Conterfeit Without Test Buy Complaint Appeal not working
I am an Amazon-to-Amazon reseller.
I recently purchased an item to resell it and got hit with a Counterfeit without test buy complaint when my listing became active by the trademark owner.
I submitted the invoice provided by amazon in order to verify the authenticity of the product but amazon keeps claiming in an email that they need more information and my 3 options are to either provide a letter of authorization, an invoice, or retraction from rights owner. An invoice is one of the options listed and still it is not getting taken off.
Here are the details:
Infringement type: Counterfeit
Complaint ID: 13875747931
I sent an email to the rights owner and I can only hope he replies. He has no incentive to reply so he may just take advantage of the situation without understanding what happened.
Conterfeit Without Test Buy Complaint Appeal not working
I am an Amazon-to-Amazon reseller.
I recently purchased an item to resell it and got hit with a Counterfeit without test buy complaint when my listing became active by the trademark owner.
I submitted the invoice provided by amazon in order to verify the authenticity of the product but amazon keeps claiming in an email that they need more information and my 3 options are to either provide a letter of authorization, an invoice, or retraction from rights owner. An invoice is one of the options listed and still it is not getting taken off.
Here are the details:
Infringement type: Counterfeit
Complaint ID: 13875747931
I sent an email to the rights owner and I can only hope he replies. He has no incentive to reply so he may just take advantage of the situation without understanding what happened.
19 replies
Seller_GIzywSw69BGrP
@Bryce_Amazon You have helped me in the past, I wonder if you will be able to assist here too.
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
Amazon does not provide invoices. Amazon sells only retail; they are not a wholesaler or authorized distributor.
Paging @Seller_qb9YwQ7193BDg; you've guided this same poster in the past.
As to your question, remember when you were warned a few months ago about the perils of RA/OA, you stated:
RA is really not that difficult
Perhaps now you may understand why some of us (other than @Seller_qb9YwQ7193BDg) were trying to warn you that it was dangerous.
As for the rights holder, they understand perfectly well what happened; you're selling their items without permission. It's not "taking advantage" of the situation, it's protecting their brand, the very thing you were told 3 months ago would happen.
My guess is that your little "side hustle" is over.
My second guess is that we'll hear nothing from the people who encouraged you to follow this path in the past.
Seller_kIukTwdhvntAp
In addition to the wise advice from @Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw, were you STILL selling in a gated category like you were three months ago?
I particularly liked your reply to me back then --"Hmm, RA has been working pretty well for my needs so far. To ungated brands, I use physical stores and I have a specific store that provides me invoices."
Both you and RA apologist @Seller_qb9YwQ7193BDgprobably need to check out the (possibly) revised rules -- it's actual POLICY now -- for gated items.
These is NO mention of receipts but they have a LOT to say about INVOICES and getting brand permission.
You MIGHT still get lucky for categories that are NOT gated but RA IS DEAD for gated ones.
Seller_4zBzdtgCyS9EI
Purchasing anything on Amazon for resale is a GRAND violation of policy, if you used an Amazon prime account and sending them their own receipt...well....
Retail arbitrage is no longer accepted here for most items, condition guidelines are constant ly violated (retail arbitrage products cannot be listed new, as you were the end consumer when purchased)
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
Odd, I've seen plenty of your posts where you promote RA. This is the first time I've seen you say that. I wonder why you didn't mention that the last time you were "helping" the OP?
So I take it that your advice now is "You messed up, you're done", exactly what all the people you disagreed with told him would happen 3 months ago? Or are you going to help him figure out how to get by with a dozen+ violations like you claim to be doing?
Seller_qb9YwQ7193BDg
i'll never usually source an item where the seller itself is on the listing. A few times i have just because the margins were so good and it has worked sometimes and other times it has bit me.
why do you think im lying about getting violations removed?
look at my store, it's available for you to do so. i've been selling big name brands since 2014 by doing OA. don't you think my account would be suspended by now if I wasn't getting them removed? or do you think im just not getting any violations? which is it? because according to you doing RA/OA is a guaranteed way to get these violations but yet here i still stand selling by getting the violations removed.
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
You may note that I've never stated that RA cant be done. I've never said that it can't be very profitable.
But what I tell everyone new to it is that it is very risky if you don't know what you are doing. That is generally when you and your ilk pop in and say that such statements are nonsense, and that RA is a great way to go. But as soon as the people you encourage run into trouble, you just say "oh, you did it wrong"; which proves my point that it is dangerous if you don't know what you are doing. You, and many others, obviously do. There are people who know just where to step to take a short-cut through a mine-field; that does not mean that it's a good shortcut for someone who doesn't know where to step. Similar idea.
And no, I don't doubt that you've gotten many violations (I'll point out that in the previous thread where you encouraged OP to do RA, you mentioned that you had 17 CURRENTLY). I believe you have them. I just don't think that it's something that a sane person would brag about, nor something that is an indication of the best way to do something. It's sorta like saying "I'm a good driver; I've gotten out of 12 DUI and Reckless driving tickets".
And of course, as I've pointed out every time you encourage another clueless newb to do RA, you're not offering any help when they get deactivated. But on the bright side, you previously claimed that you've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for "Counterfeit without test buy". Now you have.
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
So, after advising the OP to go ahead with what others were warning about, now that he's gotten in trouble, you're not going to offer any advice other than "it happens"?
But what about when a "mistake" results in losing your business? Sorry, that's not really the best way to run a business; don't limit yourself to learning from your own mistakes, learn from the mistakes that others have made and avoid them.
Perhaps, although I think there are plenty of sellers (many of whom you criticize when they give advice) who have been selling for years without similar issues. But why argue that there is no reason to try to avoid them?
Bottom line, are you going to offer any help whatsoever to the OP whom you encouraged? Or just double down on saying that RA is great, no matter how many people get violations or lose their account because of doing it wrong?
I'm guessing that no help is forthcoming, even though you brag about your expertise of getting out of violations.
Seller_nRFmxiQg4EGrw
You are correct; I do not know much about selling things other than books on Amazon. But I do know what problems people have run into.
But I see you have given advice (FINALLY!). All the small side-hustle seller needs to do is to keep an attorney on retainer to resolve their issues.
Great advice! Who knows, a person dabbling in RA, with it's low margins, might even make enough to cover the monthly fee!
But for me, I'll keep advising people that it's better to not break the rules in the first place.
Mindy_Amazon
Hi @Empricity,
Thank you for your post, this is Mindy from Amazon here to assist.
I recently purchased an item to resell it and got hit with a Counterfeit without test buy complaint when my listing became active by the trademark owner.
As per the explanation in your post, understand the challenges you're facing with the counterfeit complaint on the item you purchased for resale. You have also provided the information of what action have been taken to address this issue:
I submitted the invoice provided by amazon in order to verify the authenticity of the product but amazon keeps claiming in an email that they need more information and my 3 options are to either provide a letter of authorization, an invoice, or retraction from rights owner. An invoice is one of the options listed and still it is not getting taken off.
It is correct as you have mentioned that there are 3 options applicable for your scenario:
1. A letter of authorization (LOA) or licensing agreement (LA) from the rights owner indicating that you are authorized to use their intellectual property.
2. An Invoice: providing an invoice is essential to establish the authenticity of your products and prove they are not counterfeit. A valid invoice will have to to meet the following criteria:
* Have been issued in the last 365 days
* Reflect sales volume during the last 365 days (if applicable)
* Include contact information for supplier and buyer, including name, phone number, address, and website
* They must also be authentic and unaltered.
* Be submitted in PDF, JPG, PNG, or GIF files.
3. A retraction from the rights owner: if the rights owner initiated the complaint, requesting a retraction directly from them can be pivotal in resolving the issue. You can find the contact information for the rights owner in the communication you received regarding the listing deactivation.
While you've reached out to the rights owner via email and are awaiting their response, it's essential to note that even if you purchase products from the rights owner on Amazon for resale, having a formal letter of authorization is necessary to demonstrate your authorization to distribute their products on Amazon.
In general, when selling trademarked or branded products that could potentially infringe on third-party rights, pre-approval requirements are necessary before listing them on Amazon. This ensures a trusted shopping environment for all buyers, where they can shop with confidence.
Please understand that Amazon takes allegations of counterfeit goods very seriously, and the sale of counterfeit products on our platform is strictly prohibited to maintain customer trust and safety.
To learn more about Amazon's intellectual property policy and listing approval requirements, please find the following help page for your reference.
* Amazon Anti-Counterfeiting Policy
* Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers
* Intellectual Property for Rights Owners
The forums community and I are here to support you. If there is any further support needed from this point onward, please do not hesitate to let us know!
TO @Picks_by_Nisha, @FORUMWARRIOR, @NEVERLAST, @Its_all_Nuts_again
Thank you for your active contribution in this topic. Your insight are very much appreciated by our seller forum community.
Regards,
Mindy
