The Downside of Being An Amazon Merchant
Amazon provides a convenient way for merchants to reach the widest possible market with the least amount of effort and expense. While choosing this platform helps establish a level of trust for your customers and extends your online reach, there are some drawbacks for branded merchants looking to control product sales. Amazon provides consumers with variety and value, but their business model doesn’t translate to protection for the brand owner in terms of exclusivity; safeguarding your good name and brand integrity takes diligence and hard work on your part.
What Amazon Offers
Amazon won’t stop others from re-selling products, even if they have registered trademarks; their focus is on offering variety and competitive pricing to their shoppers. The good news is that Amazon has some measures available to sellers who want to establish brand ownership and maintain sales exclusivity. The simplest way to do this is through the Amazon Brand Registry, which offers certain advantages. Registration certifies you with Amazon as the brand owner, prevents other sellers from altering your product detail information, and allows you to bypass the UPC listing requirement. It also provides preference for your keywords, copy, and product listing information in disputes with merchants who try to re-sell your products without permission. Unfortunately, brand registration doesn’t stop other vendors before they try to sell your products.
Protecting Your Brand and Products
While you can’t always stop someone from reselling your branded merchandise, there are steps you can take to protect it. First, you should obtain copyright or trademark protection for your brand and each individual product under your brand name. Next, create a public website showcasing your products to further establish your company as the brand owner. You should also make sure that your brand name is on all packaging and products along with a trademark or registration symbol; serializing each product in your line is also effective for proving fraud or misrepresentation later.
How Does That Help?
These options will give you recourse for legal action if another seller violates your trademark or registration. In addition, sending a ‘Cease and Desist’ order through the Amazon system will stop about 90% of unauthorized vendors almost immediately. Filing a complaint with Amazon to have the other seller’s listing removed is an option in severe cases.
There’s a Better Way
While trademark registration and Amazon’s Brand Registry offer remedies after unauthorized sales or distribution, the level of damage to your profits and reputation may be high by then. Brandlox is the leading software for Amazon merchants looking for brand protection. It virtually works in real time and takes the onus off of you by linking to your ASIN number and alerting you when an unauthorized vendor tries to list your protected product. This powerful tool also generates cease and desist letters on your behalf and gives you the ability to remove rogue vendor listings yourself. It also enables test purchases to verify your protection.
Experience The Brandlox Advantage!
Don’t wait to find out about infringements on your rights accidentally. Become proactive about protecting your products and bottom line now!
Choosing Brandlox allows you to keep control over your brand by offering cost-effective monitoring services. There are three packages available that will protect anywhere from 100 to 2,000 individual ASINs, and protection begins for as little as $29.99. There’s no penalty for cancellation at any time, so start your no-risk, 10-day free trial today.
Learn more by using our convenient online contact form or calling us toll-free at (866) 882-8484.
