NEWS TODAY: Sellers Receiving MISINFORMATION From Amazon Forums
Amazon sellers, this is news when it comes to litigation and legal claims being asserted against you. I’m really a bit upset that there’s some misinformation out there, and it has to do with the bad advice that many of you are receiving on the Amazon seller forums.
I’m a huge believer in doing research before you start selling a product, before you jump on a listing, because there’s a law firm out there, many of you have received one of their letters, called Vorys. What the forums are telling sellers to do is ignore the correspondence that’s coming from this particular law firm.
I think that’s a big, big mistake because if you respond and explain why you have every right to sell the product, that you know the first sale doctrine, your products are genuine, you can sell it, and the law firm on the other side of that letter will know that you know what you’re talking about and they shouldn’t mess with you.
If you ignore the letter, you’re increasing the likelihood of being a defendant, of getting sued by that law firm.
If you think it through, it makes sense. A brand hires a law firm to stop unauthorized sellers. They send a letter. Now the law firm’s going to report to the brand what happened. We received responses from this number of sellers. This number of sellers agreed to stop selling. But these other guys, they’re just totally non-responsive. The ones that are non-responsive, the brand’s going to say, “Go get them.”
So if you receive a Vorys letter or a letter from another law firm threatening litigation, I don’t think you should ignore it. I think the advice on the forums is wrong. I think you should address it firmly and with the knowledge of knowing that number one, your products are genuine & number two, the sale of those products is protected by the first sale doctrine.
I’m very comfortable advising you, even without having met many of you, that if you receive a letter from a law firm asserting claims against you, you shouldn’t ignore it. You should respond, but respond with strength and knowledge.