Google Merchant Center Suspended - Misrepresentation

Topic summary

Main issue: A newly launched dropshipping site was suspended in Google Merchant Center (GMC) for “Misrepresentation,” initially triggered by restricted adult/sexual content flags and a profanity-brand, plus broader trust and policy signals.

Remediation steps taken:

  • Removed/limited flagged products; eliminated a profanity-labeled brand; fixed ~900 items lacking GTINs (Global Trade Item Numbers).
  • Adjusted pricing to avoid showing RRP as a “sale” price; set feed to show only the actual selling price; plans to clarify RRP context on-site.
  • Disabled automatic currency conversion; ensured in/out-of-stock visibility; working to add visible business address in footer and fix unreadable checkout links.
  • Addressed feed issues and understood doubled product counts due to variants; considering switching to a curated feed (same account).

Guidance received: Align fully with GMC policies, ensure genuine pricing history, clear contact details, and accurate availability; site age discrepancy noted; Google Business Profile denied as online-only.

Review outcomes:

  • First help request got a fast, vague response; GMC in-product review confirmed manual check but upheld suspension.
  • After submitting business documents, a comprehensive manual review lifted the suspension, but it was re-instated within ~6 hours—likely by automated systems.

Status: Unresolved/ongoing. Merchant plans to pause and revisit; exact remaining trigger(s) unclear.

Summarized with AI on December 13. AI used: gpt-5.

Most common reason is the misunderstanding of variants. Each unique product, ie a variant, is counted as 1 product.