within two days.
- Amazon reinstatement supportOfficial source
- Account Health Rating (AHR)
- A score from 0 to 1,000 showing a selling account's risk of deactivation under certain policies: 200 to 1,000 is Healthy, 100 to 199 At Risk, and 99 or below Unhealthy. New sellers start at 200.
- Account Health Rating explainedOfficial source
- Plan of action (POA)
- The name sellers commonly use for an Amazon appeal. Amazon's guidelines ask for a clear, factual explanation of the root causes, the specific actions taken with dates and documents, and evidence for every product under review.
- How to write an Amazon appealOfficial source
- Root cause
- The underlying reason a violation happened, as opposed to the symptom. Amazon gives examples such as unverifiable suppliers, inventory management issues or quality control issues.
- How to write an Amazon appealOfficial source
- ASIN
- Amazon Standard Identification Number, Amazon's product identifier. Deactivation notices list the affected products at the bottom, and an appeal needs supporting evidence for each one.
- First steps after a deactivationOfficial source
Stripe
- Account closure (Stripe)
- Stripe says it emails the address registered on the account with the reason and shows a red banner at the top of the Dashboard. If your business was misunderstood or miscategorised, the email links to a form for more information.
- Stripe account closed: what to reviewOfficial source
- Paused or postponed payouts (Stripe)
- Payouts whose date keeps moving. Stripe says this is most likely an account verification requirement that still needs completing, which is a different situation from a closure.
- Stripe payouts pausedOfficial source
- Verification requirement
- Information a payment provider asks for about the business, the people behind it or the bank account, usually shown in the Dashboard and sent by email. Unfinished requirements commonly delay payouts.
- Stripe payouts pausedOfficial source
Shopify
- Shopify Payments hold
- A hold on payouts while Shopify waits for something to be resolved, such as missing information, bank details or product eligibility. The store usually stays usable, and only the store owner can resolve it.
- Shopify Payments account on holdOfficial source
- Custom payout schedule (Shopify Payments)
- A longer wait before payouts arrive, which Shopify may set for higher-risk businesses. Shopify says payouts might then take from 5 to 20 business days.
- Shopify Payments appeal supportOfficial source
- Store restriction (Shopify)
- When Shopify restricts a store, the storefront becomes unavailable, billing is paused and the owner keeps limited admin access. The appeal starts from the prompt in the Shopify admin.
- Shopify store restricted: how to appealOfficial source
- Shop Pay
- An accelerated checkout option, not a separate payment account. Shopify says Shop Pay is included as part of Shopify Payments, so a “Shop Pay suspended” message is often about Shopify Payments or the store.
- Shop Pay vs Shopify PaymentsOfficial source
- Reapplying to Shopify Payments
- After a decline, Shopify says you might be eligible to reapply once you've processed payments through a third-party provider for 6 to 12 consecutive months with a chargeback rate below 1%.
- Reapplying after a declineOfficial source
Not sure which term fits your notice?
Send a short description and we'll tell you what it usually means and which official route applies. The first review is free.
No passwords required. Reinstatement is decided by the platform.