What is Amazon Brand Gating? How Does It Work
Have you heard of the terms copyright infringement and plagiarism? If so, then Amazon Brand gating won’t be unfamiliar to you.
The cut-throat competition in a marketplace as vast as Amazon is evident.
If you own a brand or a product, you likely can’t afford to lose its value against counterfeit listings, and this is where Brand gating comes into play.
It helps you maintain an honest position in the market by restricting third-party sellers from reselling your products.
In this article, we will discuss what Amazon Brand Gating is, how it works, and how you can leverage it for your brand.
What is Brand Gating?
Brand gating refers to restricting the illegal display or selling of products/ brands on marketplaces like Amazon.
As a brand owner with established authority and reputation in the market, you may find third parties attempting to sell your products under their own name.
Ugh!! It is intolerable- ”Someone else getting fruits from your grown tree.” So, brand gating helps brand owners to keep their products safe from unauthorized resellers. It is an important feature to incorporate as a small or big business owner.
The term was introduced on Amazon back in 2016 following the withdrawal of certain prominent brands from the platform due to unauthorized reselling of their products.
In essence, brand gating acts as a form of brand protection, safeguarding brand owners and sellers against product hijacking.
Understanding Amazon Brand Gating
Amazon incorporates the practice of Brand Gating using its brand registry program called Amazon Brand Registry.
With this program, Amazon ensures that no unauthorized resellers sell your product or cheap knockoffs under their name.
It ensures that no one else takes credit for your product. If someone else wishes to sell your product on Amazon, they may have to go through a set of requirements first.
In simpler terms, your property remains exclusively yours until you authorize someone else to sell it. This approach helps safeguard your brand
How Does Amazon Brand Gating Work?
To understand this, we must know what ASIN is and how it is linked to products.
Amazon Standard Identification Number(ASIN) is an alphanumeric code assigned by Amazon to every product listed on the marketplace. This code serves as a distinct identifier for products within the vast online marketplace.
Amazon uses ASIN in its brand registry program so that when a reseller tries to sell your product, amazon checks the assigned ASIN and requests the reseller to provide proof of original brand owner’s permission.
For products that aren’t gated, any seller can create a listing using the ASIN. However, with gated products, unauthorized resellers receive a notification stating:
“You are not approved to list this product. You will need to contact the brand owner to become an authorized seller of this product on Amazon.”
Simple right? A gated product will demand certain documents to resell on Amazon.
Why do you need your Brand Gated On Amazon?
As we discussed above, it’s evident that Amazon Brand Gating greatly benefits business owners and sellers. Let’s discuss some of its most important benefits in details.
1. Protection Against Your Counterfeit Sellers
Brand gating’s sole purpose is to protect your brand or products from counterfeit sellers.
Through brand gating, Amazon allows a product owner to choose third-party sellers who can resell their product. When only selected resellers are permitted to sell their products, counterfeit products are prevented from being sold.
2. Enhances your brand Credibility
Reselling by counterfeiters can damage the credibility of an original brand. Brand-gated products cannot be sold without permission or a manufacturer invoice, ensuring that a brand’s credibility remains intact as customers feel safe buying from authorized sellers.
This practice assures customers that they are purchasing authentic goods, fostering trust in the brand.
3. Hikes up your sales
In practical terms, if no counterfeiters are selling your products and all sales are made by the original seller, sales ultimately increase.
With gated products, no unauthorized sellers can employ their tricks. Every product is bought from the original seller, which ultimately increases sales.
If you do not want to lose sales, brand gating can be your weapon.
4. Safeguard Brand’s Reputation
Any business or brand holds its market position majorly because of its quality and customer trust.
Customers out there don’t know who is selling illegally or legally. They only perceive a brand through its product’s quality.
Hence, brand-gated products always safeguard a brand’s reputation by preventing unauthorized sellers.
How To Gate Your Brand on Amazon in Easy Steps?
Below is the step-by-step guide to gate your brand on Amazon.
Step 1: Own A Trademark
Before stepping into the brand gating, a seller must get a registered trademark; a pending trademark would also work. Both an image-based trademark and a text-based one are applicable.
Additionally, a seller needs to have a brand logo or pictures of products. Trademark registration will cost you a few bucks.
Step 2: Enlist on Amazon Brand Registry
The very first step towards gating on amazing is joining the brand registry program, which is entirely free. You can do so – by visiting Amazon’s Brand Services Page and compiling all the documents needed to begin.
Afterward, confirm your business location and information, followed by seller and billing information.
Step 3: Make a list of your product ASIN
After completing the previous steps, compile a list of ASINs which you want to gate. If you prefer to limit access to specific products, consider starting with the most popular ones or those you believe are most vulnerable to unauthorized use.
Step 4: Submission
Once all that is done, you need to gather all the documents, a persuasive application that covers all aspects of your selling business, and submit it to the seller support. It would take some time for the approval.
How to verify if your ASINs are Brand Gated on Amazon?
You can easily verify if your ASINs are brand-gated or not. Follow the steps below:
- Log in from a different seller account. Do not log in to the same account you used for your brand.
- Navigate to the ASINs you want to check.
- Click the “Sell on Amazon” option.
Upon clicking it, if you receive a message that reads “You need approval to list in this brand,” then rest assured that your product/ASIN is gated.
How does Brand Gating on Amazon Affect Third-Party Sellers?
Brand gating affects third-party sellers in many ways. However, they can sell products after permission. Below is the list of factors affecting 3P on gated products.
1. Reduced Competition
Brand gating allows only approved resellers to sell someone’s intellectual property, reducing resellers’ competition. There are a lot of resellers out there in the market, and not everyone is authorized.
When only approved sellers are permitted to sell brand-gated products, it boosts their sales and enables them to operate within approved parameters, fostering their growth.
Conversely, when multiple approved sellers are authorized to sell a product, competition among them intensifies, as they vie for market share and customers.
2. Entry Barrier into the Market
Brand gating on Amazon comes with requirements that a reseller must meet to make resales. So, when a new seller or a small business owner thinks of entering a huge market like Amazon, brand gating affects their entry as they are subjected to specific criteria.
They have to get approval and provide the necessary documentation, which can be challenging for new sellers. Gathering proof of authorization and meeting quality standards can be some of the initial obstacles they face when entering the market.
3. Expense
Come on!! Nothing comes free. New sellers must get approval from the original brand owner, and the costs vary from brand to brand.
There can be high costs of application, documentation, or other criteria set by the brand owner. So, gated products can cost more to the resellers. Resellers must invest in the approval process before a protected product can be sold.
How Can Third-Party Sellers Sell Brand-Gated products?
Brand gating on Amazon only restricts illegal selling, but third-party sellers can also sell gated products. Once they meet all the legalities, they can thrive as a third party.
The foremost step is to obtain authorization. A third-party seller must be authorized to sell a certain brand’s product.
To do so, the resellers have to contact the brand owner directly, prove their authenticity, have a satisfied customer base, have a proven track of sales, and be compliant with the criteria set by the original brand.
Note that Amazon does not readily accept applications from new sellers. So this can be a bit hard. To prove authenticity to the giant tech and the brand owner, building and maintaining relationships is important.
When many brands and distributors approve a seller, it smoothens the approval process for gated products. Building relationships in a market can help 3P sellers gain exposure.
Additionally, sellers have to purchase products from authorized brands. They need to show manufacturer invoices not older than 90 days and written permission that clarifies that the products have been purchased from the original distributor.
What is the Cost of Amazon Brand Gating?
As we mentioned above, Amazon brand gating operates on the Amazon brand registry program, and this brand registry program comes with zero cost. The registry program has no enrollment fee, but additional tools and services inside the program might cost you pennies.
What Are Some Additional Tools That Help Restrict Counterfeiters From Reselling?
To our fortune, there are other tools than the Amazon brand registry program. These are-
- Amazon Transparency Program – This program involves verifying products before they are shipped. Transparency by Amazon is only available in the USA.
- Project Zero- Project Zero, by Amazon, involves artificial intelligence to detect and remove counterfeit goods from the e-commerce platform.
- Counterfeit Crimes Unit- This program focuses on acting against counterfeiters selling products on Amazon globally.
How Long Does Amazon Take to Approve Enrollment in the Brand Registry?
Typically, Amazon takes around three to five weeks to review and approve brand registry applications. It’s important to remain patient during this process. You can keep track of your application’s status by reaching out to your Amazon representative for updates.
Wrapping Up
In today’s competitive landscape, protecting your brand reputation is very important. In this article, we’ve explored what Amazon brand gating is, how it functions, and the steps brands can take to leverage this program.
By implementing brand gating, you gain significant control over who sells your products on Amazon, minimizing the risk of counterfeits and unauthorized resellers tarnishing your brand image.
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