Dropshippers selling my Trademarked item
Hi,
I sell my own brand of trademarked items and I have noticed that every time I go out of stock, another seller will pop up offering my item for twice the price of what I sell it for.
They cannot possibly have my identical item to sell so I assume what they are doing is collecting orders while I am out of stock, and then ordering from me when I come back into stock and dropshipping the items to their customers.
I tried to report this to Amazon in the past as an infringement of my trademark (I am also registered for Brand Registry) but instead of stopping these dodgy sellers, they instead removed the entire ASIN from their catalogue.
Does anyone know if what these people are doing is against Amazon policy and what is the best way to stop it?
Many thanks,
Damian
Dropshippers selling my Trademarked item
Hi,
I sell my own brand of trademarked items and I have noticed that every time I go out of stock, another seller will pop up offering my item for twice the price of what I sell it for.
They cannot possibly have my identical item to sell so I assume what they are doing is collecting orders while I am out of stock, and then ordering from me when I come back into stock and dropshipping the items to their customers.
I tried to report this to Amazon in the past as an infringement of my trademark (I am also registered for Brand Registry) but instead of stopping these dodgy sellers, they instead removed the entire ASIN from their catalogue.
Does anyone know if what these people are doing is against Amazon policy and what is the best way to stop it?
Many thanks,
Damian
49 replies
Seller_2BrPSydGy6oyq
Well you have managed to remove them from the listing, but are left with the challenge to get your listing and yourself reinstated, as others have discovered if you search the boards for this issue.
Often you have to withdraw the IP claim (on yourself)as the brand owner to get it reinstated?
The new format of the report infringement form appears to target the listing, rather than an individual seller, so need to be careful if using that route to complain, often a message to the seller informing them they are infringing your IP rights (to the branded product, which should have rights beyond a registered TM) and if a dropshipper, will normally remove themselves from the listing.
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
I understand that it is frustrating however they are not actually infringing upon your trademark if they are (re)selling your genuine product.
A couple of things to consider.
Are they ‘good’ drop-shippers? Have you had any complaints, INRs or other issues with any orders?
Are you still selling your inventory at the price you set (and apparently selling out since it is going out of stock)?
Are people willing to place an order and wait? If so you can use Restock Date (for FBM at least) on listings where you know you’ll be receiving more units within 30 days. I don’t advise doing this unless you are 100% certain you’ll receive the restock however.
You can either ignore it and accept that you are still selling your items at the price you ask and accept that they are filling a niche that you aren’t prepared to service OR you can take steps to fill that niche - and those orders - yourself.
Of course, if they are misbehaving and giving you trouble over INRs, A-Zs and actually costing you money then yes, you need to take action.
Take the emotion out of the equation, look at is from a purely business point of view and ask yourself is it costing you money, making you money or a wash?
From what you describe in your post, you are just selling as many units as you can at the price you set with no negative implications. You might be sore that someone might (you don’t know) be selling your items on for additional profit but given you are still selling every item at your desired price - does that really matter?
Seller_d5xGVic0qWqw7
then looks like you filled the form wrong.
you have 3 options when filling form
- remove all sellers
- remove the listing
- remove the image
if you submit a trademark infringement it gives option gives you to click any seller you want to remove.
you can get this reinstated and say you incorrectly removed the listing
Seller_vFro1s8ySAXcz
Contrary to popular belief of some here a trademark does not protect you from people reselling your product. A lot of people seem to misunderstand the concept of trademarks. No-one needs your permission to sell your product. They would need permission to manufacture a product and put your name on it, but that’s something entirely different and it’s called “licensing”.
If the product is genuine there is really not much you can do. Yes, Disney does this as well. They simply file fake complaints on genuine products to stop grey imports. But there is no legal ground for that. Companies like Amazon simply comply because they don’t want to get burnt. Disney employs expensive lawyers.
Seller_wBEcVhOIer5y3
A carefully worded email with your trademark details attached should do the trick. Don’t be aggressive just explain you don’t want get their account in trouble. I found this does the trick almost every time. Good luck
Seller_BpSMg54YI3wjL
I have people listing my products on eBay. It’s frustrating when my items designed by myself say “Designed by and exclusive to us” then other people come along and drop ship. I just accept it through gritted teeth and try to thing “a sale is a sale at the end of the day.” I even try to see it as a compliment. Some are just trying to make a living at the end of the day.
HOWEVER what really winds me up (I wanted to put much stronger words there!) - is the odd drop shipper who then claims item not received. So not only are they selling my products at hugely inflated prices and ripping the customers off - they are then stealing from us (or Amazon if it’s an FBA item as they then have to reimburse me for the INR). I know it’s definitely them because the message in the order says “Thank you for ordering from (eBay shop name)” The nerve of it!!
This INR claiming seller is getting around 300 feedback a month on eBay by living off us Amazon sellers. Imagine how many sales he must be getting just for being a thief?! But surely they can’t get away with INR claims for all the orders?
I have reported his wrong doings to eBay and Amazon who will monitor him (apparently). There’s no way I’m personally going to have a go at him (even though he more than deserves it) because all he has to do is lie futher and put my account performance at risk. Also, for example, if he claim authenticity issues (which I can easily prove wrong) it could cause temporary suspension which would be very stressful. I’m just not risking that. So it feels almost like I have to sit back and watch someone come up to me and take my things from my pocket while my hands are tied behind my back.
Seller_n3kq7gcIclCDM
Thanks for all the replies. I have read them all and am still unsure as to what to do.
I understand that it more than likely is my genuine items that are being sold and that the listing belongs to Amazon and that a sale is a sale etc.
The thing that worries me most is the impact that this may have on my product reviews. If I was to buy something at say £40 instead of £20, my expectations would be far higher and therefore I would be far more critical of the item and more likely to leave a negative product review. On top of this, there is an increased risk of claims for refund being made by a seller who is unscrupulous to do this in the first place and has nothing to lose.
I could try to have the seller removed, but last time I did this, Amazon removed the entire ASIN even though I had indicated that it was just a single seller which I had a problem with. I’m not sure I want to risk doing that again as it was a very anxious wait before my listing and 18 months worth of product reviews came back up again.
My other option is to do what this seller is doing, offer FBM when my item is out of stock on FBA. There is no way I could pack and post all of the orders myself though and I would have to use Multi-channel fulfillment to do this which is fairly time consuming to do for multiple orders in itself.
Of course my best option is just to never go out of stock on FBA, which is sometimes easier said than done!
Seller_9XWqPGRXeAg4Q
If he is buying from you retail then he can not sell the item as New. Even if it is still sealed in original packaging. He must sell as used.
Seller_EHYOwAkoZV3Hb
Most dropshippers do their “work” using software and once you’re out of stock, they take your item off their lists. When it’s back, they put it back automatically. And they constantly track pricing and amend theirs according to a formula accordingly…
Seller_Rkf2znCXtSZpI
I would suggest you do not allow yourself to run out of stock.
At any point if you are worried about running out increase your price to slow down sales.
In this scenario even if you do run out at least you can be happy you made a better margin.
