Card under moderation on a marketplace: 6 reasons it happens, how to speed up the exit, what to do afterwards

Sellers ask: "the card went into moderation, sales have stopped, what do I do?". "Moderation" is the state a marketplace puts a card into when it suspects a violation. The card is not blocked, but it is temporarily hidden from search results or shown with a warning label. Sales drop by 80–100% until the review is over.

This Support material covers what triggers a review, how to clear it faster, and what to do afterwards.

Context is in the parent materials:

• Support "Wildberries card fines" — how moderation and fines are connected.
• Support "Seller account blocked" — what is worse than moderation.
• Pillar "Card SEO and audit" — what a card has to contain.

"Moderation" is a transitional state for a card, between "active" and "blocked". The card stays in the catalog, but:

• It is hidden from the main search results, or shown at position 50 and below.
• It does not take part in promotions.
• It is not shown on recommendation shelves (Ozon).
• It gets no ad impressions.
• Current orders are still fulfilled, but very few new ones come in.

Under the platform rules a review takes 5–14 business days. In practice it runs from 3 days to 6 weeks.

Reason 1. Customer complaints about quality. Several complaints in a short window (usually 3+ within 7 days) trigger it automatically. The marketplace wants to confirm the product matches the description.

Reason 2. A rights holder complaint. A claim from a rights holder about infringement of copyright, a brand or a patent. The card goes into moderation until the matter is settled.

Reason 3. The algorithm suspects manipulation. A sharp sales spike plus unnatural review patterns lead to a review.

Reason 4. A sudden price change. The price was 1,000 and became 200 (or the other way round). The algorithm treats that as an anomaly.

Reason 5. Updated attributes or category. The seller changed the category or key attributes, which triggers automatic moderation before publication.

Reason 6. Random sampling. The marketplace periodically reviews random cards in a category — especially in regulated categories (supplements, kids' products, electronics).

Step 1. Find out the reason immediately. The marketplace sends a message about the review in the "Notifications" section. If it is generic, open a support ticket asking for the specific reason and what is required to clear it.

Step 2. Prepare the documents. It depends on the reason:

• Quality complaint → photos of the item before shipping + the carrier waybill + correspondence with the customer (if there was any).
• Copyright → certificate, agreement with the rights holder, delivery note from the distributor.
• Manipulation → a statement that you do not use such practices + an explanation of the dynamics (an ad campaign, seasonality).
• Price change → a justification (a promotion, a competitor undercutting you, testing).
• Updated attributes → a certificate covering the new attributes.

Step 3. Open a support ticket. "Support → Disputes → Create a ticket → Category 'Card under moderation'". In the description:

• The card number.
• The stated reason for the review (from the notification).
• A clear rebuttal, or an admission plus a remediation plan.
• The documents.

Step 4. Wait for the decision. It takes 5–14 business days. The decision often comes sooner when the documents are convincing.

Step 5. Escalate if it drags on. If the review runs longer than 14 days with no reply, send a follow-up ticket as a reminder. At 21+ days, escalate to a senior support specialist.

What you have to do:

• Prepare the documents so the review clears as fast as possible.
• Do not try to work around it. Creating a duplicate card is a violation and brings a fine.
• Monitor notifications every 24 hours.

What you may do:

• Turn off ads for this card — advertising a hidden card burns budget.
• Withdraw it from promotions — you can re-enter after the review.
• On FBO, leave the stock in place (pulling it out makes no sense, the review is temporary).
• On FBS, keep fulfilling orders if any come in.

What you must not do:

• Do not delete the card (you will lose all of its history).
• Do not create a copy (a violation).
• Do not panic and write to support every day (it lowers the priority of your ticket).
• Do not suddenly rewrite the attributes "to prove the review is passed" — the algorithm sees the edits and may extend the review.

After the review:

• Deal with the causes so it does not happen again. If the review came from quality complaints, change the photos, the packaging, the supplier controls.
• Plan the recovery of positions. A content update plus buyouts on 2–3 top keywords over two weeks.
• Tell repeat customers you are back (if you have an email list or brand subscribers).

To keep a card out of moderation:

• Clear description and photos — they cut the share of "does not match" complaints (see Support "Returns on marketplaces").
• Move prices gradually — no sharp jumps (10–15% at a time, not 200%).
• Keep certificates on hand — for regulated categories.
• Rights holder paperwork — if you work with well-known brands.
• Run buyouts by the methodology — without manipulation triggers.

• Support "Wildberries card fines" — fines as a consequence of moderation.
• Support "Ozon card fines" — the Ozon equivalent.
• Support "Returns on marketplaces" — fewer complaints means fewer reviews.
• Pillar "Buyouts and reviews" — recovering positions after a review.

If a card is under moderation right now, open the notification, work out the reason, prepare the documents and file a ticket. The sooner you react, the shorter the review. If nothing is under moderation but fines are piling up, that is a signal one of your cards will go into moderation soon. Work on prevention.

In a standard Trusty MPO project the "risk management" layer flags the fine trend and helps stop a card from going into moderation.