For brands selling on Amazon, the rise of unauthorized third-party sellers is a pervasive issue that can wreak havoc on your brand’s reputation, pricing strategy, and overall customer trust. Unauthorized sellers often list your products without your consent, undercut your pricing, provide subpar customer experiences, and dilute your brand identity.

Why Unauthorized Sellers Are a Problem

1. Price Erosion: Unauthorized sellers often sell below MSRP, forcing your authorized partners to lower prices, which hurts margins and undermines your pricing strategy.
2. Brand Confusion: Buyers may not understand the difference between authorized and unauthorized sellers, leading to negative reviews and poor customer experiences.
3. Poor Quality Control: Unauthorized sellers may sell outdated, damaged, or counterfeit versions of your product.
4. Lost Control of Listings: Amazon’s Buy Box algorithm favors lower prices and better performance, meaning unauthorized sellers could take control of your product listing.
5. Retailer Relationships: Your retail partners lose confidence when they compete with unauthorized sellers undercutting them.

Best Practices for Removing Unauthorized Sellers

A robust plan to mitigate unauthorized sellers involves a combination of legal measures, data monitoring, and Amazon tools. 

Here’s how to do it:

Secure Internal Buy-In and Commitment

Before you begin the process, ensure leadership and stakeholders understand that this is a long-term initiative. Removing unauthorized sellers requires consistency and follow-through but leads to improved pricing, higher margins, and stronger retailer relationships.

Draft and Enforce Legal Agreements

• Authorized Distributor Contracts: All distributors must sign agreements prohibiting sales to unauthorized third parties. Include clauses that:
• Limit where and how products can be resold.
• Require proper documentation for high-quantity purchases.
• Reseller Policy Enforcement: Have clear policies and communicate them to all partners. Enforce these policies with cease-and-desist letters and, if needed, legal action.
• MyFBAPrep Tip: Leverage our legal templates to draft agreements that protect your brand while maintaining distributor relationships.

Monitor Your Listings

• Use Amazon monitoring tools (like Helium 10, Jungle Scout, or third-party software) to track:
• Who’s selling your products.
• Price deviations.
• Changes to product listings.
• Regularly monitor customer reviews for signs of counterfeit or poor-quality goods.

Send Cease-and-Desist Letters

• Reach out to unauthorized sellers directly, citing your reseller policy. For those who don’t comply, escalate to:
• Filing IP claims with Amazon.
• Partnering with Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit (CCU).

Implement Amazon’s Brand Protection Tools

• Brand Registry: If you haven’t already, enroll in Amazon’s Brand Registry. This gives you greater control over your product listings and access to powerful tools like:
• Transparency Program: Apply unique codes to your products to ensure only authorized items are sold.
• Project Zero: Use automated protections to identify and remove counterfeits.
• IP Accelerator: Amazon partners with IP law firms to help you protect trademarks quickly.

Identify Rogue Distributors

• Mark product batches with unique identifiers to trace unauthorized inventory back to its source.
• Investigate and address distributors supplying unauthorized sellers.

Leverage Exclusivity Agreements

• Work with a single, trusted Amazon seller (like MyFBAPrep) to handle all sales. This creates accountability and simplifies enforcement.

Take the Long View

• Cleaning up your Amazon presence takes time and patience. Focus on strengthening your authorized seller relationships and controlling your listings, knowing the long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term challenges.

How MyFBAPrep Helps Brands Eliminate Unauthorized Sellers

At MyFBAPrep, we work with brands to create solutions that help regain control over their Amazon listings:

• Global Network of Warehouses: We help centralize distribution, so you can track your product’s journey from end to end.
• Brand Protection Services: We assist with creating and enforcing distributor agreements and monitoring unauthorized sellers.
• Amazon Expertise: Our team of Amazon experts provides end-to-end support to clean up your listings and implement Amazon Brand Registry tools.

Results You Can Expect

• Increased control over pricing and branding.
• Improved Buy Box retention with authorized sellers.
• Enhanced relationships with retail partners.
• Protection of your reputation and customer trust.

Ready to take control of your brand on Amazon?

Partner with MyFBAPrep to protect your brand, eliminate unauthorized sellers, and drive consistent revenue growth. Contact us today to learn more.