tl;dr: actual human seller support is NOT available over email or phone; it's ONLY available through a portal that you can access if you're already logged in. If you can't access your account, you're just *screwed*. I'm posting this not to help anyone per se, but more as a scream into the void about Amazon's worthless Seller Support representatives.
8 months and 14 days after the day my account was alleged to have been deactivated for inactivity, I got a surprise order in—my first ever order as an Amazon Seller! Since the account was abandoned, I hadn't bothered keeping it up to date through a change of phone number. I figured if I ever needed to, I could just reactivate it with e-mail.
So I reset the password—with no problem, mind you; my e-mail was still valid—and tried to get back into the account. I was stuck on the phone-OTP page, and it didn't offer any alternatives; clicking the link for alternatives just directed me to a number to contact Amazon Customer Support. I then spent a few hours on the phone over the course of a few days trying to get back into the account—including uploading my ID for verification, which “re-activated” the non-seller side of my account and allowed me to (halfway) log in to it, but I still couldn't view or change any account settings, such as phone number, without receiving an SMS code at my old number.
The sequence of phone calls ended with me submitting the following ticket to the Seller Central Technical Support Page form, which explicitly states “ If you cannot contact us through Seller Central, please contact us using the form below”. It only offers 3 ticket types: Password Reset, Account Termination, and “Reactivate Your Account” (I chose the last of these, since the password reset actually works self-service, and I certainly don't want to terminate my account):
I'm trying to ship order #112-8574881-6472201.
I cannot log in because I no longer have access to my old phone number (██████████). How can I regain access to my seller account so that I can ship this order?
I just got off a phone call with a representative who said that this contact form is my only chance at restoring access.
A few hours later, I got this reply:
This email is not the correct channel to report login issues.
However in order to help you, I'm providing you with the below information.
If you encounter sign-in issues due to the issues with 2 step verification, try the following steps:
If your phone is lost or stolen, contact your carrier immediately and ask them to block or suspend your line, until you can figure out what happened.
To gain access to your seller account, try logging into Seller Central and click Didn't receive the code? on the bottom of the Two-Step Verification page. Select your backup method for receiving your code.
If you don't have a backup device and can't change your settings, you'll need to go through the Two-Step Verification Account Recovery process. This process requires you to submit documentation verifying your identity. Once verified (usually within 12 hours), Two-Step Verification will be disabled so you can log in. On your next login, you will be required to set up Two-Step Verification again, this time using devices that you have access to.
To access Password Assistance tool click on the below link
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/ap/forgotpassword?openid.assoc_handle=sc_na_amazon_v2&pageId=sc_na_amazon_v2Please click on the below link for Two-Step Verification FAQ
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/202153510For more information about Seller Central sign in help, please use the below help page:
https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/login-helpI hope this helps.
I tried all these, with no luck.
This response didn't permit an e-mail reply, only a reply through the online portal (which I couldn't access due to being logged out—I did try), so I replied back through the same form:
(RE CASE 13397397731. I can't reply on the portal because I can't log in. I was directed to this form by phone support in Customer Service Reply ID A1IS0W6E70DFNO.)
My phone wasn't lost or stolen. I changed numbers years ago and forgot about this account until I got an e-mail telling me that I finally got an Order (#112-8574881-6472201).
When I try to log in, it sends an OTP to my old number. There is no button that says “Didn't receive the code?”, but there is a link that says “If you can’t receive the code, or if you changed your email or phone number, try a different way.” When I click that link, it just says “To continue, you'll need to contact Customer Service.” and directs me to a page with a support phone number which directed me to this form after a very long call.
You say to try the “Two-Step Verification Account Recovery”, but when I I visit https://www.amazon.com/a/recover/upload it requires me to log in and gives the same result as trying to log in normally, directing me to Customer Service without giving me the opportunity to upload ID verification.
How can I get back into my Seller Account so I can ship order #112-8574881-6472201?
Depressingly, their reply gave 0 indication they'd read my ticket:
Thank you for contacting Amazon.
I understand you are having issues with, logging into your selling account.
I have some information and resources to assist you.
We'd suggest you to refer to the link here – https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/202153510 for more details on 2 step verification code.
(Yes, the link they sent is just a help article which links to the very page I said wasn't working for me!)
Worried that my previous message to them was too long, I tried the BLUF strategy:
I cannot get into my account.
Per my previous email, the Two-Step Recovery Process isn't available; clicking the link to recover my account only directs me to contact customer service when I can't access the OTP.
(RE CASE 13397397731 & 13401113931. I can't reply on the portal because I can't log in. I was directed to this form by phone support in Customer Service Reply ID A1IS0W6E70DFNO.)
But they gave a fucking functionally identical canned nonsequitur response:
Thank you for contacting Amazon.
I understand you are having issues with, two step verification.
I have some information and resources to assist you.
Please follow the steps mentioned in "Seller Central Sign In help section".
This page can be access after clicking on 'Help' option on the log in page.
Here is the direct link: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external/login-help
You can view your account performance at (https://sellercentral.amazon.com/performance/dashboard?ref=ah_em_op) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device. Your Account Health shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on [sic]
— Download iOS App at (https://itunes.apple.com/na/app/amazon-seller/
— Download Android App at (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl[sic])Thank you for taking the time to seek assistance with maintaining your Account Health.
I apologize from the bottom of my heart to whoever placed Amazon Order #112-8574881-6472201. Your cables will be very late, and delivered by another seller, because Amazon did not permit me to log on and print the shipping label in time for the order window.
