Complaint of counterfeit product how to resolve?
Has anyone ever had their account at risk for counterfeiting. I bought 2 products from a particular brand and one of them the end customer complained to the brand and this, in turn, complained to Amazon indicating that it is a counterfeit product. We have product photos, we have invoice, we have documents for the purchase and shipment of the product. But amazon does not accept it. We spoke to the brand and they say they don’t allow sales on Amazon. We don’t see how this is possible if on amazon we were allowed to list for sale? We’ve had this problem for 3 weeks and we don’t know how to solve it? We simply agree with this question by selecting the option on Amazon, “I UNDERSTAND THE POLICY AND AGREE WITH THE DECISION. WOULD I LIKE TO ASK FOR A SECOND CHANCE” ? What advise us?
Please help me as I did everything correctly and my account is at risk and I am not able to resolve the situation.
Thanks
4 replies
Seller_alN2yMqnyCA4M
You didn’t do everything correctly. Just because Amazon says you can sell an item, doesn’t mean you can. They assume you have all the proper paperwork to list on a brand and when asked for it, you need to provide exactly what they are looking for.
Desi_Amazon
Hello @MafaStore,
Desi from Amazon here to assist.
From your post I understand that a rights owner has submitted a counterfeit complaint for 2 products you listed. There are a couple things we need to cover here.
Do you have a wholesale account with the brand or did you purchase your inventory directly from their site? Generally when purchasing one or two items you will get a receipt instead of an invoice. Did your document meet the below criteria?
• Invoices issued in the last 365 days
• Reflect sales volume during the last 365 days.
• The invoice date should be before the order ‘Ship By’ date.
• Supplier Information should consist of name, phone number, business address, email address and website. The Supplier will be contacted if needed.
• Your (seller) information should consist of name, business address, email address, phone number. (Everything as per seller central)
• For easier identification, the product description on the invoice should be similar to the product title on Amazon and you may highlight or circle the product under review.
File formats must meet either .pdf, .jpg, .png, or .gif files
Please note that the only documents that will be accepted for counterfeit complaints are invoices, letters of authorization, licensing agreements or a retraction from the rights owner. Shipment confirmations and images will not be considered valid.
Counterfeit without a test buy complaints assert that you have both infringed upon the rights owner’s trademark as well as listed an inauthentic item. It is important to differentiate between being authorized to use someone’s intellectual property and being approved to sell that item on Amazon. Those two things are not the same. If you are approved to sell this brand on our platform then you are half way there, you will also then need approval from the brand itself if you are going to be utilizing their intellectual property to sell your items.
You selected the option to request the complaint be ‘forgiven’ if you do not intend to re-list the product and/or are unable to provide documentation/information to dispute/appeal the complaint. Please note, sellers will not have the option to dispute the violation to reinstate the ASIN after forgiveness has been granted.
If forgiveness is granted, the complaint is immediately removed from your dashboard and points are granted back to your score. If the complaint remains in your account, it means the request was rejected and you will now only be able to dispute it. If your dispute is unsuccessful, the ASIN will remain on your dashboard for 6 months.
Please let us know if you have any other questions. We are looking forward to assisting you.
Regards,
Desi
Seller_Ri0SgMO3rxlYn
Amazon can decide for what’s sold on their site (that’s why they give you to “go” to list your items), assuming - sometimes erroneously- that sellers know what they’re doing, that the due diligence has been done correctly, and that all the paperwork is in order.
Amazon can’t, in any way or form, authorize you to sell an item for which you are not authorized by the brand owner/ manufacturer. This is what most youtube/tiktok gurus fail to explain to their pupils, and what ultimately end with an hemorrage of suspended accounts.
“Forgiveness” is a cute concept, but most likely won’t be granted, as again, Amazon has no authority over brand owner’s rights. The violations will remain in your account for 180 days, as you have no way to resolve them. Your only path is to avoid further violations, and to raise your sales to the max so the effect of these violations on your account health is less and you can eventually, recover from this.
