Overview

Amazon has recently tightened rules governing promotional pricing, the use of external links, and overall compliance with its Terms of Service. Sellers who overlook the updated limits risk having listings removed, facing account suspensions, or losing eligibility for the Buy Box. Grasping the precise requirements enables merchants to run lawful campaigns while still attracting traffic and sales.

Key Points

• Discount caps — Most categories now restrict both the percentage off and the length of a promotion; a 30 % discount that runs longer than seven days will trigger a policy breach.
• External link ban — Listings may only contain Amazon‑hosted URLs; directing shoppers to a brand’s own checkout, a competitor’s site, or any incentive‑based landing page is prohibited.
• Automated enforcement — Amazon’s internal monitoring engine scans new and existing listings for disallowed discount language or URLs and typically flags violations within 24–48 hours.
• Performance metric impact — A violation lowers the “Policy Compliance” score in Seller Central, which can reduce eligibility for Sponsored Ads, the Buy Box, and other performance‑based programs.
• Remediation deadline — Sellers are given roughly 48 hours to correct the offending content before the issue escalates to a formal account suspension.
• Category‑specific thresholds — Certain high‑visibility categories such as electronics and health & personal care enforce stricter minimum price floors, meaning a 50 % discount on a $19.99 item could be rejected automatically.

How Discounts, URLs, and Amazon TOS Work

1. Create a promotion — The seller initiates a discount through the “Advertising → Promotions” dashboard, selecting the discount type, percentage, and start/end dates; for example, a vendor may launch a 20 % off coupon for a kitchen gadget that runs from June 1 to June 3.
2. Validate eligibility — Amazon cross‑checks the product’s category, current price floor, and existing offers to ensure the proposed reduction does not exceed the allowed maximum; if the same kitchen gadget is priced at $19.99, a 50 % discount would drop the price below the $9.99 minimum and the system would reject the request.