Amazon's New Account Health Rating Tool

Amazon is at it again, trying to prove it wants to help its sellers.  This time, they have come up with "AHR", which stands for Account Health Rating.  Now in beta, it can be found on your seller central Account Health Dashboard in the middle column, under "Policy Compliance."
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It is supposed to be kind of like an early warning mechanism complete with a color coded red (bad) to yellow (danger Will Robinson!) to red (bend over and kiss your business good bye), but is more like one of those early pregnancy (or COVID 19) tests, which means you have to check with your doctor to see if you are dead or alive.

​Amazon announced on September 17, 2020 that: "if your AHR is "at risk" or "critical" your account may be at risk of deactivation."  It sounds like a good idea, doesn't it?

​The AHR is supposed to consider factors including the number of unresolved policy violations, the relative severity of those violations, the extent to which sellers "positively impact the customer experience" through their selling activities, and is supposed to be updated within 24-48 hours of Amazon confirming that the seller has addressed the policy violations. E Commerce Bytes reported one seller as stating his AHR was still showing his account at risk despite being cleared up four months ago.  Oops, artificial brain fart!  

We also thought it was such a cool feature that we blasted the news out on our social media outlets.  But, one of the things we always ask for is a copy of the Account Health page and the first case we had following the announcement was for a client whose account was suspended for order defects and late shipping.  His AHR, however, shows his account status as "good" and not in danger of deactivation. Thank you, Amazon, but we will rely on our own suspension prevention alert service.
 
The Account Health Rating (AHR) is a new feature that helps you monitor your account health based on your adherence to Amazon’s selling policies. It takes into account factors such as the number of unresolved policy violations on your account at any given time, the relative severity of those violations, and the extent to which you positively impact the customer experience via your selling activities. This rating does not change Amazon’s existing selling policies and will continue to be refined over time. To maintain ‘Good’ account health, please address all policy violations in a timely manner. If your AHR is ‘At Risk’ or ‘Critical’, your account may be at risk of deactivation. Some selling policies are not reflected in it; please ensure overall compliance with our terms, policies, and applicable laws to avoid account deactivation, independent of your AHR.The Account Health Rating (AHR) is a new feature that helps you monitor your account health based on your adherence to Amazon’s selling policies. It takes into account factors such as the number of unresolved policy violations on your account at any given time, the relative severity of those violations, and the extent to which you positively impact the customer experience via your selling activities. This rating does not change Amazon’s existing selling policies and will continue to be refined over time. To maintain ‘Good’ account health, please address all policy violations in a timely manner. If your AHR is ‘At Risk’ or ‘Critical’, your account may be at risk of deactivation.
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Some selling policies are not reflected in it; please ensure overall compliance with our terms, policies, and applicable laws to avoid account deactivation, independent of your AHR.The Account Health Rating (AHR) is a new feature that helps you monitor your account health based on your adherence to Amazon’s selling policies. It takes into account factors such as the number of unresolved policy violations on your account at any given time, the relative severity of those violations, and the extent to which you positively impact the customer experience via your selling activities. This rating does not change Amazon’s existing selling policies and will continue to be refined over time. To maintain ‘Good’ account health, please address all policy violations in a timely manner. If your AHR is ‘At Risk’ or ‘Critical’, your account may be at risk of deactivation. Some selling policies are not reflected in it; please ensure overall compliance with our terms, policies, and applicable laws to avoid account deactivation, independent of your AHR.