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Amazon restricts certain products, brands, and entire categories on a per-seller-account basis. A product that one seller can list freely may require approval — or may be completely off-limits — for another seller, depending on account history, performance metrics, and Amazon’s internal criteria. Seller Aim’s Restrictions Checker queries Amazon’s eligibility API using your connected Seller Central account, so every check reflects your specific situation. You’ll know exactly what you can and cannot sell before you spend a dollar on inventory.

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How It Works

Seller Aim connects to your Amazon Seller Central account via Amazon’s official Selling Partner API (SP-API). When you view a product or run a bulk check, Seller Aim sends an eligibility request to Amazon using your account credentials and returns the result in seconds. The three possible outcomes: Restriction checks work on individual product pages through the browser extension and at scale through the Bulk Restriction Checker in the Seller Aim web app.
Restriction status is account-specific. What one Amazon seller account can freely list, another account may be restricted from selling entirely. Never assume that because a competitor is selling a product, you are also eligible — always verify against your own account before purchasing inventory.

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Individual Product Check

When you browse any Amazon product page with the Seller Aim extension active, your restriction status for that ASIN is displayed automatically in the panel — no extra clicks required. Restriction badge statuses explained:
  • Eligible (Green) — Your account has been cleared to sell this exact ASIN. You can proceed with sourcing.
  • Restricted (Red) — Amazon has gated this product for your account. Attempting to create a listing will be blocked.
  • Approval Required (Yellow) — Ungating is possible but requires you to submit an application through Seller Central. This often involves providing invoices, authorization letters, or other documentation.
  • Brand Gated (Orange) — The brand owner has restricted third-party sellers. Some brand gates can be lifted with a letter of authorization (LOA) from the brand; others are permanent.
Common categories that frequently require approval or are brand-gated include: Toys & Games (seasonal gating before Q4), Grocery & Gourmet Foods, Health & Personal Care, Beauty, Automotive, and products from brands like Nike, LEGO, and Hasbro. Check early in your sourcing process — ungating can take days or weeks.
If a product shows Approval Required, click the status badge in the Seller Aim panel for a direct link to the ungating application page in Seller Central, saving you time hunting through menus.

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Bulk Restriction Checker

For sourcing workflows that involve large supplier price lists or wholesale catalogs, checking ASINs one by one is not practical. The Seller Aim Bulk Restriction Checker lets you validate thousands of ASINs against your account in a single batch. Capacity: Up to 20,000 ASINs per bulk check. How to run a bulk check:
1

Navigate to Bulk Checker

In the Seller Aim web app, go to Tools → Bulk Restriction Checker.
2

Input Your ASINs

Paste a list of ASINs directly into the text area (one per line), or upload a CSV file with an ASIN column. Seller Aim will automatically detect and parse the ASIN column if your file has headers.
3

Run the Check

Click Check Restrictions. Seller Aim submits the batch to Amazon’s eligibility API. Processing time depends on list size — most checks complete within a few minutes.
4

Review the Results Report

Once complete, results are displayed in a filterable table. You can sort or filter by status (Eligible, Restricted, Approval Required) to quickly isolate actionable products.
5

Export the Report

Download the full results as a CSV to share with your team, or filter to eligible-only ASINs and export a clean sourcing shortlist.
Interpreting the results report: Use case — clearing a supplier price list: When you receive a wholesale or distributor price list, it typically contains hundreds or thousands of SKUs. Before calculating profitability on any of them, run the entire list through the Bulk Restriction Checker to filter out products you can’t sell. This prevents wasted analysis time and avoids the costly mistake of ordering restricted inventory.
Most supplier price lists include UPC or EAN codes rather than ASINs. Use the Seller Aim ASIN lookup tool to convert UPCs to ASINs in bulk before running your restriction check.

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Virtual Assistant Accounts

If you work with virtual assistants (VAs) or team members who help with product research and sourcing, Seller Aim supports a sub-account model that allows VAs to run restriction checks on your behalf — without needing direct access to your Amazon Seller Central account. How VA sub-accounts work:
1

Create a Sub-Account

In Settings → Team, invite your VA by email. Assign them the Researcher role, which grants access to restriction checking and product analysis without exposing sensitive account settings or financials.
2

VA Runs Checks Under Your Account

When your VA runs a restriction check through their Seller Aim login, the eligibility query is made using your connected Amazon account credentials — so results reflect your selling eligibility, not a generic response.
3

Review VA Activity

Account owners can view a log of all restriction checks run by sub-accounts under Settings → Activity Log, giving full visibility into what your team is researching.
Benefits of VA sub-accounts:
  • VAs never see your Amazon Seller Central login credentials
  • Restriction results are always accurate for your specific account
  • You maintain control over what tools and data each team member can access
  • Works for remote teams, freelancers, and agency partners
Sub-account availability depends on your Seller Aim subscription tier. Check the pricing page for details on how many sub-accounts are included at each plan level.

Alerts & Flags

Set up IP alerts, BSR change notifications, price drop alerts, and Buy Box loss warnings for the products you’re watching.

Wholesale Sourcing Guide

Learn how to use Seller Aim’s tools end-to-end for wholesale sourcing — from price list analysis to restriction checking to profitability modeling.