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Why Amazon “deal sites” put 3P accounts at risk

November 6, 2020 Leave a Comment

Sellers should avoid flipping heavily discounted items

By: Lesley Hensell

Internet deal sites let users buy heavily discounted products on Amazon. That’s why new third-party sellers embrace these sites. It’s cheap inventory to get started. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, this is a very high-risk strategy it’s best to avoid.

Why these deal sites exist

Deal sites and rebate sites are not for the convenience or happiness of the Amazon customer. These sites exist to help private-label sellers launch their products on Amazon. They are also used to increase Best Seller Rank (BSR) or gain product reviews.

There is an unspoken agreement between these sellers and the deal site customers. Most of the customers on deal sites understand that a product review is expected in return for the steep discount. When sales are made and reviews posted, a product’s Best Seller Rank rises. This, in turn, helps the product pop up higher in organic search results.

In most cases, the sellers using these deal sites are offering significant discounts – so much that they are violating Amazon policies against Platform Manipulation. As a result of these discounts, the sellers are losing money on sales made via the discount sites. In return, they hope to drive more buyers to their products.

What makes deal-buying dangerous

Third-party sellers purchase these deals and then flip them on their own Amazon accounts. But this is a risky strategy:

Amazon does not always accept invoices from Amazon-to-Amazon flips that involve third-party sellers.
Private-label sellers can easily file intellectual property complaints against other sellers who pop up on their listings – especially if their distribution is Amazon-only.

The private-label sellers are not going to remove their intellectual property complaints, once filed against you. This makes it particularly difficult to get the ASIN or account reinstated – whichever is the case.

What to do instead

There are lots of places to source products. Yes, they are more challenging than deal sites, retail arbitrage and online arbitrage. But they can help you develop a sustainable business:

Manufacturers
Distributors
Wholesalers

If you need assistance working through product lists, contact us at 877-289-1017 or visit Riverbend Consulting. Our team can help you uncover potentially lucrative sourcing relationships!

Lesley is co-founder and co-owner of Riverbend Consulting, where she oversees the firm’s client services team. She has personally helped hundreds of third-party sellers get their accounts and ASINs back up and running. Lesley leverages two decades as a small business consultant to advise clients on profitability and operational performance. She has been an Amazon seller for almost a decade, thanks to her boys (18 and 12) who do most of the heavy lifting.

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.

Should I hire a lawyer for Amazon suspensions?

May 8, 2020 Leave a Comment

Working the appeals system with a skilled Amazon consultant creates better results

By: Lesley Hensell

When my Amazon seller account is suspended, should I hire a lawyer? No. An attorney should not be your first call.

It’s an understandable knee-jerk reaction to start searching for a legal eagle. After all, Amazon has all the resources in the world. In other kinds of disputes, attack-dog lawyers are a great option for companies that need a fighter on their side.

But an Amazon suspension – whether for an account or an ASIN – is a very different animal from a lawsuit. Plus, there are several reasons that hiring an attorney early in the process can actually make it less likely you will be successful in your dealings with Amazon.

Legal eagles don’t fly in reinstatement appeals

There are a few simple reasons that attorneys do not make good Amazon appeal writers:

A key element to any account appeal or ASIN appeal is an admission of guilt. Amazon wants to know what you did wrong. Lawyers are opposed to admitting guilt – even if you were wrong. They are concerned that an admission of wrongdoing would hurt their client in future litigation. But without the admission, reinstatement will almost never happen.
Lawyers make threats and demands. Instead of going through the appeals process, some attorneys encourage sellers to send demand letters to Amazon’s legal department. This is a tremendous mistake. If you approach Amazon Legal instead of going through standard appeals channels, Amazon is very likely to stop communicating with you. Any future appeals you submit would be completely ignored.
Attorneys are not e-commerce consultants. For many appeal types, it’s critical that you correct failed business processes. The best appeal writers have experience with business processes and e-commerce. They know how to help your company identify gaps, update your SOPs and explain the results to Amazon.
Lawyers haven’t worked inside the Amazon machine. Ideally, your appeal should be written by somebody with an in-depth understanding of Amazon’s thinking, SOPs and structure. Teams that include ex-Amazon employees from Seller Performance and Seller Support can provide insight and guidance that a law firm cannot. Plus, Amazon consultants know how to work multiple channels inside of Amazon to solve your problems.
You cannot sue Amazon. With very limited exceptions, third-party sellers cannot file lawsuits against Amazon. This is part of the Business Solutions Agreement (BSA), which governs the relationship between the two parties.

When should I hire a lawyer?

There are some limited circumstances where third-party sellers should hire an attorney to protect their interests on the platform:

Intellectual property complaints can be difficult. Oftentimes, an Amazon consulting company like Riverbend can help you appeal these successfully. But in limited circumstances, you may need an attorney to defeat a complaint made against your company. Keep in mind, in these cases the attorney isn’t fighting Amazon on your behalf. Rather, the lawyer communicates with the alleged rights owner to try and convince them to remove their complaint. Or, in some cases, a lawsuit against the alleged rights owner may be necessary. This is particularly true for patent claims.
Sometimes, mediation is the end game. If the appeals process fails – both internally at Amazon and externally with government and quasi-government agencies – it’s time for mediation. This is allowed under the BSA. Some sellers choose to attack the mediation process themselves or with the help of a consultant. Others with a lot of money at stake may choose to hire an attorney to help with the process.

Our Riverbend Consulting team is full of ex-amazonians ready to help you. 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.

Sellers should avoid flipping heavily discounted items

By: Lesley Hensell

Why these deal sites exist

What to do instead

Don’t ignore those pesky notifications from Amazon

By: Sam Newlands

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

Stop Blaming:

Stop Complaining:

Don’t Take It Personally:

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

By: Kayla Forrest

Standard IP complaints on Amazon

The most common IP complaint: counterfeit

What to do when IP complaints are filed

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

By: Jay Morane

You can’t spell Spring without IP

April showers bring May … Product Detail Pages:

Have questions? Now is the time to get answers

Working the appeals system with a skilled Amazon consultant creates better results

By: Lesley Hensell

Legal eagles don’t fly in reinstatement appeals

When should I hire a lawyer?

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