Goalpost moving Brand qualification / category approval
Hi Everyone,
I’ve been trying to obtain category approval for some kids lunch boxes and backpacks for 2 months. I’m new to selling unbranded products and branding them as my own.
Initially I applied for category approval with my logo stuck on the bags. I now know that the branding needs to be permanently attached to the product or packaging. So I spent £200 on branded ziplock bags with my logo on (and suffocation warning) and reapplied because the guidelines say that the branding must be permanently fixed to the product or packaging.
I have been rejected again today because:
“We have completed our review and have concluded that your brand does not meet our criteria for approval.
In the provided images, we do not see sufficient proof that the branding on the product and/or packaging distinguishes the product(s) from other, similar products that are not branded.
In the future, if you would like to request another review, we require new images that show branding that distinguishes the product(s) from similar products that do not belong to that brand (ex. brand name printed directly onto the packaging, or the product itself).”
So I’m now at a loss of what to do. The brand name is printed on the packaging. I know I can sell as Generic but i need a GTIN exemption. It seems unfair to me that I have followed the guidelines and permanently added my branding to the packaging and still it’s not ok.
Any suggestions welcome. If anyone knows of a detailed guide for this they could point me to I would appreciate it. I’m pulling my hair out and have now missed the back to school window I was aiming to sell my products in.
Thanks
DB.
24 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
So there seems to be a couple of things requiring approval
Your own brand - brand approval and getting ungated for a category
Getting ungated for certain categories as a new PL seller is the difficult route to take
Are you able to buy some branded goods in that category from a trade only supplier to get you started and then look to PL at a later date when you have some sales history ?
I know you state you’ve missed the back to school window but tbh, with a PL product in a highly populated category, you’d need to spend quite a bit of money on advertising over a period of time to get your listing visible on the first page or two so needed to start months ago possibly
Just to check too, are you registered with hmrc and amazon as a business ?
Seller_EHYOwAkoZV3Hb
Keep trying, emphasising that the brand is physically printed on the packaging and fully conforms to the Brand Registry policy. I was denied a couple of times and then got a sympathetic person that approved it without making any changes.
I am assuming that what is printed is exactly what was registered with the IPO.
Seller_UkVPjGY6g1h50
Hi guys. I do not have a trademark currently. This is brand approval for sale into specific categories not the brand registry. When I was first denied with the sticker I thought about registering the brand but getting the trademark takes months that I didn’t have (3-5 on investigation) and the cost was the same for buying branded bags. So I went with branded bags to still hit the sales window.
Reading the reply it says ex. Brand name printed on the packaging or product itself. So does that mean even if I had the logo embroidered on the product it still wouldn’t be ok? I’m so confused and the guidelines seem woolly at best. When I ask for help from Amazon I get generic replies that are no help.
Seller_UkVPjGY6g1h50
My understanding is you don’t have to have a trademark and be registered with the brand registry to sell unbranded products under a ‘brand’. You can apply for a GTIN exemption for your brand (which I have). You can then apply for category approval to sell that brand in certain categories as long as you meet the branding requirements (brand permanently fixed to packaging OR product).
Seller_UkVPjGY6g1h50
I am registered as a business with Amazon and hmrc registered.
Seller_UkVPjGY6g1h50
I’d agree with you but there are other sellers that have done just that. They have similar items that you can buy from a number of sellers/manufacturers on alibaba selling them under their unregistered trademark name in the same categories as I would like too.
Seller_UkVPjGY6g1h50
No. It doesn’t. Do you think if it said ‘Logo’ then sold by : delta Bravo Independent Trading Limited then ‘address’ that would suffice?
Seller_UkVPjGY6g1h50
Ok thanks. I’ll go back to Amazon and see if I can coax out of them what is required to distinguish my brand from unbranded products and if the addition of my business name would do.
Thanks for support. Otherwise I think my only options are sell as generic or get trademark.
Seller_s3TaCE833CEqc
If you really want to go down this route I’d recommend brand registry. It takes time and costs but worth it long term.
Short term I’d suggest making products as unique as possible and selling them well. Either that and/or find successful selling products that you can be on.
Early on I had similar problems that were only solved by registering the brand. I’d probably do a few things differently now but it’s hard to get to grips with how Amazon works.
The other thing I’d say is don’t worry about other sellers “getting away with” certain selling practices. I had one main competitor who seemed to be doing that, eventually they disappeared without a trace.
