Seller Audit

SKILL.md

---
name: Seller Audit
description: Run a structured health check of your ecommerce seller account — covering listing quality, policy compliance, performance metrics, and account standing — to catch problems before they catch you.
---

# Seller Audit

Most ecommerce account crises are predictable. A listing violation that's been flagged but ignored, a performance metric drifting toward the suspension threshold, a policy change you didn't read — these all have warning signs that a structured audit would catch. Seller Audit gives Amazon, TikTok Shop, and multi-platform sellers a repeatable checklist for running full account health reviews, diagnosing risk areas before they escalate, and maintaining the account standing needed to run effective promotions, access new features, and avoid the platform-driven disruptions that derail growth.

## Solves

- Account health score is declining and you don't know which metrics are driving it
- You received a policy violation and need to understand the root cause
- You want to run a promotional campaign but your account standing may block it
- A suppressed listing is costing you daily sales and you haven't diagnosed why
- You're onboarding a new team member to manage operations and need a standard process
- You're acquiring an ecommerce business and need to assess platform risk
- Your ODR (Order Defect Rate) or ACOS metrics are drifting and you haven't investigated

## Quick Reference

| Decision | Strong | Acceptable | Weak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit frequency | Monthly full audit + weekly spot check | Quarterly audit | Annual or incident-triggered only |
| Metric monitoring | Automated alerts + daily dashboard review | Weekly manual check | Monthly check |
| Policy change tracking | Platform newsletter subscription + weekly scan | Quarterly policy review | Reactive (only when violated) |
| Listing quality standard | A+ content + all attributes complete | Core content complete | Minimum viable listing |
| Violation response time | Same-day acknowledgment, 72h plan | Within 1 week | Whenever you notice |
| Account backup | Backup payment, secondary user access | Primary only | No redundancy |

## Workflow

### Step 1 — Account Health Scorecard Review
Log into each platform's Seller Central / Account Health dashboard. Screenshot and record all current health metrics. Flag any metric within 20% of the warning threshold. For Amazon: ODR (<1%), Late Shipment Rate (<4%), Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate (<2.5%). For TikTok Shop: Order Completion Rate, Response Rate, Item Not as Described rate. This is your baseline for the audit.

### Step 2 — Active Listing Audit
Pull a full export of your active listings. Check each listing for: suppressed or inactive status, policy flag indicators, image compliance (main image on white, no text overlays where prohibited), title length compliance, required attributes filled, and A+ or Enhanced Brand Content status. Flag any listing with a compliance risk indicator.

### Step 3 — Policy and Compliance Scan
Review each flagged listing against current platform policy. Common violations: prohibited claims (unsubstantiated health claims, comparative claims without evidence), restricted categories (pesticides, supplements requiring pre-approval), image violations, and keyword stuffing in backend search terms. Check the Policy section of Seller Central for any new warnings or notices you haven't actioned.

### Step 4 — Customer Feedback and Returns Analysis
Pull your last 90 days of customer feedback, negative reviews, and return/refund data. Categorize issues: product quality, listing accuracy (product doesn't match description), shipping and fulfillment, and customer service. Identify any systemic patterns — if 30% of returns cite "item not as described," the listing is the problem, not the product.

### Step 5 — Financial Health Check
Review your seller account financials: disbursement schedule and any holds, reserved funds and why, fee changes in the last 90 days, and refund rate trend. Unexplained disbursement holds often signal a background account review by the platform. Catch these early.

### Step 6 — Inventory and FBA Health (if applicable)
For Amazon FBA sellers: review stranded inventory, aged inventory (180+ days facing disposal fees), inventory performance index (keep above 400), and reorder coverage. For TikTok Shop and Shopee: check stockout rate and how it's affecting listing ranking.

### Step 7 — Risk Scoring and Action Plan
Score each audit category on a 1–5 risk scale. Any category scoring 4 or 5 needs an immediate action plan with a named owner and a deadline. Document all audit findings, even the clean ones, so you have a baseline for the next audit. Schedule the next audit.

## Examples

### Example 1 — Amazon Account Health Pre-Campaign Audit

**Situation:** Preparing for a Black Friday campaign. Want to confirm account is eligible for Lightning Deals and any performance-based promotions.

**Audit findings:**
- ODR: 0.6% (green, well below 1% threshold) ✅
- Late Shipment Rate: 3.8% (yellow — within 0.2% of 4% threshold) ⚠️
- 3 listings with suppressed images (uploaded non-compliant main images) 🔴
- 1 listing with a pending policy review notice (health claim language) 🔴
- FBA inventory for top SKU: 18 days coverage (need 45+ days for Q4) ⚠️

**Actions taken:**
1. Fixed 3 suppressed listings (replaced images, resubmitted) — done in 2 days
2. Removed health claim language from listing, submitted appeal on policy notice
3. Submitted FBA replenishment order for top SKU
4. Investigated late shipment rate — found 2 FBM orders shipped late in one week. Switched those SKUs to FBA-only for Q4.

**Outcome:** Campaign launched without issues. Account in clean standing.

### Example 2 — TikTok Shop New Operator Onboarding Audit

**Situation:** New operations manager hired. No documentation of account status or past issues.

**Audit findings:**
- Account health score: 92/100 (2 previous violations, now resolved)
- 7 listings inactive due to missing required attributes
- Response rate: 94% (target: 95%+ for promotional eligibility)
- 2 products with >15% return rate — both citing "not as described"

**Actions:**
1. Documented all previous violations with resolution notes
2. Fixed 7 inactive listings (added missing brand and material attributes)
3. Set up automated response templates to improve response rate
4. Updated listing copy and images for 2 high-return products, added "actual color may vary" disclaimer

**Outcome:** Account health improved to 96/100 within 30 days. New operator had full documented baseline.

## Common Mistakes

1. **Only auditing when something breaks** — Reactive audits find problems after they cost you. Monthly proactive audits prevent most account crises.
2. **Not tracking metric thresholds explicitly** — Know your exact thresholds for each platform. "My ODR is fine" isn't good enough — know that it's at 0.6% vs. a 1% limit.
3. **Ignoring yellow-flag metrics** — Metrics within 20% of threshold need immediate attention, not monitoring.
4. **Not reading policy update emails** — Platform policy changes without warning. Subscribe to seller newsletters and review them weekly.
5. **Fixing violations without root cause analysis** — Removing the violation doesn't fix the system that caused it. Identify root cause or the violation recurs.
6. **Single point of failure on account access** — If your account manager leaves and they're the only admin, you're locked out. Maintain redundant authorized users.
7. **Letting stranded inventory sit** — Stranded FBA inventory costs storage fees and hurts your IPI. Build a weekly stranded inventory clearing process.
8. **Not documenting audit outcomes** — You need a historical record to show pattern resolution during an account appeal, and to prove a violation was isolated.
9. **Missing financial holds** — Unexplained reserve holds are often early signals of an account review. Catch and investigate them within 7 days.
10. **Skipping the returns analysis** — Return patterns are often the earliest signal of a listing accuracy or product quality problem. Don't wait for negative reviews.

## Resources

- [Output Template](references/output-template.md) — Seller audit report format
- [Platform Health Metrics Reference](references/platform-health-metrics.md) — Threshold reference for Amazon, TikTok Shop, Shopee
- [Violation Response Guide](references/violation-response-guide.md) — How to respond to policy violations and appeals
- [Quality Checklist](assets/quality-checklist.md) — Audit completeness gates