Hijacking
Is there anything we can do? We have been selling this item for over 9 years and like many of you we have been hijacked on this item. We sell ours in a custom bag with 2 other custom items and have all that info in the listing with photos and videos. Our Hijackers ( from China) are only selling the item with no attachments. We have received negative reviews stating that items are missing. We ordered one from the hijackers so we could take photos and send to Amazon to prove the buyers are getting mislead. We have also been Brand registered to help protect us...Amazon replies and says no policy violations - aka sorry charlie. Huh? Any suggestions or are we SOL?..Please help - Thank you
Hijacking
Is there anything we can do? We have been selling this item for over 9 years and like many of you we have been hijacked on this item. We sell ours in a custom bag with 2 other custom items and have all that info in the listing with photos and videos. Our Hijackers ( from China) are only selling the item with no attachments. We have received negative reviews stating that items are missing. We ordered one from the hijackers so we could take photos and send to Amazon to prove the buyers are getting mislead. We have also been Brand registered to help protect us...Amazon replies and says no policy violations - aka sorry charlie. Huh? Any suggestions or are we SOL?..Please help - Thank you
12 replies
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
"Authentic products will include: this, this and that and is sold by (brand) only"
First bullet point.
That's what I would do anyways....
On Amazon you have to help yourself, or nobody helps
Dougal_Amazon
Hi @Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn,
My name is Dougal from the Community Manager Team and while you are trying out @Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI's suggestion, I do want to address being enrolled in Brand Registry and not being able to get support.
I have a few questions and your answers will help me provide you the most appropriate guidance on submitting either a listing violation or IP violation.
- Does the Seller in question have an offer on your listing (ASIN) or is this a different listing (ASIN)?
- What route(s) have you already taken to report? Please include either those Case ID's or Complaint ID's
I need to review your specific issue to provide something tangible, but generally speaking, I find most issues with reporting IP are from "how," they are being reported. This may make more sense after reviewing the Intellectual Property for Rights Owners help page, specifically the bullet points in the "Reporting Infringement," section. For a bit more high level look, you can check out my post Top 3 Mistakes when Reporting a Violation through Brand Registry from a few weeks ago.
Looking forward to assisting wherever I can.
Best, Dougal
Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn
Hi Dougal,
Thank you for getting back to us. Here is the information you were asking about:
1. The other seller has an offer on our listing (asin B01BHEXKV8). Yesterday we lowered our price considerably so that our product would be shown instead of the other seller's unit.
2. We have tried reporting marketplace violations, products not as described, and chatting with seller support who transferred us to brand registry. Here are ids
Complaint ID: 16643855071, Complaint ID: 16609145011
Case ID 16622904201, case ID 16609718291, case ID 16608894961
Thank you for any help you can provide, we really appreciate it!
Dougal_Amazon
Hi @Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn,
Thanks for the case ID's and complaint ID's. I think you figured out given the responses to your case that the only way to report IP infringement is via the Report a Violation tool on the Brand Registry site and the only way to report policy violations is via the "Report Abuse," link on your Account health dashboard in Seller Central.
Next step is identifying the best way to report. For example, if you have your TM on the actual product, but via your test buy from the other seller you find that their product does NOT have the TM on your product, then this other Seller is violating listing policy and you would report via "Report Abuse," and provide those specific details.
If you find the other seller is infringing on your Trademark, Patent or Copyright then you collect that specific detail and report via the Report a Violation workflow on the Brand Registry site. The Intellectual Property for Rights Owners help page defines each of these forms of infringement, provides examples and has step by step instructions.
Please keep in mind that some things are not possible for Amazon to enforce and these are listed in the "Types of notices not accepted on Amazon," section on the Intellectual Property for Rights Owners help page.
For what you described in your 2 complaints, I recommend reporting this via "Report Abuse," like you did, but choose either "The product received is missing parts or key components" or "The product received is different than the product on the detail page (different version, model or product)." From your complaints and the images, the only differences I can see is the add-on items that come with your product and the color looks different.
One other thing to keep in mind, stating that your are the manufacturer and you don't ship to anyone else is NOT an acceptable notice, Amazon does not enforce exclusive distribution rights except within the countries that have laws specifically referring to selective or exclusive distribution.
I hope this helps and please let me know if you have any other questions.
Best, Dougal
Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn
Hi Dougal,
Thank you for getting back to us.
"From your complaints and the images, the only differences I can see is the add-on items that come with your product and the color looks different." Yes, our product descriptions and pictures show how our unit is ready to gift and comes with great additional features and the other sellers do not provide any of that so we are getting hit with negative reviews because what they are selling is a different color unit than our product and also not ready to gift with the additional features.
"report IP infringement is via the Report a Violation tool on the Brand Registry site" When we go to report a violation on the brand registry page we are not able to submit the forms - it says that our TM is "Not valid for reporting Counterfeit." Do you have any suggestions on how we can even submit the form for Brand Registry to review this issue?
Thank you for your time
Dougal_Amazon
Hello @Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn.
A TM must be registered with in order to claim a product is counterfeit and currently, your TM is still pending according to the USPTO site.
My suggestion is identify how the product is infringing on your TM utilizing the examples provided on the Intellectual Property for Rights Owners help page. If none apply to your direct situation, I recommend reporting abuse. I provided further detail in my last post, but here it is again for ease:
- For what you described in your 2 complaints, I recommend reporting this via "Report Abuse," like you did, but choose either "The product received is missing parts or key components" or "The product received is different than the product on the detail page (different version, model or product)." From your complaints and the images, the only differences I can see is the add-on items that come with your product and the color looks different.
Please let me know how it goes.
Best, Dougal
Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn
We tried sending in another complaint with your suggestions and still nothing.. Can we send a cease and desist letter to the other seller? Thank you
Dougal_Amazon
Hi @Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn,
Were you provided a complaint ID for that new submission? I can see if I have access if you provide that ID.
I will refrain from commenting on if you can send a cease and desist letter as it is not an Amazon Procedure, but a number of other sellers have mentioned in the Forums that they have taken this action step.
Perhaps another Seller can jump in and provide their experience or expertise on this and in the interim, you can search cease and desist letter within the forums to see what some others have done.
Best, Dougal
Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn
Now there is another seller that just joined so 2 people selling our item that is not the same...can you help?
Dougal_Amazon
Hello @Seller_CIpVnM0LtKJpn,
The case ID you provided is the same as you listed above. You mentioned:
Can you provide that complaint ID and I will review?
Best, Dougal
