TAS 105 : How To Protect Your Products From Hijackers and Losing Sales

There’s a ton of noise going on lately about hijacked product listings. It sounds pretty scary, and in some ways it could be if you don’t know how to stop it, but as always Scott’s got some great, simple, actionable advice for you as to how you can protect yourself from your products being hijacked. Don’t let it rattle you. You CAN take practical steps to safeguard your product listings from hijackers… now there’s no guarantee all of this will prevent your product from being hijacked, but it will definitely make it much, much harder for it to occur. Listen to this episode of The Amazing Seller to hear all the details.

What is a “hijacked” product on Amazon?

You’ve done the research to find and purchase your first product. You’ve listed it on Amazon. You’ve got it labeled as your unique brand. Then suddenly you no longer have ownership or control of the “buy box” on your own listing! Somebody has taken over your listing by sending products to Amazon that they “say” are identical to yours… but they CAN’T be. You’re the only one selling your products. You had them created just for you! Do you see the problem? Your sales will be impacted if you don’t do something to remove the hijacker’s products from your listing. How do you do it? That’s what this episode is all about so be sure to listen.

The first steps to un-hijacking your product listing.

What Scott recommends you do as the very first step if you see that your product has been hijacked is to send a “Cease and Desist” letter to the hijacker. It’s basically a legal-sounding, somewhat threatening letter warning the person of what could happen if they don’t stop positioning their product as yours. They are breaking the Amazon terms of service and could be kicked off the platform, so you’re using that possibility to motivate them to remove their product on their own. What exactly should you letter say? Scott reads an effective C&D letter verbatim on this episode, so make sure you put it on slow play and get every word!

The importance of registering your brand.

One of the things Amazon has put in place to help you safeguard your listings from hijackers is the “Brand Registry.” It’s a page on Amazon’s site where you can go to register yourself as the owner of your brand, give Amazon a lot of details, and set yourself in a very good defensive position should your products ever be hijacked. Scott recommends that every Amazon Private Label seller register their brand immediately, the minute they begin putting their products on the Amazon sales platform. Find out how on this episode of The Amazing Seller or by using the link to the Amazon Brand Registry included in the show notes.

If your Amazon product is hijacked, buy one of the products they are selling.

What? Why would you want to buy the product that’s posing as yours? Because when you contact Seller Support at Amazon they are going to ask you to document exactly why the product listed is not your product. That means you’ll need pictures of the product, detailed examples of how it is different from yours, and the overall ability to prove that it is not your product at all. So the minute you notice your product listing has been taken over, order one of the products. You’ll be that much ahead when it comes to rectifying the situation because you’ll be able to prove your product’s uniqueness sooner.

Make sure your product is uniquely different, as soon as possible.

It’s OK to put labels or stickers on your products to “brand” them when you first start selling on Amazon. But you can’t be satisfied with that. Stickers are too easy to fake. You want to do something unique that will make it much harder for a hijacker to create a fake of your product. Things like engraving, custom packaging, or combining your product with a related accessory that will be hard for the imposter to source, all those and more can help you set your product apart. Scott’s got other ideas too, so listen to the podcast to get all his thoughts.

OUTLINE OF THIS INTERVIEW EPISODE OF THE AMAZING SELLER

[0:05] Introduction to this episode on “hijacking” of products - a very vital issue! [1:24] An important milestone for TAS community member Nathan Young! [3:21] Scott’s big announcement: The FREE PRIVATE LABEL COURSE is ready! www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com [6:00] What happens when your listing is hijacked: Scott’s experience. [11:00] Ways this can happen and things to be careful about. [14:35] How to register your brand. [15:32] Order a copy of the product that’s been placed on your listing. [17:00] How Amazon brand registry works and what you should include on it [19:00] The vital importance of having a domain name for your brand. [20:10] Why you need to have your own UPC code for the products. [21:15] The importance of differentiation (engraving, unique boxes, adding a separate component, etc.) [23:29] Sending a “Cease and Desist” letter. [25:00] Tips for dealing with Amazon seller support. [26:20] What the “Cease and Desist” letter should say…and why you should try it first. [29:10] Jeremy, A TAS Community member’s advice (see link below) [34:01] Advice to people who have not started selling on Amazon yet.

LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

Free Private Label Course - www.FreePrivateLabelCourse.com

Amazon Brand Registry - https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/200955930

The TAS Facebook advice from Jeremy - https://www.facebook.com/groups/TAS.Private.Group/permalink/518908858277252/

Scott’s free workshop - http://www.TheAmazingSeller.com/workshop

www.TheAmazingSeller.com/FB - the TAS Facebook Community