LHR case study: Amazon marketplace unblocked – when Italy stays closed after years of non-use

2 hours ago From Arno Lampmann

Since 2019 the retailer has been selling on amazon.de without a single complaint.

When the company wants to start selling in Italy with the same European seller account, its listings cannot be bought, on the strength of a policy that nobody apart from Seller Support seems to know.

How do you get an Amazon marketplace unblocked when Amazon’s only answer is “policy”?

We had not come across this constellation in exactly this form before:

A retailer registers a European seller account but for years sells only on its home marketplace, amazon.de.
Later, further countries are to be added, for instance Italy, France or Spain.
Listings can be created on the new marketplace but cannot be purchased.
Seller Support declares reactivation impossible because the account had been “inactive” for too long.

The result: a business with no policy violation whatsoever is shut out of a market for which it has long had a contract. A recent case from our firm shows that sellers need not accept this, and how quickly things can change once the question of the legal basis is put to the right addressee.

Overview

The case: Amazon’s Italian marketplace could not be unblocked
Amazon’s argument: a “policy for legacy staged accounts”
Legal framework: may Amazon block individual EU marketplaces for inactivity?
Strategy: how can a blocked Amazon marketplace be unblocked?
Outcome: selling in Italy again after less than three weeks
Frequently asked questions about unblocking Amazon marketplaces
Further information

The case: Amazon’s Italian marketplace could not be unblocked

Our client, a German limited company in online retail, was able to list its products on amazon.it but not to sell them. Its seller account had been active and without complaint on amazon.de for years. Amazon refused to activate Italy solely by pointing to how long the account had remained unused there.

The key facts:

amazon.de as the main sales channel since 2019, via a European seller account.
Not all European marketplaces had been used so far, amazon.it among them.
The Italian listings were created but never switched live; customers could not order.
No policy violations, warnings or open performance issues on the main channel.
Seller Support gave the same answer across several requests.

Amazon’s argument: a “policy for legacy staged accounts”

Amazon relied on an internal rule called the “policy for legacy staged accounts”. Under it, an account could not be reactivated once it had remained in this status for more than two years. What was apparently meant was a marketplace that had been set up but never actively used.

The answer had one flaw: no policy of that name could be found, neither in the published programme policies nor in the contractual documentation for sellers. Our research did not turn up any comparable rule that would justify blocking a marketplace after two years of “inactivity” either. What the seller is left with is an answer that sounds as final as it is unsupported.

Particularly problematic: the support channel led nowhere. Every enquiry produced the same text module, and no substantive review could be obtained there.

Legal framework: may Amazon block individual EU marketplaces for inactivity?

No, at least not on the basis of a rule that does not appear in the terms and conditions. Registering a European seller account gives the seller contractual access to Amazon’s European marketplaces. Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (the Platform-to-Business or P2B Regulation) requires the grounds for restrictions to be disclosed in the terms and conditions and to be stated in each individual case. An unwritten two-year rule meets neither requirement.

1. The European seller account covers all marketplaces

By registering a European seller account, the seller enters into a contract with Amazon EU S.à r.l. in Luxembourg that includes access to all existing European Amazon marketplaces. Choosing not to serve certain countries at first is a business decision, not a waiver. The terms do not require each marketplace to be used within a particular period.

2. Grounds for restrictions belong in the terms and conditions

Under Art. 3(1)(c) of the P2B Regulation, online intermediation services must set out in their terms and conditions the grounds on which they restrict, suspend or terminate their services for business users in whole or in part. The terms must also be drafted in plain and intelligible language and be easily available at all times (Art. 3(1)(a) and (b)). Changes must be notified at least 15 days in advance (Art. 3(2)). A “policy” that exists only internally cannot meet these requirements by definition.

3. No restriction without a statement of reasons

Where a platform restricts its services for a seller, even for individual listings, it must give reasons under Art. 4(1) of the P2B Regulation. For Amazon as a very large online platform, Art. 17 of the Digital Services Act (DSA) additionally requires a clear and specific statement of reasons, including the contractual provision the measure is based on. A reference to a rule the seller cannot look up can hardly be called specific. We have set out the requirements of both provisions in detail in our article May Amazon suspend without giving reasons? (in German).

4. Market power comes with obligations

The German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has designated Amazon as an undertaking of paramount significance for competition across markets under Section 19a of the German Act against Restraints of Competition (GWB); the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) has confirmed that designation. For sellers who depend on access to the European marketplaces, this raises the bar for any unequal treatment that cannot be objectively justified. A seller with the same contract as everyone else may not be treated worse without a comprehensible reason.

Strategy: how can a blocked Amazon marketplace be unblocked?

In this case, the route was not more support tickets but a lawyer’s letter to the contracting party that demands the legal basis of the measure and the unblocking within a deadline. A clean record of what Seller Support has claimed is the prerequisite. If Amazon maintains its refusal, internal complaint handling, mediation and interim relief before the courts remain available.

1. Secure the support answers

Every answer from Seller Support belongs on file with date, case number and wording. Naming the alleged policy was particularly valuable in this case because it committed Amazon to a specific reason that could be checked.

2. Demand the legal basis

The decisive question is not whether the seller did something wrong but which provision of the terms and conditions Amazon relies on. Whoever cannot answer that question has a problem with the P2B Regulation and the DSA, not the seller.

3. Address the letter to the right party

On 16 October 2026 our colleague Anastasia Baumann called on Amazon to unblock the Italian marketplace for our client without restriction. The letter was addressed to the contracting party, Amazon EU S.à r.l.; the reply came from Amazon’s legal department in Munich. It explained that the contract covers access to all European marketplaces, that the policy cited could not be found and that a restriction without a basis in the terms and conditions infringes Art. 3 and Art. 4 of the P2B Regulation.

4. Keep escalation options open

Had Amazon not responded, the internal complaint-handling system, mediation under the P2B Regulation and, if necessary, an application for a preliminary injunction would have been the next steps. We have described the out-of-court options in Complaint, mediation, dispute resolution and the requirements for interim relief in Preliminary injunction against Amazon (both in German).

Outcome: selling in Italy again after less than three weeks

Less than three weeks after our letter, the client was able to sell its products on amazon.it again. On 5 November 2026 Amazon’s legal department, on behalf of Amazon EU S.à r.l., confirmed in writing that the client can sell on the Italian marketplace without restriction. The “policy for legacy staged accounts” was, incidentally, no longer mentioned.

We recently described how Amazon confronts sellers with reasons that do not withstand scrutiny in the case of an alleged “related account” (in German). Further cases can be found on our page Our successes.

For sellers planning to expand into further EU countries, the lesson is simple: a marketplace that has gone unused for years is not lost for that reason. Anyone told about a “policy” by Seller Support should ask to see it.

Frequently asked questions about unblocking Amazon marketplaces

Does a European Amazon seller account automatically cover all EU marketplaces?+

Registering a European seller account gives the seller contractual access to Amazon’s existing European marketplaces. Whether and when to use them is the seller’s own decision. There is no obligation to serve all countries straight away.

Can Amazon block a marketplace because it was not used for two years?+

Only if such a rule is clearly set out in the terms and conditions and was notified in good time. The P2B Regulation requires grounds for restrictions to be stated in the terms and justified in each individual case. A policy kept only internally is not enough.

What should sellers do if Seller Support keeps sending the same answer?+

In this case, further support tickets achieved nothing. What made the difference was a reasoned written letter to the contracting party, Amazon EU S.à r.l., demanding the legal basis of the measure and setting a deadline. All previous support answers should be secured for this purpose.

What rights do sellers have if Amazon does not respond?+

Sellers can use the internal complaint-handling system, initiate mediation under the P2B Regulation or go to court, including interim proceedings where the economic damage is urgent. Which route makes sense depends on the turnover on the affected marketplace and on how long the block has lasted.

Is your Amazon marketplace still blocked?

If Amazon refuses to let you sell on an individual EU marketplace and relies on a policy you cannot find anywhere, we review the reasoning and demand activation from Amazon EU S.à r.l. Send us the support answers and a short description. You will usually receive an initial assessment within 24 hours.