Your brand is the core of your company and goes beyond a simple logo or memorable tagline. Everything that makes you stand out from ...
Your brand
is the core of your company and goes beyond a simple logo or memorable tagline.
Everything
that makes you stand out from the competition, from the caliber of your goods
to the caliber of your customer support, is reflected in your brand.
However,
what occurs when illegal resellers and counterfeiters target your brand?
It can harm
not just your financial results but also the way consumers perceive your brand.
This is the purpose of Amazon Brand Gating.
Amazon Brand
Gating helps safeguard your brand by enforcing stringent requirements for
third-party sellers. This keeps counterfeit or cloned copies of your products
out of the hands of unscrupulous individuals.
In order to
sell on Amazon, third-party resellers must apply and meet specific requirements
due to Amazon Brand gating.
This article
will go over the specifics of Amazon brand gating, including what it is, how it
functions, and how it might help your company.
Knowing
about brand gating will help you protect your company and succeed in the long
run, regardless of how big or little your firm is.
What Does
Amazon Brand Gating Mean?
Why is brand
gating such a big deal?
How is
Amazon Brand Gating implemented?
How is
Amazon Brand Gating configured?
Give proof
of your brand's efforts to prevent counterfeit goods.
How do you
find out on Amazon whether your ASINs are Brand Gated?
How are
brand-gated ASINs sold by third-party sellers?
Extra
Resources for Brand-Gating
Project Zero
at Amazon
Final
Thoughts
What Does
Amazon Brand Gating Mean?
Businesses can use Amazon brand gating to keep illegal resellers and counterfeiters away from their goods and brand. You may prevent counterfeit sellers from listing certain ASINs on Amazon by signing up for brand gating.
It implies
that only approved retailers who have received clearance from your brands may
list those goods for sale on Amazon.
Why is
brand gating such a big deal?
Since the
beginning of Amazon, there have been counterfeits. Furthermore, fake listings
are still a common problem despite Amazon's efforts to prevent them.
For this
reason, a lot of big businesses have been reluctant to engage in direct
consumer sales. Furthermore, major companies like Nike and Birkenstock have
ceased selling on Amazon due to the problems with counterfeiting.
According to
Amazon's Brand Protection Report from 2021, the business had blocked over 2.5
million fake listings.
Customers
are still susceptible to counterfeit frauds even with these safeguards in
place.
Sometimes
consumers choose to purchase subpar imitation goods over name brands simply
because they are less expensive.
And that's
when the issue arises. Not only do fake goods deplete your hard-earned revenue,
but when customers unintentionally buy counterfeit goods, they might come to
identify your brand with subpar performance and quality, harming your
reputation over time.
Authorized merchants can take action against these counterfeiters and stop them from displaying their products on Amazon thanks to Amazon brand gating.
Brand gating
helps stop counterfeiting by guaranteeing that only authorized sellers are able
to list and sell your items by requiring third-party resellers to apply and
meet certain requirements.
Amazon brand
gating aids in controlling your products' prices as well. Unauthorized
resellers frequently undercut prices, harming the profitability of your brand
and jeopardizing your rapport with legitimate retailers.
You can keep
your product pricing consistent and stop these resellers from listing your
products by gating your brand.
How is
Amazon Brand Gating implemented?
Resellers
who have their products brand gated on Amazon must certify that you have given
the brand permission to sell on Amazon.
When an ASIN
is gated, a third-party seller wishing to list your ASIN needs to submit three
purchase invoices from the distributor or manufacturer that were issued within
the last ninety days, together with written consent from your brand.
Furthermore,
sellers are required to pay a $1,500 non-refundable fee, which deters
unauthorized sellers from wanting to easily counterfeit your products in
exchange for a quick payout.
How is
Amazon Brand Gating configured?
After
learning the importance of brand gating, follow these instructions to set up
brand gating on Amazon.
Register
with Amazon Brand Registry
Only brands
registered in the Amazon Brand Registry are eligible for Amazon brand gating.
Your brand must meet specific requirements set by Amazon in order to be added
to the Amazon Brand Registry. For example:
Possess a
trademark that is registered with the USPTO, either in image-based marks (such
as letter(s)/word(s)/number(s)) or text-based marks (such as Typeset
letter(s)/word(s)/number(s) or Standard Character Mark).
· As the legitimate owner of the
trademark, submit verification documentation.
· Upload pictures of products that use
the trademark name.
· Provide the product categories where
your brand is listed.
· Enumerate the nations where products
are produced and sold.
· Create a Professional Seller account
on Amazon
The
following step is easy if you meet the eligibility conditions. All you have to
do to validate your Amazon Brand Registry account is finish these steps:
· Send in your legal and corporate
data.
· Verify your identification using text
or SMS.
· Accept the rules, guidelines, and
requirements of the program.
· Select "Save" after that.
· Amazon will verify your registration
status in one to two weeks.
Gather
ASINs for your products.
Create a
list of ASINs you wish to keep protected after registering. Start with the
best-selling product in your large catalog before moving on.
Make sure
your product is not included in any of Amazon's prohibited product categories.
For example:
· Firearms
· Tobacco
· Alcoholic Beverages
· Adult Products
· Gambling & Lottery
· Jewelry & Precious Gems
· Cosmetics & Skincare Products
· Electronics
· Food & Beverage
· Medical Devices
· Medical Devices & Accessories
· Offensive & Controversial
Materials
· Lock Picking & Theft Devices
· Postage Meters & Stamps
· Surveillance Equipment
· Plant & Seed Products
· Explosives, Weapons, and Related
Items
Give
proof of your brand's efforts to prevent counterfeit goods.
Amazon
supports teaming up to combat counterfeit goods. Thus, you have to demonstrate
to Amazon that you actively work to prevent counterfeit goods.
As an illustration:
· Does your company have an Amazon
Brand Registry account?
· Does your company use its logo on its
packaging and products?
· Do you provide any product bundles?
· Do your products have Amazon
transparency enrolled?
· Have you ever used the Report
Infringement form to submit your counterfeit issues?
· Have you ever written
cease-and-desist letters to vendors of counterfeit goods?
Amazon may
see from all of this information that you take efforts to safeguard your brand.
After
gathering the ASINs and documentation for your product, submit it to Amazon and
follow the progress of your application to check on its approval.
How do
you find out on Amazon whether your ASINs are Brand Gated?
It's simple
to check if your ASIN is gated on Amazon after signing up for brand gating.
This is how it works:
· Use a separate seller account to log
in. Avoid making a new seller account under the same name. It might result in a
ban.
· From the Seller Central Home page,
click the "Catalog" menu and choose "Add a Product."
· Look for the product you wish to
sell.
· Find your ASIN by logging in, then
select the "Sell on Amazon" option.
· Amazon will display a popup stating,
"You need the approval to list in this brand," if the product is
brand-gated.
How are
brand-gated ASINs sold by third-party sellers?
Selling gated products on Amazon requires resellers to go through an approval process. In order to do it, resellers need to
· Act like a seasoned salesperson.
· Complete the seller performance
assessment.
· Give Amazon three manufacturer
purchase invoices from the previous ninety days.
· Give the parent brand the payment
details for the $1500 non-refundable charge.
· Certify that you have been given
permission to sell under the parent brand.
The listings
will be removed from the marketplace by Amazon if the reseller is unable to
supply any of these.
Extra
Resources for Brand-Gating
A variety of
additional measures are included with Amazon to safeguard brands from
imitations. Here are a few of them:
Unit for
Counterfeit Crimes
In 2020,
Amazon established the Counterfeit Crimes Unit to track down counterfeiters
worldwide. This unit's mission is to find and identify vendors that are selling
phony and counterfeit goods. Additionally, it facilitates the prosecution of
these vendors by law enforcement.
Brands are
urged by the Counterfeit Crimes Unit to actively participate in bringing legal
action against counterfeiters.
Amazon's
openness
Only the US
market offers transparency, which provides vendors with distinctive barcodes to
distinguish their goods. After that, before products are shipped to customers,
Amazon scans the labels to verify their legitimacy.
It assists
vendors in guaranteeing that buyers obtain authentic merchandise from licensed
sellers.
Project
Zero at Amazon
Three
instruments are used by Project Zero to identify and eliminate fake goods:
Automatic
safeguards: An artificial intelligence program that finds and eliminates fake
goods automatically
Self-Service
fraudulent Removal: Sellers are authorized by Amazon to mark and remove
fraudulent items from their listings.
Product
serialization gives vendors the option to provide each product a special serial
number that serves as an authentication tool.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, it's critical for Amazon sellers to safeguard their brands and merchandise against imitators. Amazon has put in place a number of safeguards to help protect your brand's reputation and customers' trust, including Project Zero, Brand Gating, and the Counterfeit Crimes Unit.
You may
drastically lower the possibility of fake goods being marketed under your brand
name by utilizing Amazon brand gating.
Set up a
call with us right now, and allow us to assist you in safeguarding your Amazon
brand. To begin, click now.
Read More:
10 Amazon FBA Errors That Are Reimbursable
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