So you’ve listed your products on the Amazon marketplace, you’ve invested time and money into making sure everything is on brand and looks great and then you check it a few days later and its all changed! You are not alone if you have experienced this, in fact far from it. As Amazon is a marketplace, anybody selling an item can request changes to the product detail pages and if they are accepted then your time and effort may be rendered useless.
Aside from the content of the product listings being incorrect, more serious issues could arise from ‘unprotected’ brands on Amazon. A third party seller may be selling your products with incorrect information on the listings which will inevitably lead to poor reviews and a poor customer experience. Issues such as this could well lead to a damaged brand reputation, all because of other people!
However, it is not all doom and gloom and there is no need to despair. There are a few things you can do to protect your brand when listing on Amazon:
Brand Registry
Amazon has its Brand Registry platform which allows sellers who manufacture or sell their own branded products to enrol for greater control over product listings. Registering your brand in Amazon Brand Registry means you have much more sway over the content on your product listing pages, including titles, bullet points, product descriptions and imagery. In theory once enrolled in Brand Registry no third parties should be able to alter the listings and if somehow they do, Amazon will change it back at your request.
It is a relatively straightforward process to sign up for and enrol a brand in Amazon Brand Registry, however, you will need to ensure that you have an existing trademark (although this should be the case when selling your own products on Amazon regardless of Brand registry). Head to services.amazon.co.uk/brand-registry to begin the process. You will be asked to provide business information and contact details and proof of the trademark, once this is complete a verification code will be sent to the copyright holder (you will be informed of the contact Amazon has sent the code to). To verify and finalise the process, simply obtain the verification code from the copyright holder and then send it to Amazon. It may take a few days once the code has been sent to Amazon for the set up to be complete.
IP / Copyright
As mentioned previously, having a trade mark is essential when protecting your brand on Amazon. A trade mark is regarded as an assurance of user experience regarding the nature of the product or service that they will receive. It also distinguishes the source of goods and services provided by one trader, to another. Your trade mark must be renewed every 10 years, but can be renewed indefinitely and can be identified by the ® symbol. For help with trade marks, take a look through our dedicated IP & Copyright protection page.
Ads
Looking at protecting your brand from a slightly different angle, you would be wise to consider advertising on the platform (either with AMS for Vendors or Sponsored Products for Sellers). As mentioned in our previous blog on using AMS/sponsored Products, advertising to protect your own brand can prove very successful. Not only can it lead to further sales, but more importantly it can help to prevent third parties and competitor brands from stealing sales away from you. If the search results page for your branded search only features your products (both organic and sponsored) then the chance of sales leaking from the funnel is greatly reduced.
If you would like help with your Amazon Brand Registry process, or if you are encountering issues with third-party sellers affecting your product listings then please get in touch with the Marketplace AMP team today on +44 (0) 1284774809 or email info@marketplaceamp.com.
