In recent years, the issue of online unauthorized resellers on Amazon and other marketplaces has become a major concern for brands.
Resellers who send counterfeit, expired, or recalled products not only damage a brand’s reputation but can also lead to lost sales and revenue. Unauthorized and even authorized resellers can list products on Amazon for discounted prices, allowing them to win the coveted Buy Box and take sales away from the brand.
As a result, many brands have turned to Amazon brand protection agencies for reseller enforcement to help them protect their intellectual property, preserve the integrity of their products, and prevent lost sales.
Removing Unauthorized vs Authorized Resellers on Amazon
In the past few years there has been an increase in the number of both authorized and unauthorized resellers on Amazon.
Authorized resellers are businesses that have been approved by the manufacturer to sell their products. They typically offer products that are still under warranty and may offer other benefits such as free returns or customer support. However, occasionally even authorized sellers can cause problems for brands, including leakage distribution issues or violating minimum advertised price (MAP) policies.
Unauthorized resellers, on the other hand, are third-party sellers that are not authorized by the brand to sell their products. They often source products from liquidators, gray market sellers, or other retailers. The products they sell may be counterfeit, used, or damaged. In addition, unauthorized resellers may not offer the same warranties and customer service as authorized retailers.
Why You May Need a Brand Protection Agency to Remove Unauthorized Sellers from Amazon
We spoke to industry expert, Danielle Salomon, to get her thoughts on Amazon brand protection agencies…
“I believe agency coverage and support will grow significantly over the next year. Post-pandemic brand control is much more challenging globally. We see heavy competition internationally and growing across marketplaces as retailers are expanding their e-commerce catalogs/category coverage. It’s challenging to find an agency with full scope coverage right now so it’s important to identify the highest priorities and the investment. Some offer helpful visibility to scope, evaluate the lost sales, and reduce the scope of the cleanup. For brands directly we’ve seen the investment and legal expertise drive the highest impact.”
Top 7 Amazon Brand Protection Agencies
As an Amazon seller, it’s important to partner with a brand protection agency that can help you police your listings and remove unauthorized sellers from Amazon. But with so many options on the market, it can be difficult to know which agency is right for you. To help you make the best decision for your business, we’ve compiled a list of the top Amazon brand protection agencies.
#1 TrackStreet – TrackStreet is a leading provider of brand protection and performance marketing solutions for direct-to-consumer brands. TrackStreet is a MAP Policy, UPP, Authorized Dealer, and Resale Policy platform, which enables sellers to protect and grow their brands.
#2 VantageBP – VantageBP is a global leader in providing automated online brand protection. VantageBP maintains a catalog of your products, relevant keywords, and intellectual property to detect product listings of your brand across online marketplaces. The platform identifies third party resellers, flags unauthorized listings, and tracks product price points. VantageBP’s reseller enforcement service involves sending out verification requests to resellers requesting proof of authenticity and condition of the products being sold. If an infringement is detected, VantageBP automates the filing of case-appropriate takedowns to remove the infringing product listings.
#3 Vorys – Vorys is a full-service law firm that offers brand protection services to clients in a variety of industries. Their team has experience handling all aspects of trademark infringement, copyright infringement, domain name disputes, and more. Vorys eControl offers a wide range of legal services, including brand protection, antitrust & trade regulation, litigation, and intellectual property.
#4 POTOO Solutions – POTOO was founded in 2014 to monitor online marketplaces and protect the integrity of brands selling digitally. They offer a suite of tools to help brands track their product listings, enforce minimum advertised price (MAP) policies, and take action against unauthorized sellers. Their platform also provides insights into where your products are being sold online and how they’re performing in the marketplace.
#5 Brand Guarde – Brand Guarde is an Amazon & Walmart brand protection agency that helps sellers police their listings, enforce MAP policies, and take action against unauthorized resellers.
Check out the Common Mistakes episode “How to Deal with Unauthorized Sellers” featuring Brand Guarde’s founder, Joe Kovacs.
#6 Redpoints – Redpoints is an ecommerce intelligence platform that helps brands protect their online presence and take action against unauthorized sellers. Their Digital Revenue Recovery Platform tracks and removes “phantom competitors” that are stealing brands’ revenue. Redpoint’s Brand Protection tool uses advanced tech to detect and process thousands of Intellectual Property (IP) infringements automatically and tackle the most harmful offenders first.
#7 eEnforcer – eEnforcer helps brands regain channel control and remove unauthorized sellers from Amazon and other marketplaces “by up to 95% without litigation”. eEnforcer couples software tools with their experienced personnel in a consultative manner to create strong support for clients. Pricing is based upon how many sellers the agency needs to identify and initiate enforcement on.
Choosing the Right Brand Protection Agency for Your Business
There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing an Amazon brand protection agency. But by taking the time to research your options and find the right fit for your business, you can ensure that your brand is well protected with the ability to remove unauthorized sellers from Amazon. Each agency listed offers a different suite of services, so be sure to choose the one that best fits your needs.
Consider Working with a Full Service Amazon Agency
Consider working with a full service Amazon agency to grow sales and maximize profitability. Envision Horizons’ mission is to make selling on Amazon less stressful and more profitable for businesses. Founded in 2017 as a full service Amazon Agency, Envision Horizons has helped hundreds of brands grow and succeed on Amazon managing over $150M in Amazon sales annually. In 2020 Business Insider recognized Envision Horizons as one of the Top Amazon Advertising Agencies to work with. Today, the agency is focused on becoming a technology first company, recently releasing their own proprietary Amazon Brand Management software, myHorizons. myHorizons is designed to help businesses of all sizes automate brand management on Amazon by diagnosing issues and identifying growth opportunities with actionable insights. Connect with us to learn more about how Envision Horizons can support your brand.
Track your Sales and Performance with myHorizons
- The Q3 / Q4 Amazon Sales events are important times to be closely monitoring your performance. Make changes to your ads or PPC campaigns as needed.
- If your inventory runs out at a faster rate than expected, plan to send more inventory to FBA or plan to ship the products yourself using third-party fulfillment or your own warehouse.
- If your sales are slow consider reviewing your PPC campaigns and increasing bids for certain keywords.
- Monitor the status and overall performance of your account with a tool like myHorizons. Take care of any problems that arise immediately so that there is no downtime for your listings. At Envision Horizons we offer 24/7 coverage.
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