As an increasingly competitive platform, Amazon has more than 2,000 new sellers joining every day. As the number of sellers increases, competition becomes more intense, leading to frequent “follow-selling” on the Amazon platform.
So what is “follow-selling” on Amazon? Imagine that you have a best-selling product in your store, which is highly ranked and selling well, but suddenly one day you find that all the traffic you worked hard to earn has been stolen by other sellers. Because everyone shares the same product detail page, coupled with poor quality, bad reviews begin to appear, which in turn affects your sales revenue.
If the above situation occurs, it means that you are suffering from “follow-selling”. Third-party sellers “hijack” product listings on Amazon and offer inferior versions of products at lower prices and lower quality.
So, as a merchant, how can you protect your product listings from “follow-selling”? First, know if you are being hijacked. Here are some indicators:
1. Hijackers open seller accounts on Amazon and offer counterfeit versions of ASINs and sell identical replica products as private label brands at low prices. They list the ASIN at a lower price.
2. When being hijacked, you may see a significant drop in sales. When you check the product listing, you may find two or more offers. Click on the usernames of these sellers to view their seller information. Typically, the hijacker’s account was recently created and has little to no seller feedback. Shoppers begin posting negative reviews on the product listing. Hijackers offer counterfeit products on the product listing, immediately hurting sales and discrediting the product listing.
Once you find yourself being hijacked, merchants should take immediate action to minimize the impact and avoid negative feedback. Here are some steps to solve the problem of “hijacking” on Amazon:
Step 1: Buy the counterfeit product. When dealing with “hijacking” on Amazon product listings, you must take action to avoid further damage. First, buy the hijacker’s product. After receiving the purchased counterfeit product, the merchant should take photos and videos to record the differences between the two products.
Step 2: Communicate with the customer. If you receive a negative review, simply explain the situation in the review and ask the customer to contact you to send the real product for free.
It should be noted that Amazon resellers are a different matter. If you see an offer in the “Other Sellers” section of the product listing, this is not considered “following the sale.” If Amazon sellers buy products and then resell them, they are called resellers. The difference is that the follower sells a counterfeit version of their own product, while the reseller sells the genuine product.
Finally, if the merchant wants to report the follower to Amazon, you need to learn how to report the product and provide as much case information as possible.
In order to make the Amazon platform pay enough attention, merchants need to know how to report the product to Amazon and provide as much case information as possible, and also need to provide the registered trademark of the product.
When submitting a complaint application to Amazon, there are two main channels to choose from:
1. If the counterfeit product uses the merchant’s brand name and logo, please fill out the infringement report form.
2. If the counterfeit product is listed under a different brand name on the merchant’s product listing, please fill out the Violation Report Form.
When filling out the form, be sure to include the following: the username of the Amazon “hit seller”, the URL of the Amazon “hit seller”, the ASIN of the product listing, the title of the product listing, a comparison list between the genuine and counterfeit products, the order number of the counterfeit product, a statement that the seller is selling counterfeit products, and a report on the negative impact the product has on the shopper experience. After completing the form, submit your application.
By taking these steps, merchants can report hijackers to Amazon and provide sufficient evidence to help Amazon take the necessary actions to protect the merchant’s rights. However, it should be noted that there may be a delay in Amazon processing complaints, so merchants need to be patient and continue to monitor the listing to ensure that the problem is resolved.
In summary, Amazon’s competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and hijacking is common. Merchants should understand how to protect their product listings from hijacking and know how to report hijackers to Amazon. By purchasing counterfeit products, communicating with customers, and filing complaints with Amazon, merchants can minimize the impact of copycat sales and protect their own rights. Amazon also encourages merchants to actively participate in reporting to maintain a fair competition environment.