Alerts and Flags Feature by Seller Assistant

As an Amazon seller, identifying profitable products to sell is no easy feat. The products must fulfill specific requirements like offering strong profit margins, having high demand, and facing minimal competition. Beyond that, they must also be free of issues that could complicate your selling process.

Selling problematic items can lead to extra expenses or even the suspension of your listing. To prevent this, checking for product sourcing flags that might signal potential risks in your inventory is crucial.

That’s where the Alerts and Flags feature by Seller Assistant comes in – it keeps you informed ahead about the potential deal risks.

 This post describes the Alerts and Flags feature and how it works.

Note. Seller Assistant is a comprehensive product-sourcing software that helps Amazon sellers quickly find high-profit deals. It combines three extensions: Seller Assistant Browser Extension, and IP-Alert Chrome Extension by Seller Assistant, and VPN by Seller Assistant, Amazon seller tools: Price List Analyzer, Brand Analyzer, Seller Spy, Bulk Restrictions Checker, and API integrations, and features: Side Panel View,  FBM&FBA Profit Calculator, Quick View, ASIN Grabber, UPC/EAN to ASIN converter, Stock Checker, IP Alert, and Restrictions Checker.

Seller Assistant shows all necessary product data on Amazon search, product, and inventory pages, and on any website to help you find high-margin deals. By using this FBA and FBM product sourcing software, you can easily identify products that have the potential to be sold well on Amazon.

What Is Seller Assistant’s Alerts and Flags Feature?

Seller Assistant's Alerts and Flags is a powerful feature designed to help Amazon sellers identify hidden risks and challenges in product sourcing. It highlights potential issues with products, such as restrictions. Heavy and bulky, or meltable products, that might not be obvious during initial research.

This tool uses intuitive icons to flag products with specific concerns, like items being meltable, fragile, or hazmat. These visual cues enable sellers to quickly assess a product’s viability and avoid common pitfalls, such as competition with Amazon as a seller, generic brands, or handling extra costs for packaging and shipping.

With Alerts and Flags integrated into your workflow, it’s easier to make informed decisions and choose products that align with your business goals. This feature ensures smoother operations and minimizes unexpected risks, saving you time and money.

The feature is designed specifically for Amazon online arbitrage sellers and dropshippers to simplify the process of competitor analysis, and can help wholesale sellers do extended product research of single products if they need to do it. The feature helps pinpoint risky deals and avoid them.

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Alerts and Flags Functionality

When browsing Amazon in search of profitable deals, you can access Alerts and Flags through Seller Assistant Extension’s Product Panel on Amazon’s product pages and the Side Panel View on supplier websites. 

Alerts and Flags automatically shows specific icons to alert you that products you research may have hidden risks and help avoid costly mistakes. Here’s a breakdown of the flags, their meanings, and why to steer clear of these items.

Alerts and Flags data

Restricted products

Items that require special permissions from Amazon to sell due to safety, licensing, or quality assurance regulations.

• Examples

Alcohol, fireworks, fine art, cosmetics.

• Why avoid

Amazon does not allow you to list unapproved restricted products and you will not be able to add your offer without approval. You must get approval before listing a product. Some sellers may get, some may not, especially if you are a new seller.

Products with IP complaints (Red warning icon)

Items associated with intellectual property (IP) disputes, or other Amazon policy violations.

• Examples

Products flagged for suspected IP violations, authenticity complaints, or condition-related issues.

• Why avoid 

IP complaints harm your account health and may require extensive corrective actions. Failure to address them can result in account suspension.

Heavy and bulky products (Red box icon)

Items exceeding standard size and weight criteria, requiring special handling.

• Examples

Furniture, large musical instruments.

• Why avoid

High fulfillment fees and slower delivery due to processing in separate fulfillment centers reduce profitability and customer satisfaction.

Fragile products (Red glass icon)

Items that can easily break during handling or shipping.

• Examples

Glassware, ceramics, electronics.

• Why avoid 

Increased packaging costs, risk of breakage, and higher return rates can cut into profits.

Meltable products (Red drop icon)

Items that can melt at high temperatures, unsuitable for year-round storage and shipping.

• Examples

Chocolate, wax, certain cosmetics.

• Why avoid 

Seasonal storage restrictions mean products may be disposed of by Amazon during warmer months, leading to losses.

Hazmat products (Red hazmat icon)

Items classified as hazardous materials, posing safety or environmental risks.

• Examples

Lithium batteries, perfumes, flammable goods.

• Why avoid 

Require approval and specialized handling, which incurs extra costs and regulatory scrutiny.

Adult products (Red 18+ icon)

Items related to sexual wellness, requiring special packaging and restrictions.

• Examples

Adult toys, lubricants, lingerie.

• Why avoid 

Restricted category with advertising bans and additional packaging requirements complicates sales.

Products sold by Amazon (Red “A” icon)

Items sold directly by Amazon, where Amazon dominates the Buy Box.

• Examples

Products for which Amazon is the primary seller.

• Why avoid 

Competing with Amazon is nearly impossible, as they typically offer the lowest price and control the Buy Box.

Generic Brands (Red GB Icon)

Listings that lack a recognizable brand name or proper brand registration.

• Examples

Unbranded or generic items.

• Why avoid 

Sellers cannot add offers to such listings on Amazon, making it impossible to sell these products effectively.

Benefits of the Alerts and Flags Feature

The Alerts and Flags feature offers clear advantages to Amazon sellers by providing essential insights and proactive warnings during product research. Here’s how this feature benefits your business.

Identify hidden risks early

Alerts and Flags feature warns about potential issues with the deals you research such as restrictions, Amazon policy violations, or Amazon competition that may not be immediately apparent. It prevents costly mistakes by ensuring informed product sourcing decisions.

Save time and effort

The feature quickly highlights problematic products with intuitive icons, reducing the need for manual checks. It streamlines product research by integrating directly into Amazon product pages and supplier pages with Seller Assistant’s Side Panel View.

Protect your account health

Alerts and Flags feature helps avoid products associated with IP complaints and other Amazon policy violations. It minimizes the risk of account health issues, and offers or account suspension.

Prevent additional costs

The feature flags items like heavy and bulky, fragile, or hazmat products, which often incur extra fulfillment, storage, or shipping fees. It prevents unexpected expenses by guiding you toward cost-effective inventory choices.

Ensure sales efficiency

Alerts and Flags feature prevents unnecessary risks, like seasonal challenges by warning against meltable items unsuitable for year-round fulfillment or competing with Amazon as a seller, enhancing your chances of winning the Buy Box.

Enhance decision-making

The feature provides clear, actionable insights into each flagged product. It empowers you to focus on products that align with your profitability and business goals.

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Alerts and Flags Feature Use Cases 

The Alerts and Flags feature is a valuable tool for Amazon sellers, providing practical solutions for navigating potentially risky deals and optimizing product sourcing. Below are key scenarios where this feature proves essential, along with its solutions.

Avoiding restricted products

• Use case

Sellers need to ensure the deals they find are not restricted and don’t require Amazon’s approval to sell to avoid wasted products they can’t list.

• Solution

The feature flags restricted products with a red lock icon, helping sellers identify items that require additional permissions. This allows you to focus on products that are immediately eligible for sale, saving time and reducing money waste.

Mitigating IP complaints

• Use case

Sellers need to avoid products with IP complaints and other Amazon policy violations that could harm their account health and lead to listing removal.

• Solution

The feature highlights products with potential IP risks using a warning icon. By flagging these items during research, sellers can proactively avoid disputes and maintain a healthy account rating.

Identifying products triggering hidden costs

• Use case

Sellers need to minimize fulfillment costs by avoiding heavy and bulky, fragile, or hazmat items that require special handling and incur higher fees.

• Solution

Products that may incur additional logistics costs are flagged with specific icons, allowing sellers to assess their profitability upfront. This ensures you can focus on sourcing items that fit within standard fulfillment dimensions for better cost control.

Preventing damage from fragile products

• Use case

Sellers need to reduce return rates and additional costs from breakable inventory.

• Solution

Fragile items are flagged with a red glass icon, alerting sellers to products that may require extra packaging. This helps you factor in handling requirements before purchasing such inventory, avoiding unnecessary expenses and customer dissatisfaction.

Avoiding seasonal restrictions on meltable products

• Use case

Sellers need to avoid meltable products that cannot be sold on FBA year-round due to temperature sensitivity.

• Solution

Meltable items are flagged with a red drop icon, notifying sellers of their seasonal limitations. This allows you to adjust your inventory strategy and prevent potential losses from items disposed of during warmer months.

Navigating hazmat regulations

• Use case

Sellers need to avoid hazardous materials that require Amazon’s approval to sell, special documentation. and incur additional handling costs.

• Solution

Hazmat products are flagged with a red hazmat icon, enabling sellers to spot these items quickly. This helps you steer clear of inventory that might complicate your logistics or require specialized approvals.

Avoiding competition with Amazon

• Use case

Sellers need to avoid products where Amazon itself is the dominant seller, making it hard to win the Buy Box.

• Solution

Products sold by Amazon are flagged with a red “A” icon, helping sellers sidestep listings where competition is almost unwinnable. This ensures a better chance at securing profitable sales.

Steering clear of generic brands

• Use case

Sellers need to avoid listings for generic brands, as they cannot add offers to these products.

• Solution

Generic brand products are flagged with a red GB icon, helping sellers identify unbranded items. This allows you to focus on listings that support offer additions, ensuring smoother operations and better sales opportunities.

How Does Alerts and Flags Work?

To access Alerts and Flags, you must create a personal account in Seller Assistant, and open a product page on Amazon or any other website, for instance your potential supplier or retailer. 

Alerts and Flags will automatically show its warning icons in Seller Assistant Extension or in Side Panel View. as described below.

Alerts and Flags on the Amazon product pages

Alerts and Flags feature on the Amazon product pages automatically appears in Seller Assistant Extension’s in the upper-right corner of the Top panel.

Alerts and Flags on the supplier websites

To activate Alerts and Flags on a supplier website, 

• Select the text you want to search (for instance, product title), right-click, and choose from the context menu “Search with Seller Assistant;”

• or click the Extensions icon to the right of your address bar in Chrome browser and choose Seller Assistant (if you’ve already pinned Seller Assistant).

Alerts and Flags will show its icons in Side Panel View under the Quick info section.

FAQ

What is the Alerts and Flags feature?

Alerts and Flags is a tool in Seller Assistant that highlights potential risks or challenges with specific products during your research. It uses icons to flag issues such as restricted categories, IP complaints, and fragile items, helping sellers make informed decisions.

How does the Alerts and Flags feature work?

The feature integrates directly into Amazon product pages and displays warning icons for flagged items. It also provides detailed information in the Side Panel View, allowing sellers to quickly assess potential risks.

What types of products are flagged by Alerts and Flags?

Products flagged include restricted items, hazardous materials, heavy and bulky goods, fragile inventory, meltable items, and those sold by Amazon or tied to generic brands. Each category has a unique icon to easily identify the issue at a glance.

Why should I use the Alerts and Flags feature?

The feature helps you avoid costly mistakes, such as sourcing items that incur high fees, require special permissions, or pose risks to your account health. It streamlines product research, saving you time and effort while protecting your business.

Where are Alerts and Flags displayed?

Alerts and Flags appear directly on Amazon product pages in Seller Assistant extension or on the supplier website in the SidePanel View. This ensures you can spot potential risks immediately during your research workflow.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, Seller Assistant's Alerts and Flags is a handy feature for Amazon sellers involved in product sourcing that helps avoid risky and problematic deals thus saving you money. By getting these alerts, you can avoid problematic deals that can trigger money loss.

‍Seller Assistant is an all-in-one product sourcing software offering all the features vital for product sourcing. It combines three extensions: Seller Assistant Extension, IP Alert, and VPN by Seller Assistant, tools: Price List Analyzer, Brand Analyzer, Seller Spy, Bulk Restrictions Checker, and API integrations, and features: Side Panel View, FBM&FBA Profit Calculator, Quick View, ASIN Grabber, UPC/EAN to ASIN converter, Stock Checker, and other features that help quickly find high-profit deals. Seller Assistant also offers integration with Zapier allowing to create custom product sourcing workflows.