Amazon is more popular than ever for both customers and sellers, but with such popularity also comes a few more dubious types of people – product counterfeiters and listing hijackers. After spending countless time, money and effort making your product an Amazon best seller, the last thing you want is to fall victim to having your product counterfeited or your product listing hijacked. This does happen for Amazon Sellers; and we’ve had to deal with it before…
The very first thing you need to know is that Amazon was not created equal. The shady and underhanded tactics these counterfeiters/hijackers will use, and get away with, can have a lot of success. However, most times their success comes from your failure. This post is meant to teach you what you can do to protect your brand, listings, and products on Amazon, which is where amazon sellers have “Failures”. Additionally, it also covers how to remove product counterfeiters and product listing hijackers.
How To Protect Your Brand On Amazon (Amazon Seller Account)
This guide will show you how to protect your brand on Amazon, and your amazon seller account. The steps involve both Amazon assisted and self coordinated efforts. The steps are below. Click on a step to read more about it:
- Amazon Brand Registry
- Owning Your UPC
- Trademark or Copyright
- Product and Package Branding
- How To Remove Product Counterfeiters, Product Listing Hijackers
Amazon Brand Registry
Amazon Brand Registry allows you to register your brand name on Amazon. This helps you keep control of your brand’s product listings. Staying in control of your product listings is crucial in making sure the listings stay accurate and optimized, exactly the way you created them.
Register your brand on Amazon. Note that you must be logged into your Amazon Seller account before viewing the link.
Owning Your UPC
Make sure that you own your UPC and that you have purchased your UPC from GS1. GS1 is the only Amazon recognized UPC distributor in the world. As enticing as purchasing your UPC from eBay or other auction sites may be, DO NOT purchase your UPC’s from anywhere but GS1.
A correctly purchased UPC will show Amazon that you created and own the product and is an invaluable asset when combating counterfeiters/hijackers.
Trademark or Copyright
Amazon takes copyright and trademark infringement VERY seriously. Having some element of your product copyrighted, or your brand trademarked, can go a long way in protecting against counterfeit sellers.
How to get a trademark. Hot to get a copyright.
Product and Package Branding
Getting your product or packaging branded is another great way to protect your product listings. Talk to your manufacturer to see if they can engrave your trademarked brand name on the product or packaging. (Most manufacturers can accommodate such requests and it usually only adds a few extra cents to your product cost.) With your trademarked brand engraved or stamped on the product or packaging, you can ensure that no other seller is selling the same version of your product.
How To Remove Product Counterfeiters, Product Listing Hijackers
Followed the above brand protection guide and still having trouble? Here’s how you can remove product counterfeiters and product listing hijackers on Amazon:
Make A Test Purchase
If you report a counterfeit seller, Amazon will always force you to make a test purchase and verify the product is counterfeit, so it’s best to just do this in advance. Order a sample from them (you can always return it later and get your money back) and make sure you document EVERYTHING about the sample.
Make sure to:
- Take pictures of their product
- Clearly identify the differences between the counterfeit product and your product in writing. Refer to the images in the text.
- Document if the seller is using your copyright packaging or other materials, make sure to document that as well.
Contact The Seller
Contact the counterfeit seller or listing hijackers and inform them of their wrongdoing. When contacting these sellers, be polite and do not make any threats or false claims – only state what you know.
Do not contact these sellers before making your test purchase, as it might make them nervous about sending your order.
Report Copyright or Trademark Claims To Amazon
You can report ANY copyright or trademark claims to Amazon. Make sure to include all relevant information and be as thorough as possible – include all the information from your test purchase.
The more good information you provide on the claim, the more likely you are to get the illegitimate seller removed.
Contact Amazon Seller Support
While Amazon support cannot always assist you, sometimes they can help in speeding up the process. Open a Seller Support case and include all of the information you have on the issue. If you do not get the desired response, request that supervisor take a more thorough look.
Post In Review – How To Protect Your Brand On Amazon
To protect your brand and listings on Amazon, be sure to follow the steps for how to protect your brand on amazon. If you’re having problems with hijackers or counterfieters, be sure to follow the steps for How To Remove Product Counterfeiters, Product Listing Hijackers
Already taken the recommend steps to protect your brand and remove counterfeiters/hijackers but still have trouble? Our team has years of experience keeping brands protected on Amazon and can assist you in removing these illegitimate sellers.
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