As a brand owner, maintaining control over your products on Amazon is essential for protecting your brand’s reputation and ensuring consistent customer experiences. Unauthorized resellers can undermine your pricing strategy, dilute your brand, and lead to negative customer reviews. Here’s how you can effectively remove resellers from your Amazon listings and regain control over your brand.

1. Calculating Potential Revenue Gains from DTC Sales

Removing unauthorized resellers and switching to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales can significantly impact your revenue. Here's how to calculate the potential gains:

1. Review Wholesale Prices: Determine the price per unit of each SKU you sell to wholesale buyers.
2. Calculate Wholesale Revenue: Multiply the price per unit by the total units sold to wholesale buyers to find the total revenue earned from these sales.
3. Estimate FBA Fees: Use Amazon’s FBA calculator to determine the fees you would incur if selling directly on Amazon.
4. Compare Profits: Measure the difference in profit/revenue between selling to wholesale buyers and selling directly to consumers.

For example:

• Wholesale price per unit: $20
• Units sold to wholesalers: 1,000
• Total wholesale revenue: $20,000
• DTC price per unit: $40
• FBA fees per unit: $8
• Profit per unit (DTC): $40 - $8 = $32
• Total DTC revenue: 1,000 units * $32 = $32,000

In this scenario, switching to DTC sales on Amazon could potentially increase your revenue from $20,000 to $32,000, a significant gain.

2. Issue a 3P/MAP Policy

The first step in removing unauthorized resellers is to implement a Third-Party (3P) Marketplace and Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy. This policy sets clear guidelines on who can sell your products and at what price.

• Define Your 3P/MAP Policy: Clearly state that your products are not to be sold on third-party platforms like Amazon without authorization. Set minimum advertised prices to gauge which retailers stand to remain as loyal distribution partners that honor your company guidelines
• Communicate to Wholesalers: Ensure that all wholesale buyers are aware of and agree to your 3P/MAP policy at the point of sale. Make it a part of your terms and conditions that must be acknowledged and signed off on before completing a purchase order

Implementing this policy helps to weed out unauthorized and problematic sellers from the start and sets the groundwork for enforcing your brand’s guidelines.

3. Reconcile Sales from the 90-Day Term

To identify which business accounts are reselling your products on Amazon, reconcile your sales data over a 90-day term.

• Review All Purchase Orders: Start by reviewing all accounts with purchase orders from the last 90 days
• Monitor Amazon Listings: Compare your findings with Amazon listings to see if these accounts are turning your products for sale on the platform.

By doing this, you can pinpoint which wholesale buyers might be violating your 3P/MAP policy and take appropriate action.

4. Follow Up with Wholesale Buyers

Once you’ve identified potential resellers, follow up with them to enforce your policy.

• Inform Wholesale Buyers: Contact these buyers and inform them that future purchases are no longer eligible for resale on 3P platforms like Amazon.
• Reiterate Your Policy: Clearly communicate the consequences of violating your 3P/MAP policy, which could include termination of their wholesale agreement.

This follow-up is crucial to ensuring that your policy is understood and respected by your wholesale partners.

5. Enroll in the Transparency Code Program

Amazon’s Transparency program helps you regain control over your listings by authorizing specific resellers and verifying the authenticity of your products.

• Sign Up for Transparency: Enroll your products in the Transparency program to assign unique codes to each unit.
• Authorize Specific Resellers: Use the program to authorize specific resellers who can sell your products alongside your company on Amazon.
• Track and Verify: Transparency codes allow you to track each product and verify that only authorized sellers are listing your items.

The Transparency program not only helps in removing unauthorized resellers but also adds a layer of security against counterfeit products.

Additional Tips

• Legal Action: In cases where unauthorized resellers persist, consider sending cease-and-desist letters or taking legal action. This demonstrates your commitment to protecting your brand.
• Brand Registry: Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry to access tools that help monitor and protect your brand on Amazon.
  
  
  

The Wrap Up

Removing resellers from your Amazon listings is a multi-step process that requires clear policies, diligent monitoring, and proactive enforcement. By issuing a 3P/MAP policy, reconciling sales data, following up with wholesale buyers, and enrolling in Amazon’s Transparency program, you can effectively regain control over your brand over time and ensure a consistent, high-quality customer experience that yields the greatest benefit for your company and loyal partners.

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