Lesley Hensell is co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, whose 85+ employees solve problems for e-commerce sellers. Lesley oversees Riverbend’s service team, and she has personally helped hundreds of sellers get their suspended Amazon accounts and ASINs back up and running. She has been an Amazon seller for more than a decade. lifelong Longhorns fan, Lesley earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and

an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She volunteers for A Wish with Wings, a wish-granting organization for little Texans with life-threatening conditions, and she serves on the Board of Directors for Hallie’s Heroes, which funds bone marrow matches and medical research for kids with cancer and critical illnesses.

Highlight Bullets

> Here’s a glimpse of what you would learn…. 

• Importance of testing products sold on Amazon
• Types of testing required for different product categories
• Communicating with Amazon when disputing testing requirements
• Costs associated with testing and using recommended labs
• Review manipulation issues and tactics leading to account suspensions
• Marketing practices and review manipulation
• Appeal process for Amazon suspensions and dispute-only appeals
• Challenges and frustrations of dealing with Amazon account suspensions
• Escalating issues to Amazon's executive seller relations team
• Recommendations for influential books, productivity tools, and individuals in the e-commerce space
  
  
  

In this episode of the Ecomm Breakthrough podcast, host Josh Hadley interviews Lesley Hensell, co-founder of Riverbend Consulting, about Amazon account protection and suspension recovery. They discuss the importance of product testing, the risks of review manipulation, and the complexities of Amazon's enforcement process. Leslie advises on how to escalate issues to Amazon's executive team and the value of expert assistance. She also shares recommendations for books, tools, and influencers in the e-commerce space. The episode concludes with information on how to contact Riverbend Consulting for help with Amazon account issues.

Here are the 3 action items that Josh identified from this episode:

Action Item#1 Prioritize Product Testing Compliance: Ensure that all necessary testing documents, especially for products related to children, babies, ingestibles, and topicals, are readily available.

Action Item#2 Exercise Caution with Review Practices: Understand the risks associated with review manipulation tactics, such as friends and family reviews, inserts, super URLs, and chatbots.

Action Item#3 Seek Expert Assistance When Needed: Recognize the importance of seeking expert help, especially when facing account violations or dealing with Amazon's enforcement processes.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Josh Hadley on LinkedIn
• eComm Breakthrough Consulting
• eComm Breakthrough Podcast
• Email Josh Hadley: [email protected]
• Riverbend Consulting
• Amazon Incubator
• Wish with Wings
• Hallie's Heroes on Instagram
• FTC lawsuit against Amazon
• EPA consent decree with Amazon
• CPSIA testing
• REACH testing
• Amazon's Appeal Process
• Rescue Time