This article is for sellers who have been contacted by someone claiming to represent "Executive Seller Relations," or who have heard that "reaching a higher-level contact will resolve a suspension" and aren't sure what to make of it. We lay out what official materials actually confirm, how to verify whether a message is genuine, how to read what a notice says, which Seller Central contact channels to use, and how to organize your records.
What Executive Seller Relations is: what official materials confirm
Executive Seller Relations (略してESR) is a name some sellers and industry commentators use for a team said to handle escalations above ordinary support. However, as far as we were able to confirm as of September 2026, no description of a department by this name appears in Seller Central's main Help pages, the Amazon Services Business Solutions Agreement (the contract between a seller and Amazon; "BSA" below), the reports Amazon has submitted to the Japanese government, or the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's (METI) evaluation report. Policies and on-screen content can change, so also check the latest Help pages.
This doesn't mean the team doesn't exist, but its authority, role, and contact details can't be confirmed from official sources. If you hear it described as "the department that makes the final call" or "reach them and you can get reinstated," it's safer not to take that at face value.
The contact structure described in Amazon's reports
Amazon submits periodic reports to METI under the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms (取引透明化法), which describe two channels for receiving seller complaints and inquiries.
| Channel | Description in the report (summary) | How sellers reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Technical Support | Handles seller inquiries. Separate from the team responsible for enforcement actions | "Contact Us" (お問い合わせ) in Seller Central |
| The team responsible for enforcement actions | Handles listing suspensions, account suspensions, holds on sales proceeds, and similar measures. A dedicated team independent from the selling-services and retail-business organizations | Enforcement notices; appeals from the Account Health page |
Whatever name appears in a notice's signature, review of an enforcement action is, in principle, handled by the "team responsible for enforcement actions." Rather than judging a notice's weight by its signature, verify the nature of the action and how to appeal it using the notice as it appears in Seller Central.
The similarly named "Executive Seller Summit" is a different thing
The "Executive Seller Summit Community" on Amazon's Seller Forums is described as an invitation-only space where Executive Seller Summit (ESS) participants network with each other. It is not a contact channel for suspensions or appeals.
Stories about emails to executives are not guidance on a contact channel
You may come across accounts describing how some emails addressed to the founder were forwarded to executives with a "?" added to the subject line (this appears in the English-language Wikipedia article and is secondhand information). There's no way to confirm where a seller's email actually gets routed, and Article 18 of the BSA specifies that communications from sellers should be sent to the "Selling Partner Support Team" through Seller Central or similar channels.
If you receive a message claiming to be from "Executive," verify it: 4 steps
Messages claiming to come from a higher-level department are also a common subject for impersonation. The sender address, signature format, or other details for messages claiming to be from ESR are not described in any official guidance, and we were not able to confirm them either. If you're contacted by phone, don't give out a password or bank details on the spot; check whether the same content appears in a notice or case in Seller Central before responding. For an email, verify it in the following order.
STEP 1. Don't click links in the email — log in directly
Amazon's Help also recommends not clicking links inside an email, and instead going directly to Seller Central.
STEP 2. Cross-check it against notices in Seller Central
Check the Account Health page, Performance Notifications, and the Notification Preferences center (通知管理センター) for a matching notice. The notification center lets you check notifications from the past 30 days, along with whether delivery succeeded and where they were sent. Save any important notices while they're still available.
STEP 3. Check what information is being requested and who it's from
Amazon states that it will never ask you to provide bank account details, credit card numbers, PIN codes, credit card security codes, identity-verification information such as your mother's maiden name, or your Amazon or Seller Central password by email. Treat any message that tries to get you to enter this information by replying to the email or through a link in it as fake, regardless of which department it claims to be from. Don't judge based on the sender's domain alone — also check the "From," "Reply-To," and "Return-Path" headers.
Note that for procedures such as releasing a hold on sales proceeds, you may be asked for identity verification or sourcing-related documents. Even then, log in to Seller Central directly rather than through a link in the email, and confirm what's being asked against what's shown on screen and in Help before responding.
STEP 4. If it's fake, report it as an attachment
For a suspected phishing email, sending the fake email as an attachment to stop-spoofing@amazon.com is said to preserve the header information and make it easier to trace the source (a reply isn't guaranteed).
Replying once you've confirmed a message is genuine
- Reply using the method the message specifies (replying to the same email, a designated case, the Account Health page, etc.), and don't send the same content to a different channel
- Open with the notice's date and case ID, and answer in a way that corresponds to items ② and ③ in the four-field format described in the next section
- Attach only the documents requested, in the format specified
- Keep a copy of what you sent and any attachments
Read a notice by its "four fields," not its signature
Under Article 3 of the BSA, when Amazon immediately suspends or terminates an account, it will, in principle, notify the seller by email or through Seller Central, stating the reason and the available options for appeal. Regardless of the signature, start by locating the "reason" and "how to appeal." What to check on a suspension notice with a different signature is covered in how to read a suspension notice from an Account Specialist.
It helps to copy the notice's content into the following four fields. Copy the original wording as is, and keep your own interpretation on a separate line.
| Field | What to copy in | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| ① What happened | The type of action (listing suspension, account suspension, hold on sales proceeds, etc.) and what it applies to (ASIN, SKU, or the whole account) | Don't confuse a listing-level action with an account-level one |
| ② Why | The reason stated in the notice and any policy named | If it's vague, write down what's unclear |
| ③ What you're asked to submit | The documents, explanation, or options requested | Whether a format or set of options is specified |
| ④ Where and by when | The screen or button to submit through, and the deadline | Don't let it sit even if no deadline is stated |
For help telling a "suspension" apart from a "termination" in field ①, see reading a notice that distinguishes suspension from termination.
When the reason given is vague
Amazon has told METI that when fraud is suspected, it may withhold detailed explanations in a notice or the outcome of an appeal. In METI's survey (based on respondents' own perceptions), 24% of businesses that had experienced an account suspension or removal said "the notice states a reason, but it isn't specific."
Rather than hoping a higher-level contact will help, it's more realistic to ask the channel you're using specifically "which requirement, in which document, wasn't met." Since an explanation may still be withheld, keep a record of what you've submitted and what you want to confirm.
The format for an appeal is sometimes fixed
The required appeal format differs by type of violation. For example, for a product-condition violation, Help states that two specific options are presented, and that a plan of action or images of your inventory page will not be accepted. Even a long submission doesn't count as answering the point if it doesn't match the required format.
The escalation process confirmed in official materials
Amazon's reports and the government's evaluation report confirm the entry points available to sellers, and the internal process by which a case can be escalated.
| Path | Description in the report/evaluation (summary) | How a seller is involved |
|---|---|---|
| Appeal from the Account Health page | Goes directly to a reviewer on the team responsible for enforcement, who re-examines the case individually | The entry point available to sellers. In principle, start here |
| Re-review by the team that took the action | Reverses the action if deemed appropriate. A target turnaround of 24-48 hours has been set | Submit any additional information requested, as instructed |
| Senior-level advisors | Cases with complex facts are analyzed and handled by an experienced, higher-level reviewer | An internal escalation process, not a contact channel a seller can request by name |
| Written correspondence and the legal department | If a seller isn't satisfied with the response, they can send written correspondence, and Japan's legal department reviews the content and evidence and discusses it with the seller | The report doesn't state a mailing address, format, or expected response time. Consult a lawyer if you're considering this route |
| The domestic representative and the transparency-law contact | When a complaint shared by the government or a consultation service suggests the response was inadequate, this team works with the relevant business unit to resolve issues such as reversing an action or issuing a refund | We could not confirm from public information any channel a seller can apply to directly |
Nowhere in this process, as confirmed by official materials, is "Executive Seller Relations" described.
Complaints and re-reviews, by the numbers
According to Amazon's report, sellers filed 85,235 complaints between April 2024 and March 2025 (the total across all channels, including Technical Support, not limited to appeals), with an average processing time of 6.83 days (the report doesn't detail how this figure was calculated). Of the complaints that reached the team responsible for enforcement actions, roughly 68% of re-reviews upheld the original decision. Both figures come from Amazon itself, but they suggest that requesting a re-review doesn't guarantee the outcome will change, and that what matters is having your evidence and points organized — not the name of who's reviewing it.
Seller Central's contact channels and when to use each one
Before looking for a special channel, use Seller Central's existing contact channels according to your purpose. The names below follow Help and may differ from what you see on screen.
| Channel | Main use | How to access it / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Account Health → "Reactivate your selling account" | Appealing an account suspension | Submit your response along with any supporting documents. Allow up to around 2 days for a reply as a rough guide |
| "View requests" (要請を見る) on the Account Health page | Submitting additional information | If the review outcome email asks for additional information, submit it here |
| Product Policy Compliance (商品規約の遵守) | Responding to a removed or suspended listing | Check the details for each listing, then appeal or make a correction |
| Account Health Support | Dedicated support for Professional sellers | From "Contact Us" on the Account Health page, enter your phone number and a specialist will call you |
| "Contact Us" (Technical Support) | General questions about operations or procedures | Email support is available 24/7; chat and phone are available 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Japan time |
| Urgent response request (an option on the "Contact Us" form) | A pricing error you can't fix yourself, a selling account affected by fraud, an issue receiving payment, and similar situations | Cases flagged this way are prioritized above the usual queue. Use it only when an urgent resolution is essential |
For preparing to speak with Account Health Support by phone, see preparing before you contact Account Health Support; for how to phrase an inquiry, see organizing what you say to Technical Support.
The proper way to ask for a case to be escalated
The guidelines for contacting Technical Support set out rules for how cases should be handled. When you want a case escalated, keep the following in mind.
- Check status through your case history, and don't open a new case if one on the same issue is already under review
- Open one case per issue
- Flag time-sensitive issues as "urgent"
- If you have a question about a closed case, or believe it was handled incorrectly, reopen the same case
- Don't reopen or recreate a case once you've been told "no further action will be taken"
Not following these rules can result in a case being closed.
Account Health Assurance and Seller Challenge
Account Health Assurance (アカウント健全性アシュアランス) is a separate program from the Account Health Support phone line described above. Under certain conditions, it protects eligible Professional sellers from suspension while they're responding to a contact from Amazon. Eligibility requires maintaining an Account Health Rating (AHR) of 250 or higher for at least 6 months (with up to 10 days below 250 allowed) and having a valid emergency contact phone number registered. As long as a seller responds to Amazon's contact within 72 hours and continues to cooperate, their account won't be suspended. Seller Challenge, which lets a seller request review of a listing-level action, carries a note in the U.S. version of Help stating it's "currently available only to Account Health Assurance-enrolled sellers based in the United States." The Japanese-language Help doesn't include this note, but we were unable to confirm whether it's available in Japan. Neither program is a procedure for reinstating an account that has already been suspended.
When sales proceeds are on hold
According to Help, when Amazon determines there is a risk, sales proceeds are, in principle, held for 90 days and may be extended if needed. You can appeal through the hold notice or the procedure described in Seller Central, and if the hold isn't released, you can separately file a payment request appeal to disbursement-appeals@amazon.co.jp once 60 days have passed since the hold date. Because the number of days stated can vary by notice, check both the notice and Help. For more detail, see how to check sales proceeds after a suspension and notices about held funds and keeping inquiry records.
Organize records that anyone can follow
Whichever channel you contact, you need records that make clear which case, and what about it, you want checked.
Records to have on hand
- The original text of each notice (including screenshots from the Notification Preferences center) and the date received
- A list of case IDs, along with the date of each inquiry, the date of each reply, and a summary of what was said
- The file names of documents submitted, the date submitted, and the screen used to submit them
- The affected ASINs/SKUs and their current status
- Whether any case has been told "no further action will be taken"
- Any questions that still haven't been answered
Based on these records, here's a sample of how to phrase an inquiry to Technical Support or Account Health Support. It assumes a reply to an existing case; if the appeal screen specifies a format, follow that instead. This is a hypothetical example, not an actual case.
Regarding the account suspension notice dated [date], I submitted an appeal through "Reactivate your selling account" the same day, and on [date] received a reply stating that "the submitted documents do not meet the requirements" (related case ID: [XXXX]).
I submitted [number] purchase invoices for the affected ASIN. Could you let me know which document, or which item within it, doesn't meet the requirements, or what additional document type is needed?
Please reply within this same case.
If you're reviewing the substance of your appeal, also see how to build a plan of action.
What not to do
- Track down an executive's personal email address and write to them: This isn't a contractual point of contact.
- Send the same message to multiple channels at once: This goes against the one-issue-one-case guideline.
- Repeatedly reopen or recreate a case once told "no further action will be taken": The Technical Support guidelines specifically say not to reopen or recreate a case in this situation. If you disagree, check what options are available through a lawyer or a government consultation service.
- Exaggerate facts to strengthen your case: The Seller Code of Conduct also prohibits misleading conduct in communications between sellers and Amazon.
- Open another account while suspended: Under the Seller Code of Conduct, a seller may generally maintain only one Seller Central account per selling region, unless there's a legitimate business reason for a second account and every account is being operated without issues. Since a suspended account generally can't be considered to be "operated without issues," this exception generally wouldn't apply. Opening a new account to get around a suspension may violate the Seller Code of Conduct.
- Take at face value a solicitation claiming "I can get you through to a special channel": A named, higher-level channel that sellers can apply to isn't confirmed anywhere in Amazon's materials.
Help outside Amazon: government programs and professionals
The following resources exist outside Amazon.
| Resource | What it offers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Digital Platform Transaction Consultation Desk (デジタルプラットフォーム取引相談窓口, a service commissioned by METI) | Specialized counselors respond free of charge, offering advice on how to raise questions with the marketplace, and providing lawyer referrals with fee subsidies (up to one hour, once per business) | Does not mediate or arbitrate individual disputes |
| Petition to the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry | If the minister finds that the platform provider hasn't taken the measures it should, the minister can request that it take appropriate action | The law prohibits disadvantageous treatment on the grounds that a petition was filed |
| A lawyer | Evaluation against the contract and applicable law, drafting documents, and considering legal proceedings | The counterparty to the contract is, in principle, Amazon Japan G.K. (except when using the Selling Partner API), and the governing law is Japanese law. Since jurisdiction is also specified, confirm the relevant contract clauses with a lawyer |
None of these can guarantee any particular outcome.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Is there a way to contact Executive Seller Relations directly?
A. We could not confirm any officially announced channel that sellers can apply to. File an appeal from the Account Health page, and send questions through "Contact Us."
Q. I received an email from someone claiming to be from ESR. Does it carry more weight than a regular notice?
A. The name alone doesn't tell you how serious it is. Verify that it's genuine, organize it using the four-field format, and respond in the format requested.
Q. My appeal keeps getting rejected with the same template response. Can it be escalated?
A. There is a process for a senior reviewer to handle complex cases, but it isn't something a seller can specifically request. If you haven't been told "no further action will be taken," consider asking specifically what was insufficient by reopening the existing case, contacting Account Health Support through "Contact Us" on the Account Health page if you're a Professional seller, or getting advice on next steps from a government consultation service.
Q. Can a hold on sales proceeds be released faster through a special contact?
A. We found no such guidance in Amazon's materials. What Help describes is an appeal through the notice's procedure, and a separate payment request appeal available once 60 days have passed since the hold date.
Q. Could I be treated unfavorably for seeking out a special contact or filing a petition with the government?
A. We found no official statement about being treated favorably or unfavorably for contacting a particular internal team at Amazon. What the Act on Improving Transparency and Fairness of Specified Digital Platforms prohibits is disadvantageous treatment on the grounds that a petition was filed with the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; it doesn't cover internal contacts. Whether a consultation with a support desk counts as this kind of "petition" is something to confirm with the desk or a lawyer.
Summary
Rather than placing hope in a name, it matters more to convey your point through the proper procedure.
- ESR doesn't appear in any of the official Help pages, contracts, Amazon reports, or METI evaluation report we were able to confirm, so its authority and contact details can't be established with certainty
- Verify any message claiming to be from a higher-level department, whether by email or phone, against Seller Central. Treat any message asking for a password or bank details by email as fake
- Read a notice by its four fields — what happened, why, what's being requested, and where and by when — rather than by its signature
- A process involving senior reviewers does exist in Amazon's reports, but it isn't a channel a seller chooses. The entry points are an appeal from the Account Health page and case-by-case inquiries
If you're unsure how to proceed, gather your records and consider consulting a professional as well.
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Further reading
Contacting Amazon Account Health Support: preparation and questions for the call Read article → 
Distinguishing Amazon seller account suspension from closure: notices and reinstatement inquiries Read article → 
Building an Amazon Plan of Action: root causes, corrective steps and prevention Read article →