Deactivated

Should I hire an ex-Amazon employee to write appeals?

June 18, 2020 Leave a Comment

Amazonians can provide excellent insights – if they are real and relevant

By: Lesley Hensell

Writing Amazon appeals requires a special set of skills. Persuasive, clear prose helps. Responsiveness and attentiveness to the client are a plus. But more important than anything else is a true understanding how Amazon works for and with third-party sellers. Who embodies this last set of skills? The best candidates are ex-Amazon employees and long-term Amazon sellers.

When we launched Riverbend Consulting, our team included two Amazon sellers and one ex-Amazonian. Since that time, we’ve dramatically grown our ex-Amazon staff. Today, we have eleven Amazonians who fill consultant and analyst positions.

Fake Amazonians everywhere

Unfortunately, we’ve noticed an ugly trend in our industry. Many consulting firms are claiming to have ex-Amazon employees on staff – when they have only one or none at all. If you want an edge with your account or ASIN appeal, you’re better off with a firm that has real Amazon knowledge in-house.

Here are some strategies to be sure you’re getting the expertise that you have paid for:

Check the web site. Companies that have real Amazonians on staff advertise it on their team page. Ex-Amazon employees are a valuable asset, so their bios will be included as well.
Ask questions. If a firm claims to have ex-Amazon employees, ask for names and details. Confirm they actually work at the company full-time and aren’t simply a name used to draw in business.
Determine their departments. For straight-up appeal writing, a team that includes Seller Performance and Seller Support experience is your best bet. Those with knowledge in other areas could be helpful for long-term account management and performance.
Find out how long they’ve been gone. Processes and people change continually at Amazon. This makes more recent experience critical. While knowing the “Amazon way” of thinking and working is incredibly valuable, at least a few employees should be more recent Amazon team members to ensure fresh, relevant knowledge.

What can ex-amazon employees do for you?

At Riverbend, our ex-Amazonians hail from a wide range of departments: Seller Performance, Seller Support, Account Health Services and AWS.

Should I hire an ex-amazon employee to write appeals? Our Seller Support pros know strategies for ungating issues, catalog folks don’t. Our Seller Performance team members understand nuances of the appeal process unlike anyone else. Likewise, our Account Health Services employees provide great feedback on how sellers can extract information about their accounts.

Amazon can be quite siloed. Employing experts who have worked in many of these silos gives us access to a broader range of information and strategies to help our sellers solve their ongoing challenges with Amazon. Best of all, we are well-equipped to provide prophylactic strategies that head off problems before they occur.

When a client has a question that one of our team members cannot answer, it goes into the company chat. Chances are, one of our ex-Amazonians knows the right information – or how we can get it.

What’s more, not every employee can be an ex-Amazonian. But we have enough Amazon knowledge in-house that our non-Amazon staff receives extensive training and mentoring from those who spent time at Amazon. It makes for a great mix of consulting know-how, people skills and domain expertise. So, should you hire an ex-amazon employee to write appeals? We think so!

Have questions for our team? Let’s talk 877-289-1017 or visit our website.

Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. Lesley has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade.

The Top Five Trademark Registration Options for Amazon

May 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

What is the best way to get a trademark registration for Amazon in a timely manner?

By: Preston P. Frischknecht

If you sell online, getting a federal trademark registration to protect your brand can be an important tool. For example, eligibility for the Amazon Brand Registry generally requires a federal trademark registration. Many eager sellers are surprised to learn that it may take months or longer to obtain the trademark registration.

So, what are the best trademark registration options for Amazon and how do you get it in a timely manner? Here are some options compared:

1. Do it Yourself (DIY)

Like many things, it’s possible to get a trademark registration by doing it yourself—you will save some money if you pull it off. But, one Stanford study shows that pro se applicants are less than 50% likely to succeed. Delays, failure, wasted filing fees, and costly rebranding can be painful. Unsurprisingly, the USPTO “strongly encourage[s]” use of a U.S.-licensed attorney who specializes in trademark law. So, trying to get a trademark registration by yourself is probably not the best option.

2. Online Trademark Filing Service

There are many online trademark filing services (think Legalzoom.com) that are DIY+, offering to file trademark applications for between ~$100 and ~$500 (not including government fees). Unfortunately, many of these sites skimp on upfront due diligence and work. They also aren’t great at gleaning and analyzing the information necessary for preparing a well drafted trademark application. Problems during trademark examination like added costs and delays are still common in this approach. While online trademark filing services are slightly better than DIY, they are usually not as good as a traditional law firm.

3. Law Firm

Using a traditional law firm is the tried and true way to do trademark registration. Again, if a firm has good trademark attorneys, your chances of success go up dramatically (as mentioned above). The problem is that this is a very costly route: according to the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) 2019 Report of the Economic Survey (“2019 AIPLA Survey”), the median cost for trademark attorney work (like a trademark clearance search and opinion, trademark application, and trademark prosecution) is $3,230, not including government filing fees. For many folks, this is just too expensive.

4. Amazon’s IP Accelerator Referral Service

In a variation of the law firm option, Amazon advertises a list of trademark attorneys to obtain trademarks for the Amazon Brand Registry at pre-negotiated rates. However, these rates are still relatively expensive. For example, an Amazon IP Accelerator attorney charges $2,400 for a comprehensive trademark search and trademark application (not including government fees). According to the AIPLA Survey, this is higher than the median cost of around $2,000 for the same services by other trademark attorneys. So, Amazon’s IP Accelerator referrals are better than DIY and online filing services, but close to traditional law firm expense.

5. Solo Trademark Attorney or Small Firm

Solo trademark attorneys and small firms are usually less expensive than larger law firms and they can perform as good or better than them. This is the case because bigger firms have larger overhead to cover. In fact, according to the 2019 AIPLA Survey, solo attorneys are typically 32% less expensive than their peers at larger firms. So, using an experienced solo or small firm trademark attorney is a great option. You will do much better than you would on your own or with an online trademark filer, and with less expense than a regular law firm or Amazon’s IP Accelerator Referral Service.

Contributor Preston P. Frischknecht is the principal trademark attorney at Brand Registry Trademark. Brand Registry Trademark is a small intellectual property law firm specializing in legal services for online sellers throughout the United States and abroad.

Take responsibility for your Amazon account

May 19, 2020 1 Comment

Don’t ignore those pesky notifications from Amazon

By: Sam Newlands

Amazon loves sending performance notifications. Sellers dread them and can easily assume Amazon is out to get them, but this is not the case! The dreaded performance notifications and flagged ASINs are a way Amazon has the seller take control and responsibility for their account. First and foremost, when you receive a Performance Notification, do not ignore it! Especially if a plan of action is being asked of you. If you ignore these notifications you put your account at risk of being suspended which could be detrimental to you, especially if your Seller Account is your sole source of income. Take responsibility for your Amazon account.

Here are 3 ways to start taking responsibility for your Amazon account:

Stop Blaming:

I’ve heard numerous times, “The customer just wants their way”. Of course they do. They are the customer. Have you ever gone shopping whether it be in person or online and have a level of expectation of how your experience should be? So do your customers, and Amazon is 100% about the customer’s buying experience from clicking on “Buy” to receiving their purchase. It is your job as the seller to provide good buying experience, even though it is seemingly behind the scenes.

Stop Complaining:

Amazon isn’t out to get you. Competitors more than likely aren’t scanning the vastness of Amazon perusing the pages looking to make life difficult for you. While

we do technically live in a dog eat dog world, when you receive a performance notification from Amazon, either they have found an issue that needs to be

addressed, or a customer’s buying experience expectations weren’t met and there was a complaint. Yes, some customers want to complain for the sake of complaining, but Amazon doesn’t want you to complain in response. Instead, do a little bit of research. Did the performance notification ask you for a plan of action? Look at the complaint, have you received any previous complaints on the same item? Are they similar to the new one? Is there a bigger issue that needs to be addressed with your item? Take a look at the bigger picture of the complaint. Amazon wants to know you’re taking accountability for the items you offer to sell on their marketplace. This is why they ask you about the root cause of what caused the complaint, you are in charge of your items and your account at all times.

Don’t Take It Personally:

Remember, Amazon really wants to know the root cause of a complaint, what you’ve done to address it, and what you’re going to do to prevent future complaints of that nature. If you write a plan of action, and it gets approved, Amazon expects you to follow that plan of action. Words are fleeting, action is proof. Again, Amazon is not out to get you. Understandably, getting denial after denial can be frustrating and can feel personal, it is not a personal affront to you as the seller. Take the time to really look into your supplier, your inventory, past and present complaints (if applicable), and ways you can make your seller account really stand out.

Looking for other ways to protect your account? Check out this blog: How to spring clean your Amazon Account. Of course, we are here to help you, if you ever have questions, concerns, or want some guidance in how to write your appeal, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit our

website: www.riverbendconsulting.com

Happy Selling!

Sam applies her impressive tenacity to get Amazon seller accounts and ASINs reinstated. She enjoys research and looking beyond the surface layer to help sellers solve their issues. While working at Amazon, Sam was involved with the AWS and SES teams looking for fraudulent account activity and unauthorized account take over.

The many kinds of intellectual property violations on Amazon

May 18, 2020 Leave a Comment

Intellectual property violations on Amazon run the gamut, but all put your seller account at risk

By: Kayla Forrest

Intellectual property rights are taken seriously. Why? Because intellectual property violations on Amazon can turn into a legal issue.

When it comes to Intellectual Property (IP), Amazon protects itself. And to protect itself, Amazon gives the benefit of the doubt to the alleged Rights Owner. If a Rights Owner (RO) made a complaint that their IP was violated, and Amazon did not act, Amazon would be legally liable.

Unfortunately, this creates terrible headaches for Amazon sellers who are often incorrectly warned – and even suspended – over trademark, copyright, patent and counterfeit claims.

Standard IP complaints on Amazon

Trademark is one of the most commonly filed IP complaints. A trademark is a legally registered symbol or word(s) that is used for representing a product or company. If an RO has a registered and active trademark, and is being shown on someone else’s detail page or product, enforcement can occur.

This can also happen with a Common Law Trademark (unregistered trademark). Amazon will warn sellers for Common Law Trademarks when the trademark can be verified. This means the trademark must be known in the region it is being reported, and it must be associated with the RO.

Copyright infringement means that the RO’s work is being used without permission. This applies to a picture, book, film, song and many other forms of media. On Amazon, this complaint is more likely to occur with images. If an RO can show that there is a violation by providing information about the work or the copyright registration number, the seller will be warned. Technically speaking, the media does not need to be registered at all.

There are two types of patents that can be reported to Amazon. These are design patent and utility patent. To put it simply, a design patent is for the visual qualities of a product. A utility patent will protect the functionality of a product. A valid, registered and active patent must match a supposedly infringing product. Dealing with a patent infringement issue can be very difficult. It may be best to seek legal advice if the situation occurs.

The most common IP complaint: counterfeit

The most common infringement type that a seller may face is for counterfeit product claims. For an RO to report a counterfeit claim, they must have a registered and active trademark. The trademark must be seen on the product, and the RO must be claiming the products are fake or counterfeit. Frequently, an RO will declare exclusive distribution when supporting their counterfeit claim. Amazon clearly states that they will not support an exclusive distribution claim. Therefore, it would be useful for sellers to look out for exclusive distribution when attempting to contact an RO.

What to do when IP complaints are filed

In conclusion, all of these intellectual property claims can cause headaches for sellers. But with the right knowledge, you can gain reinstatement for your account or ASIN. Even though Amazon is looking to protect itself and the RO, all sellers deserve a chance to appeal infringement warnings. Proper advice can help the seller move past the issue and prevent future enforcements.

Most importantly, don’t ignore IP complaints. Address them head-on. If Amazon thinks you are not serious about these and other warnings, you are at much higher risk of losing your selling privileges — maybe permanently.

Need to talk about intellectual property violations on Amazon issue in your account? Give us a call 877-289-1017 or visit our website.

Kayla Forrest focuses on appeals for Amazon account and ASIN reinstatements. Kayla has 4 years of Amazon experience where she worked in Seller Support and as an Investigation Specialist. In those roles, Kayla dealt with escalations and focused on FBA, intellectual property rights, as well as brand and product gating.

Spring clean your Amazon seller account

May 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

Don’t let a messy Amazon account cause problems or hamper sales. Clean it up!

By: Jay Morane

Spring has sprung. Don’t only spend time cleaning your house. Invest some time spiffing up your Amazon seller account. That’s right, spring clean your Amazon seller account.

I want to give you a few tasks you can tackle today that will help reduce the risk of future problems. In addition, I’ll offer suggestions that may increase sales.

You can’t spell Spring without IP

Anyone who has dealt with an intellectual property (IP) issue will tell you that they are not fun. IP issues can be related to trademark, copyright, counterfeit, or patent. Unfortunately, they can be pretty complicated.

There are steps you can take today to reduce the possibility of an IP issue in the future and better prepare you to address one if it should happen:

Clean up your inventory. Just because a listing is inactive, out of stock or you have never sold it, that does not mean it cannot cause you headaches. IP issues can arise from any listing that appears in your inventory, even if you never had any units of that item for sale. If you have a bunch of listings in Manage Inventory that you are not going to sell, delete them! Why take a chance on having to address an issue that you can prevent just by deleting the listing?
Can I see your license and registration? If you are selling licensed, copyrighted or trademarked products, you are at risk for an IP issue. That is the harsh reality of selling on Amazon. Even if you are authorized to sell a product, at some point, you could be asked to prove it is authentic. If Amazon were to request documents such as a Letter of Authorization or Licensing Agreement, do you have that paperwork? Now is the perfect time to get yourself prepared for just such a situation. If you do not have these documents, contact your supplier or the Rights Owner to get them now. Keep them on file. That way if something does happen, you can respond quickly and minimize the downtime for your account.

April showers bring May … Product Detail Pages:

When was the last time you looked at your Product Detail Pages? Let me clarify that. When was the last time you looked at them on your phone?

A very wise colleague pointed out to me that most of the shopping done on Amazon is through the use of mobile devices such as our phones. However, most sellers create their listings on PCs and laptops, which have fairly large screens. The pages are created with images to be seen on these larger screens, and the titles may get a bit lengthy to maximize the search exposure.

Then there are the bullet points and descriptions, which can also get a bit wordy at times. In the end it looks great on a 24-inch monitor screen, but how does it look on a 4-inch cell phone screen?

Now is a good time to go back and look at some of your Product Detail Pages from a different perspective – a smaller one. Break out you cell phone and take a look at some of your PDPs. Do they convey the necessary information in the smaller format? Are they easy to read and understand? Do the images appear clear and easy to see? Are your bullet points ordered with the most important one first?

You want your Product Detail Pages to be clear and concise at any size.

Have questions? Now is the time to get answers

Don’t wait until crazy Q4 to have your critical questions answered. Just spring clean your Amazon seller account! If you need advice or have questions about your Amazon account, ask them now! Check out the help files on Seller Central. Go through Seller University. Start some discussions in your favorite Amazon seller groups.

Or, if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us at Riverbend Consulting. We are happy to get your account shipshape. Let’s talk 877-289-1017 or visit our website.

Jay Moran is a Consultant at Riverbend Consulting. He is a strong advocate for the sellers and goes above and beyond to use his skills to help in every way he can. Jay has experience in Amazon Seller Support/FBA as well as the Amazon Account Health Team. He worked with sellers to assist them in understanding the metrics and policies related to their Account Health as well as assisting them with reinstatement.