Intellectual Property Complaints, Basic IP Law For Sellers, High ODR Rate Suspensions – Amazon sellers’ news 9/17/19.
Here’s some good Amazon sellers’ news 9/17/19: Another day with ZERO Listing Violation Suspensions based upon Pricing and No Restricted Product Suspensions; INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMPLAINTS (multiple companies / multiple complaints); High ODR Rate Suspensions; Brand Protection for Private Label Sellers; 72 Hour Notices – POAs / Plan of Action.
Intellectual property issues are always big for Amazon sellers.
These are huge issues for third party sellers around the globe, and I want to let you know that we’re seeing an increase in intellectual property cases from two different types. We have some companies that are making multiple complaints against the same seller or groups of sellers. We also had sellers who are receiving multiple complaints from multiple companies.
If you’re a seller and you start receiving IP complaints from different companies, you need to address those as they come in. Nobody knows when you’re going to get suspended, whether it just be a listing suspension as they come in, or eventually, your whole account is going to go down. Larger sellers definitely seem to be able to withstand more complaints from more companies before their account goes down.
If you are a seller and you have received multiple complaints from the same company, it’s easier than if there is more than one company. You’re dealing with the same brand manager, the same enforcement company, whoever they’re using to make the complaints. We negotiate for the retraction of one complaint, you’re negotiating for all of them at once.
Slow down in listing violation suspensions based upon pricing.
They have practically stopped after they skyrocketed over the last couple of weeks. And we’ve also seen a dramatic decrease in restricted product suspensions. Listing policy violation suspensions are down, restricted product suspensions are down, and that is really great news for sellers.
High ODR rate suspensions are increasing.
There’s not a huge spike, but we’re certainly getting more calls, more emails, and chats.
Brand protection for private label sellers.
As Q3 ends, as Q4 begins, we are seeing more private label sellers doing precisely what you should be doing, obtaining your trademark, getting brand registry, adding something to your warranty, or having us redraft your warranty so other sellers cannot deliver the same products, and making sure that you are making money on every sale of your products, not your factory, not a hijacker, not someone from a foreign country. Private label sellers, you need to protect your brand and your intellectual property just like the big guys.
72-hour notices and plans of action.
If you receive a 72-hour notice, I want you to stop, take a deep breath, don’t freak out, and do your own deep dive evaluation. What is the issue? What is the root cause? What systemic changes can we make to our business that will be persuasive to Amazon to not suspend you after the 72-hour notices pass? Or if you are suspended to get your account and listings back.
Remember, the first section of every plan of action, root cause. In the second section of every single plan of action, what did you immediately do to try and make that consumer happy? The third section, what are the systemic or long term changes you are making to your business so that Amazon staff can feel comfortable reinstating you, knowing that the same complaint is not going to come back again from a consumer. So that seller performance, seller support will not have to deal with your file again and they won’t look bad.
