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Month: April 2019

Amazon Infringement: Design Patents, Retractions, and more

April 18, 2019 Leave a Comment

Sorry sellers, retractions aren’t enough

Amazon wants invoices to disprove design patent infringement, blocks accounts with retracted IP claims

Infringement claims on Amazon have grown increasingly frustrating over the past year. This has reached a deafening crescendo over the last few weeks, with our clients being victimized by nonsensical requests and account blocks – even after doing exactly what Amazon asked.

Infringement claim Amazon

First, a word about infringement claims.

Also known as intellectual property (IP) complaints, infringement claims occur when a brand owner (or random party/black hat competitor) says a listing should be taken down because of:

  • IP infringement/counterfeit – the brand owner says the seller is listing fakes.
  • Trademark infringement – the brand owner says the seller is abusing a trademark, which could mean that terms or trade dress are being used in violation of their trademarked words or images.
  • Copyright infringement – the brand owner says the seller is using their text or images in the listing or using their branded terms in the listing or its back-end keywords.
  • Utility patent infringement – the brand owner claims to own a patent around the use of a product, and the seller is violating that patent by selling a product that does or claims to do the same.
  • Design patent infringement – the brand owner says a competing product looks too similar to their patented design.

Each of those five common infringement types deserves its own blog. But for this particular piece, we are talking about what’s going on at Amazon right now.

It’s difficult to choose which recent development is most stunning. Most likely, it’s the one affecting your business right now.

  1. Amazon is refusing to reactivate accounts, even after IP complaints are retracted. This is maddening for sellers whose accounts were deactivated specifically because of the IP complaint a brand (or multiple brands) made against them. For years now, Amazon has told sellers to reach out to the brand owner and work out a solution. Then, if the brand owner retracted the complaint, everyone could move forward in peace. Now, instead of accepting retractions, Amazon is asking for the same information – over and over and over again.
  2. Amazon is asking for invoices or brand authorization letters to disprove design or utility patent infringement. This is ridiculous on its face. A seller accused of patent infringement is not selling the ASIN for which the brand owner has brand registry. The seller is offering a competing item, and the brand owner is claiming that the competing item is violating their patent. How would it make any sense to provide invoices for the competing items to disprove a patent claim? (Easy answer: it wouldn’t.)
  3. Amazon is not responding to emails about deactivated accounts with IP claims – for weeks or months. These are not always blocked accounts. They are accounts where Amazon has specifically requested information, and the seller is responding with that information. The wait time for a response is growing each week, and the escalations addresses that typically push toward resolution are not bothering to read and understand the underlying problems with Amazon’s enforcement approach. It takes a virtual screed to get them to pay attention.

Something is very broken around IP claims. And for the sake of sellers, we hope Amazon fixes it fast.

If I need to appeal an Amazon infringement claim, how should I go about it?

If you need help with an IP issue, give us a call at (855)-283-4247 or contact us on our website. We will escalate to the right people and work toward fixing your issue – with the persistence you need.

Filed Under: Amazon, General, Seller Performance, Vendor Tagged With: Amazon, Claims, Copyright infringement, Infringement, IP

UPS, USPS and the making of an Amazon shipping nightmare

April 15, 2019 Leave a Comment

Sellers are no stranger to Amazon shipping challenges.

By Lesley Hensell

But lately, some new hassles are rearing their ugly heads. One of these seems to be a technical error, while the other may signal long-term policy changes for Amazon shipping.

UPS covering FBA inbound shipment stickers
Two prep centers have reached out to me about this bizarre issue. It appears that a limited number of UPS hubs – one in Michigan and one in California – are having a technical issue. Any non-UPS barcode on the outside of a package is causing issues with scanning and routing.

Their solution is wreaking havoc for 3P sellers sending shipments to FBA fulfillment centers. UPS is covering all non-UPS barcodes – including the critical sticker scanned by Amazon upon a box’s arrival.  

But wait – isn’t UPS a partnered carrier? Shouldn’t they avoid angering Amazon and its sellers?

There have long been whispers that some UPS higher-ups aren’t thrilled with their Amazon relationship. Plus, the staff at the hubs are just trying to route and deliver packages. Non-UPS barcodes, in their minds, aren’t their problems.

What’s a seller to do? If your packages are routed through Michigan or California, consider jumping to FedEx. In many geographical locations, they offer the same or better pricing for inbound FBA shipments.

Amazon messing with SFP delivery times
Amazon doesn’t trust the U.S. Postal Service for on-time delivery.

That’s become all too obvious with recent changes to the “buy shipping” feature for Seller Fulfilled Prime. Amazon’s algorithm appears to no longer include Saturday as a transit day. In addition, it is taking the most conservative-possible estimate on delivery estimates. And finally, First-Class mail is no longer an option for SFP orders – even if they would arrive before the promise date.

For example, in my own seller account, Amazon insisted I buy UPS Ground to ship a package literally 20 miles away. I’m confident that USPS First Class Mail would have delivered the next day, or at worst, the day after that. But I wasn’t given that option to purchase either that or Priority Mail. Craziness.

Many SFP sellers are finding themselves priced out of the two-day shipping market.

There are two options for dealing with this difficulty:

  1. Ask Seller Support to generate a transit time map based on your location. They can provide a list of regions that matches those in shipping settings. It will give the likelihood of two-day delivery using Priority Mail, based on distance and other factors. Then, you can dramatically limit your SFP settings, so that you will most likely only offer products to those who will receive packages on-time with Priority Mail.
  2. I hate to sound like an ad for FedEx. But if you ship enough volume, it’s worth investigating their One Rate program for Seller Fulfilled Prime. In many cases, the rates are comparable to Priority Mail. Keep in mind, however, that shipping out the same day the order is received will always help hold down your shipping expenses.

Amazon woes?  Contact us.

Lesley is Partner at Riverbend Consulting, she offers practical know-how to improve retail performance. Lesley’s  experience with Amazon compliance gets accounts back up fast.

Filed Under: 3P, Account Health, Amazon, FBA, Fulfillment, Gating, General Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon FBA, Amazon reinstatement, Amazon seller, FBA, Inventory, Mail, SFP sellers, Shipment, Shipping, UPS, USPS

Amazon FBA Reimbursements – Amazon Owes You Money!

April 11, 2019 3 Comments

Amazon reimbursement

If you have been selling on Amazon using FBA, Amazon owes you money!

Click Here to View Demo Video

You are most likely entitled to an Amazon reimbursement if you’ve been selling products utilizing FBA.

FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) is an essential component for a majority of Amazon sellers. FBA allows the seller to store inventory in Amazon’s fulfillment centers so Amazon can pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for the seller’s products.

Utilizing FBA helps your business be more efficient and makes your products eligible for Amazon Prime. But even though Amazon is one of the most respected online retailers, sellers don’t always get credited for inventory that slips through the cracks.

If you want to get a fast estimate of how much you can get refunded, check out our Amazon FBA Refund Calculator.

Why does Amazon owe FBA sellers money?

All of these situations can result in reimbursements:

  • Customer was refunded more than the price they paid
  • Item got lost or damaged in Amazon’s fulfillment center
  • Item was destroyed without permission
  • Amazon overcharged for the weight or dimensional fee
  • Amazon reimbursed the customer but not the correct amount
  • Item was damaged by carrier or Amazon
  • Replacement was sent to customer or a refund was granted, but the order was never returned
  • Amazon claims they have reimbursed the seller, even though they haven’t
  • Amazon claims they restocked the item into your inventory, but they haven’t
  • The wrong item is restocked into your inventory

How do Amazon FBA sellers file an Amazon reimbursement claim?

What NOT to do

You want to approach your Amazon reimbursement claims with caution. Simple mistakes can result in your Amazon seller account getting shut down.

The most important thing you should NOT do is use an automated FBA reimbursement tool to try to collect your refund. Amazon policy prohibits using automated tools to open cases. In addition, opening up too many cases at once can result in a warning or account suspension.

So this might leave you wondering, how do I get reimbursed from Amazon?

What you should do

To maximize your dollars, rely on an Amazon reimbursement service. Here at Riverbend Consulting, we take a deep dive into your account’s history to find missing and lost inventory, missing returns, and other reimbursements that Amazon miscalculated over the last 18 months. In addition, we review your inbound FBA shipments for the last 90 days to ensure all inventory is present and accounted for.

We only get paid a percentage of what you get back, incentivizing us to find every last penny for your account.

Riverbend is a team of former Amazon employees and Amazon experts who have a deep understanding of how Amazon works from the inside.

We don’t automate any part of the reimbursement process, ensuring that you have the best possible reimbursement experience – and no risk of warnings or enforcement against you.

If you would like to learn more about Amazon reimbursements or to get in contact with our team, please visit here.

Filed Under: Amazon, FBA, General Tagged With: Amazon, Amazon seller, Amazon Seller Account, FBA, Inventory, Money, Refund, Reimbursement

Amazon now permanently holding funds for a wide range of “sins”

April 9, 2019 2 Comments

Amazon now permanently holding funds

If your Amazon seller account gets suspended, will you get your funds?

Maybe not. Amazon is now permanently holding funds for a wide range of “sins”.

For years, Amazon dispersed the funds for closed accounts in almost every case. Fraud and counterfeit were the occasional exceptions.

But now, Amazon is permanently attaching sellers’ funds for a wide range of alleged violations of its Business Services Agreement. And frankly, some of these offenses seem quite minor. While the seller’s mistakes may have warranted account deactivation, our team has been shocked that they have resulted in permanent loss of earned revenues.

First, here are some basics. When a seller’s account is deactivated, Amazon stops disbursing funds. The account balance just sits there while the seller tries to get back on the platform. If Amazon refuses to reactivate the account, funds are supposed to be released after 60 days. This allows for any A-to-z claims, returns and other fees to be debited from the seller’s balance. After the magical 60 days, remaining funds are sent to the seller’s bank account. (It’s important to know that Amazon’s calculation of when the 60 days starts is somewhat confusing. It’s usually when the company decides to permanently block the seller for the last time – which can be months after the original suspension.)

But then came the decisions to not release funds. The first volley in this new offensive was somewhat predictable. Sellers of e-cigs and vaping accessories had long abused the platform by creating bogus listings, selling a few units, and deleting the listings. This would be repeated ad nauseum, until Amazon caught the seller and suspended their account.

These sellers would then create a new account and repeat the entire process over again. Amazon got tired of the rule-breaking and held funds permanently for these folks – thus stopping the cycle of launching yet more new accounts in the vaping space.

Over the last few months, however, much more typical – and seemingly harmless – suspensions have resulted in permanent holds. We will start with the most egregious seller sins, and then move to the lesser ones:

  • Counterfeit goods. Amazon will (rightly) hold your funds, destroy your inventory, and block you from the platform. (This does beg the question of how Amazon can keep the funds from the sale of counterfeit goods, rather than turning them over to the Secret Service or another government agency. But that’s an Amazon rant for another day.)
  • Forged documents. It’s tempting to believe that this is the same as counterfeit goods. But alas, it is not. Many forged documents suspensions we are seeing relate to invoices submitted for ungating, rather than in response to a suspension or Seller Performance inquiry. Since the seller probably wasn’t ungated based on their forged invoice, they are essentially suspended for items never sold. When funds are then held, it’s based on an assumption of counterfeit by Amazon – even though counterfeit goods likely were never involved. Just wow. Also, there are more false positive suspensions for forged docs than you would like to believe – sadly.
  • Inauthentic. In the past, only having your products labeled as “counterfeit” would trigger a funds and inventory hold. But now, Amazon is refusing to return funds in many cases when products were labeled as inauthentic – a lesser crime than counterfeit in the Amazon hierarchy of broken dreams. In the cases of our clients, the products generally were authentic goods. Our clients bought gray market or otherwise couldn’t provide good invoices, so Amazon slapped them with the inauthentic label and decided to keep their money and their FBA inventory. Forever.
  • Linked accounts. This is perhaps the most surprising reason for holding funds we have seen thus far. Clients with more than one account on Amazon – without permission – have seen a denial when they requested a release of their funds. Amazon specifically stated in the notice that this was a consequence of having multiple accounts. Perhaps an argument can be made that this is similar to the vaping situation mentioned above. Yet in some cases we have worked, there was no major rule-breaking going on.
  • Fraudulent and systematic abuse of customers. Recently, a client was denied funds for this stated reason. We had thoroughly reviewed his account and were absolutely baffled as to how his mistakes led to such a strongly worded denial. Fortunately, we were able to get the account reinstated and his nearly $400,000 in funds released for disbursement just a few days later. What did he do wrong? There was definitely poor customer service, as well as serious product quality problems. But the account was suspended for suspected inauthentic – which we disproved with invoices and a strong letter from the seller’s supplier. What was Amazon Payments thinking? We still don’t know.

Unfortunately, we anticipate that the list of reasons for holding funds – permanently – is only going to grow. How can sellers protect themselves?

  1. Shore up your sourcing. Make sure your invoices meet Amazon’s standards, and that you have authorization letters whenever possible.
  2. Keep good banking records. If an invoice shows a balance, it helps to prove that you paid it. This is one more step toward convincing Amazon you have valid relationships with quality suppliers.
  3. Don’t open multiple accounts. If you want a second account, get Amazon’s approval. Just do it the right way.
  4. Don’t submit forged documents – for any purpose. This means don’t alter a date, a quantity, a product, an address – nothing. If it’s not an original invoice, please don’t submit it to Amazon.
  5. Be on your game with customers. Tempted to circumvent the opt-out? Thinking about yelling at an abusive customer? Just don’t. Create great template email responses and outsource customer service to experts who have the time to follow through with every transaction.
  6. Monitor your ASINs. Do you have problematic ASINs that make up a significant portion of your returns or customer complaints? Pull those suckers and solve the problems. Amazon is going to hold you responsible if they perceive your products are fraudulent.

If your funds are being held, reach out to Riverbend. We have strategies for getting your money released – and your account reinstated. Contact us.

 

By Lesley Hensell
Lesley is Partner at Riverbend Consulting, she offers practical know-how to improve retail performance. Lesley’s  experience with Amazon compliance gets accounts back up fast.

Filed Under: Account Health, Amazon, Gating, General Tagged With: 3P, Amazon, Amazon reinstatement, Amazon seller, Funds, Gating, Inventory, Liquidation, Money, Ungating

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