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In the blink of an eye, Dark Energy watched their Amazon lifeline vanish. On July 1, 2024, the portable power bank maker's thriving online store went dark. The cause? A product test report gone wrong.
"We were dead in the water," recalls Bart Miller, Dark Energy's CEO. "Amazon told us our top product could never be sold again. Our entire account? Blocked."
The numbers painted a grim picture: $220,000 in lost sales. Thousands more spent shuffling inventory back from Amazon's warehouses. For a company that had built its name on keeping devices charged, their own future looked powerless.
Enter Reach. When Dark Energy called, our Brand Health team knew they were in for a fight.
"We told them, 'Give us 60 days,'" Brand Health lead Jeremy says. "We knew it'd be tough, but we had to try."
The next two and a half months became a crash course in Amazon crisis management:
Unraveling the report mishap
Tracking down new product tests from labs overseas
Navigating Amazon's labyrinth of reinstatement procedures
Finding homes for returned inventory while sales stood still
Each step forward came with its own setbacks.
"There were days we thought we'd never crack it," Jeremy admits. "But we couldn't give up. Dark Energy's whole Amazon business was on the line."
On October 15th, 75 days after the lights went out, Dark Energy's Amazon store flickered back to life.
"I could hardly believe it," Bart says. "Reach Brands pulled off what Amazon said was impossible."
The ordeal left both of us with hard-earned wisdom:
Document everything. Twice.
Know Amazon's rules inside and out – they're always changing.
Build a network of experts before you need them.
When things look hopeless, dig deeper.
Today, Dark Energy is back to powering devices across the country. Their Amazon store hums along, a testament to persistence and partnership.
"We learned the hard way that Amazon success is never guaranteed," Bart reflects. "But with the right team in your corner, even a 'permanent' shutdown doesn't have to be the end of the story."
For brands facing their own Amazon nightmares, Dark Energy's resurrection offers a spark of hope. Sometimes, it seems, even the brightest tech companies need a little help keeping the lights on.beneath it.
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