How to remove hijackers from your Amazon product listing

Product hijackers are a big problem for any Amazon seller, as they undercut the price, keep the buy box, generate negative reviews and poison your brand reputation. That's why it's vital to remove them from your listing as soon as possible. In this article we will explore the 5 ways to report these practices and put an end to hijackers on your product.

Hijackers are sellers who offer a product of another brand on Amazon without the consent of the owner of that brand. What they do is lower the price to keep the buy box to themselves. In this way, when a customer clicks on Buy, it will be the hijacker's product that they will receive. Their strategy is, on the one hand, to ship from their own warehouses (FBM) so that Amazon does not have the opportunity to inspect the product, and, on the other hand, to establish very long delivery times. There are occasions when they simply do not send the product, but since Amazon pays after 14 days, by the time the customer claims, they have already received the money. Other times, what they do is send fake products.

As you can imagine, this has very detrimental effects on the original seller of the product:

• Drastic reduction in sales
• Collection of negative reviews
• Damage to brand image

This is a particularly frequent setback for brands not registered in the Brand Registry, but those that are registered will also suffer this attack from time to time. If you want to know the benefits of registering your trademark in Brand Registry, here is this article where we explore the topic in more detail.

How to remove hijackers from your listing if you have a registered trademark

Cease and desist letter

This is a formal request to the hijacker to remove the product from the marketplace. It is advisable to send it in English, regardless of the hijacker's origin. If you have their email, you can send it directly to their inbox. If not, go to Ask a question > Other questions and there you can send the letter to the hijacker. By simply searching for "cease and desist amazon template" on Google you can find a template on which to base your letter. If within 24-36 hours they have not responded, it is best to call the hijacker directly.

Call the hijacker

Talking directly to the hijacker is a good way to pressure him to remove his product. You may be able to see his phone number in the marketplace seller profile. If not, you can look him up online or write him a message as a prospective buyer and ask for the number to close the sale. However you get the number, the phone confrontation will make him feel the seriousness of the matter and that you are willing to go all the way.

Report an infrigement of rights to Amazon

If the previous two actions have not worked, the process will inevitably take longer. The first step is to go to the hijacked listing and buy the product sold by the hijacker. This way, when it arrives, we can prove to Amazon through images that it is a counterfeit.

You will have to go to the Amazon contact section of Seller Central. There, in the Other section, you will find the Report a violation tab. In the form that will appear, you must attach the images that prove that the product is a counterfeit. In the text, you will have to comment that you have purchased this product with the corresponding order number and that what has arrived is not the advertised product, as shown in the attached graphic material.

Immediately after sending this form, call customer service, give the case number and explain the urgency of resolving the matter.

Call customer service as a buyer

Since you had to buy the product for the previous step, you can now also report the case as a buyer. To increase the attention on the hijacker, call the customer service and explain that you have received a counterfeit or a product that does not correspond to the description. Amazon will then investigate the case on its own and expedite the process of closing the hijacker's account.

File a complaint at the police station and send a burofax to Amazon.

Normally the previous actions usually work and it is very rare to have to go to this extreme. However, if none of the above has any effect, go to a police station and report the situation. Once the complaint has been processed, send a burofax to Amazon Payments Europe S.C.A. (société en commandite par actions), société commandite par actions, is a company registered in Luxembourg under Registration Number (RCS Luxembourg) B 153 265, with registered office at 38 avenue J.F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg. You may require a lawyer to carry out this process, but it will certainly be worth it, as Amazon prioritizes this course of action.

How to remove hijackers from your listing if you don't have your trademark registered

In this case, the seller is less protected. You can only resort to the cease and desist letter, the call to the seller and the complaint of the product to Amazon as a buyer. In fact, if you do not have your trademark registered, as soon as you have a minimum of success on Amazon, hijackers will appear in large numbers continuously.

Conclusion

Hijackers are a very difficult problem to solve and require constant attention. Therefore, if you need advice with this procedure or you are looking for a way to grow your business, remember that you can contact us through the contact form or by sending us a message to contact@soemlabs .com.

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