Over time, Amazon Sellers are progressively battling counterfeit claims regularly. This is frequently followed by the suspensions of account and needing to struggle for the reinstatement of such account. In most cases, when such occurs, it’s as a result of selling counterfeit or inauthentic products. Nevertheless, the majority of sellers do not know that the products they listed are either inauthentic or counterfeit. Luckily, this doesn’t mean ‘that’s the end’ for an Amazon Seller in this condition. Amazon will typically reinstate the account of a seller in a case whereby the seller can provide a proof that the product offered for sale is directly from the manufacturer, and that the supplier is actually legitimate. There are different approaches a seller has to take to prove that the seller’s manufacturer is actually legitimate. Additionally, there are a few measures a seller can consider to abstain from having any deal with illegitimate manufacturers.
Steps Amazon Sellers can consider to Prove that their Manufacturer is Legitimate
In the even that your account was shut down unfortunately for counterfeit or inauthentic product sales claims, the first measure you have to take immediately is to prepare a letter that shows apparently that the products you listed are authentic. For this to be done, a seller has to show that all of these products were acquired directly from a rights owner, at this point, a seller will then require to contact that rights owner and get that first stage resolved with the owner directly. If otherwise, Amazon will decline the willingness to reinstate your account.
The Plan of Action
When preparing your plan of action, as an Amazon Seller, you have to provide all of the invoices for any product that Amazon disputed. In so doing, you are trying to tell Amazon that the products are directly from the manufacturer. That’s if the manufacturer is a legitimate one – and that the products you are selling is directly from the manufacturer – this is typically adequate to prove that the claim held by the rights owner was done in error. In any case, invoices have to be adequately detailed so as to enable Amazon to rapidly reinstate a suspended Amazon seller account.
The invoices the Seller has to attach must prove two different facts. First, indicate you are not just an ordinary seller on Amazon, but an authorized Amazon Seller. Also, it has to prove that your product was received directly from the manufacturer, or authorized reseller. The provision of detailed invoices gives you a higher advantage and also proves that the manufacturer and the products they offer are authentic.
Additionally, aside the seller showing proofs of manufacturer and product authenticity, some preventative measures should be considered by the seller to avoid the circumstance entirely.
Steps to Prevent Illegitimate Manufacturers
Cases of Amazon counterfeit claims are usually associated with local manufacturers who manufacture less expensive choices, which are almost indistinguishable to various private labeled products. In different occasions, Amazon Sellers are uninformed that the manufacturer is offering counterfeit choices like those given to them. An Amazon Seller has to regularly be cautious, while taking preventative approaches so as to prevent any relationships with illegitimate manufacturers.
More emphatically, an Amazon Seller has to refrain from selling products obtained from other online liquidators, sellers, thrift stores, or eBay dealers as you risk selling counterfeit or inauthentic products. An Amazon Seller has to regularly source its products directly from a legitimate manufacturer.
Stay Away from Gray Market Products
Furthermore, when making a choice of your desired manufacturer, sellers have to be conscious and take caution when dealing directly with manufacturers in other countries of the world. If you are a seller from the United States, and you have to source your products from somewhere like India, Vietnam, or China, the seller has to ensure all of the essential documentations are collected to prove their legitimacy, so they can remain protected the moment a complaint arises. Moreover, a seller is at the risk of offering “gray market products” for sale, which are products on sales without the permission or consent of the trademark holder.
Regularly, these products are offered for sale from a country to another and sometimes end up with Amazon Sellers. Normally, these sellers have the belief that the products are acquired from reliable and legitimate sources. A seller has to be conscious and cautious for any gray market products if there’s no US manufacturer’s warranty with the product, in the event that the warranty is composed in a foreign language, or in a case whereby the prices are critically less than the real price from the manufacturer. A seller has to regularly examine gray market goods in order to prevent relationship with illegitimate manufacturers.
Finally, Amazon Sellers have to consistently verify that the supplier or manufacturer they deal with has legal permission to offer the products they provide for sales. With an action on these basic preventative measures, you will remain protected when your account is suspended.
Conclusion
Amazon Sellers have to adhere strictly to the preventative measures stated above in order to make sure that they are not having any business relationship with inauthentic or counterfeit products. In a case whereby a seller has now gotten a complaint together with a suspended account, the seller must prove the legitimacy of the manufacturer for such products. The seller has to prepare a plan of action as well as attach any essential invoices and documentation to support their proof that the complaint was made as an error.