[Taking my troll a$$ outta here]

This thread continues to baffle and scare me because of all the tangential nonsense conspiracy theories that people will come up with (and believe!) in the absence of information.

This is the only thing we know (and likely the only thing Pauline knows):

Her account was banned for having seen "too many borrows from fake accounts".

That's it, people!

Nothing to do with affiliates. Nothing to do with bank accounts. Nothing to do with Pauline. Just with some Amazon bot spitting out her account as suspicious. It could happen to all of us.

I am convinced of the following:

1. Amazon, being a behemoth company, and like all behemoth companies, is fragmented in its responses. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Think going to your Telco with a billing complaint. Multiply incompetence of individual employees times ten.
2. Amazon is no angel and no villain. It's just a big, cumbersome company trying, and occasionally failing, to automate stuff
3. I'm sure that once Pauline gets onto the right person, she will get this resolved, stressing though it will certainly be for her

Bahahah we must have been reading/posting at the same time....except you're much more succinct than me

 

[Anarchist]

This thread continues to baffle and scare me because of all the tangential nonsense conspiracy theories that people will come up with (and believe!) in the absence of information.

This is the only thing we know (and likely the only thing Pauline knows):

Her account was banned for having seen "too many borrows from fake accounts".

That's it, people!

Nothing to do with affiliates. Nothing to do with bank accounts. Nothing to do with Pauline. Just with some Amazon bot spitting out her account as suspicious. It could happen to all of us.

I am convinced of the following:

1. Amazon, being a behemoth company, and like all behemoth companies, is fragmented in its responses. The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. Think going to your Telco with a billing complaint. Multiply incompetence of individual employees times ten.
2. Amazon is no angel and no villain. It's just a big, cumbersome company trying, and occasionally failing, to automate stuff
3. I'm sure that once Pauline gets onto the right person, she will get this resolved, stressing though it will certainly be for her

Thank you for that dose of much-needed sanity.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a good bout of the following as much as the next guy...

... but it's a little disturbing 15 pages in.

 

[Becca Mills]

This thread continues to baffle and scare me because of all the tangential nonsense conspiracy theories that people will come up with (and believe!) in the absence of information.

Well, there's really a lot to keep straight. Those of us who are here on KB daily absorb the info slowly, as it comes out. That makes it easier. Imagine instead encountering a bunch of new info all at once. That can lead different issues to get connected in people's minds. This event is magnifying that tendency because it's reaching so many people. (My blog post on this has surpassed 20,000 views, now.) Also, the news about the crackdown on sites relying on affiliate income came out at about the same time, which makes it easy to conflate the two things under a larger "hard-ass Amazon" umbrella.

But yeah, human beings like to explain things. We like our effects to have causes. That's how we learn, so that we don't run into the same problems over and over. Being left with no explanation for what happened to Pauline is both frustrating and scary. So we try to push things into that void, fill it up.

 

[lyndabelle]

I think besides what happened to the OP, there are the other closed accounts situations being considered at the same time. And everyone is trying to put it all together so we can all avoid a nuke to our accounts. I'm guessing why this is so popular now is everyone is trying to avoid the same thing happening to them. Most of us in KU don't want to loose that money stream, and we're trying to think smart. I mean, it could be construed to be a panic, but it's not a outlandish thought to want to avoid the same thing happening to you. It's what the hive mind on the board does so well, figure out stuff.

It may take some time to figure out what is really happening. Some are figuring to ignore KU all together, but some of us that do make legitimate money, writing real stories, aren't running quite yet. I'm mostly avoiding what might be triggers, Facebook group posts(which was already a problem at Facebook with people getting accounts closed there), the Affiliates Program(which I can't do since I live in California. Some states have been banned by Amazon for this program due to sales tax laws passed in the state), possible Fiverr or other author promo sites, and just sticking to author cross-promos. Sometimes it is good to lay low while Amazon goes through it's purging sieges. Always good to avoid the burn if you can. This board tends to be on top of the issues in most cases, and I've gotten good avoidance advice here. The OP did us all a favor bringing attention to the issue. Make fun of the panic, but it might be a way we finally figure out an answer.

 

[Philip Gibson]

After seeing 'reads' on my books that could be seen by Amazon as suspicious, I asked KDP to look into my account and check everything was okay. They answered thus:

Hello Philip,

I've checked your account and can confirm that your account and books are in good standing.

Ensuring the security of publisher account information is our top priority.

Also, please be assured that we will notify publishers before taking any action on the account.

I appreciate your understanding.

Thanks for using Amazon KDP. Have a nice day!

The part I bolded is somewhat reassuring.

 

[Guest]

This is the only thing we know (and likely the only thing Pauline knows):

Her account was banned for having seen "too many borrows from fake accounts".

That's it, people!

We know more than that. We know Pauline's Amazon affiliate account had been suspended already.

This thread continues to baffle and scare me because of all the tangential nonsense conspiracy theories that people will come up with (and believe!) in the absence of information.

For me it's easier to believe that Amazon banned her KDP account after her affiliate account had been suspended for violating Amazon's TOS than to believe that some poltergeist is lurking in the dark sprinkling KU reads on writers' KDP accounts to get them banned.

I hope they let Pauline off the hook. But something tells me they won't buy a poltergeist defense, when they have access to her other accounts.

Update: changed banned into suspended

 

[Donna White Glaser]

For me it's easier to believe that Amazon banned her KDP account after her affiliate account had been banned for violating Amazon's TOS than to believe that some poltergeist is lurking in the dark sprinkling KU reads on writers' KDP accounts to get them banned.

"Poltergeist" seems a little disingenuous to me. There are certainly scammers out there who have embroiled innocent people in their scams, and there are disturbed people--readers and writers, alike--who have used underhanded ways to retaliate against others for slights they've felt or imagined, or even just to attack somebody else's success. Does it happen often? Thankfully, no. But it's not unheard of and it's not ridiculous for folks to want to be cautious of running afoul such things.

 

[Becca Mills]

We know more than that. We know Pauline's Amazon affiliate account had been banned already.

For me it's easier to believe that Amazon banned her KDP account after her affiliate account had been banned for violating Amazon's TOS than to believe that some poltergeist is lurking in the dark sprinkling KU reads on writers' KDP accounts to get them banned.

I hope they let Pauline off the hook. But something tells me they won't buy a poltergeist defense, when they have access to her other accounts.

Her affiliate account was suspended, not banned, for the offense of using affiliate tags in emails, which is something lots of people were doing until recently -- either because of misunderstanding the TOS or because Amazon wasn't enforcing the rule. If that apparent slap on the wrist is the first strike in an unstated two-strikes-you're-out policy, we have great cause for concern.

It also leaves completely mysterious what the second strike was.

 

[Anarchist]

This is the only thing we know (and likely the only thing Pauline knows):

Her account was banned for having seen "too many borrows from fake accounts".

We know more than that. We know Pauline's Amazon affiliate account had been banned already.

Is there evidence that actions taken against Pauline's affiliate account are related to her issues concerning her KU status?

 

[AllyWho]

We know more than that. We know Pauline's Amazon affiliate account had been banned already.

Please link to your evidence of this.

I can see where the OP stated her affiliate account was suspended, and she received a warning. I can not find anywhere, where she stated it was banned.

 

[Pauline Creeden]

Hi everyone! Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and many letters to Amazon. Tonight my KDP account has been restored and soon my books will be back online!

I've been lurking but staying silent through the rough stuff because I hate being argumentative. So those who continued to show support and good faith in me, I thank you again from the bottom of my heart.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[TheLemontree]

YAY!!!!!!!!!

 

[lilywhite]

Hi everyone! Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and many letters to Amazon. Tonight my KDP account has been restored and soon my books will be back online!

Yay!

 

[over and out]

1

 

[BookwormT]

Hi everyone! Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and many letters to Amazon. Tonight my KDP account has been restored and soon my books will be back online!

That's so awesome to hear! I'm relieved for you!

 

[Becca Mills]

     

 

[PearlEarringLady]

This is the very best news, and not just for the OP, but for everyone else losing sleep over the possibility of this happening to them. It's so good to know that this problem CAN be resolved and that Amazon DOES listen.

Welcome back!

 

[JB Rowley]

Hi everyone! Thanks for your thoughts, prayers and many letters to Amazon. Tonight my KDP account has been restored and soon my books will be back online!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Fantastic news! All the very best. I sincerely hope Amazon considers taking a different approach in similar circumstances in the future.

 

[Queen Mab]

Very glad to hear it!

 

[Cactus Lady]

Great news! Very happy for you, and hopefully Amazon will start handling this sort of thing better.