How to Remove Unauthorized Sellers and Hijackers From Amazon Listings

You probably won’t need to be informed that, as an Amazon seller, you have likely heard nightmare stories about Amazon hijackers, who are unauthorised sellers who leap onto your listing, steal your Buy Box, and tarnish your brand name. Regardless of being a newcomer in the world of selling new labels or a more experienced e-commerce player, Amazon listing hijacking is an actual threat, which can cost you sales, destroy your product ranking, and confuse regular customers.

Here, you will find out who the Amazon hijacker are, why my Amazon listing is hijacked, and above all, how to evict a hijacker from my Amazon listing in the shortest time possible.

What Is an Amazon Hijacker?

The typical type of Amazon hijackers is an unqualified third-party seller who is marketing a fake or low-quality replica of your own-label product under your ASIN. They sell the product at a lower price, and this, in most cases, leads to the loss of the Buy Box button and decreased sales to the brand owner himself.

Hijackers typically:

• Duplicate your own brand.

• Use counterfeit or grey market products.

• Price war to win Buy Box.

• Ship slow, poor-quality goods that attract negative reviews.

The moment this occurs, your listing can be regarded as Amazon hijacked, and this recovery can be a stressful affair unless you do it at once.

What is the reason that Amazon Listings are hijacked?

Amazon listing hijacking occurs due to the fact that Amazon's catalogue can give other sellers a chance to list the same product in case Amazon feels that the products are the same. When it comes to selling through the label of the company, however, there are risks of hijackers posing as sellers of the same product when they actually sell imitations.

The hijackers normally target your listing due to these common reasons:

• Strong product ranking

• High monthly sales

• Weak or no brand protection

• None of the trademarks or Brand Registry.

• Lack of monitoring

When your listing becomes visible and has a good sales momentum, then the hijackers would be interested in piggybacking your success.

Indications of Your Amazon Listing Hijacking.

The following are some of the major signs of Amazon listing hijacking of your product:

1. Loss of the Buy Box: When you all of a sudden lose the Buy Box despite having great metrics, a hijacker is undercutting your prices.

2. Sales loss: Hijackers have a habit of robbing your sales with their product offering of the same product, but at a lower price.

3. Bad reviews that do not correspond to your product: Fake or low-quality products will get negative reviews, usually with a comment on the quality or packaging difference.

4. You have sellers on your listing that you do not know: When you notice sellers whom you are not familiar with, then it is time to enquire.

How to Eject a Hijacker from your Amazon Listing.

In case one of the hijackers comes on your list, it is all about timing. The following are the steps involved in getting rid of a hijacker on an Amazon listing:

Buy the Product of the Hijacker.

Yes, this is necessary. Purchase something with the hijacker to have evidence.

Make sure to:

• Record the unboxing

• Compare it to your genuine product.

• Variations of documents in quality, packaging, branding, or labelling.

This gives evidence to Amazon that the product is a counterfeit or that it has infringed on your brand rights.

Lodge a Complaint via Amazon Brand Registry (Most preferable)

In case you are a member of the Amazon Brand Registry, then this step is not difficult.

You can file a complaint on the hijacker:

• IP law Violation.

• Trademark violation

• Counterfeit product

Brand Registry gives you more than a one-in-a-thousand opportunity of fast removal: in a day.

In case you do not have Brand Registry yet, you may use it as soon as possible to secure your brand in the long term.

Make an Unauthorised Seller or Counterfeit Claim in Seller Central.

Unless there is a Brand Registry, you can file a claim via:

• Seller Central Report a Violation (RAV).

Provide:

• Order ID

• Photos comparing products

• Written explanation

• Trademark number (where necessary)

Present concrete proof that the hijacker is not a seller of your authentic product.

Send a Cease and Desist Notice to the Hijacker.

Sometimes this alone works. Professional yet rough message:

• State that you are the brand owner

• Tell them that they are not authorised.

• Give your trademark information.

• Request immediate removal

• Threatened to have legal proceedings.

Hijackers frequently have many listings targeted at once- they have been known to walk away when faced with a not-to-be-toyed-with seller.

Enhance Your Listing Insurance Long-Term

Once you eliminate hijackers, do what you can to prevent future attacks:

• Register your trademark: a trademark by the USPTO is needed to register the Brand Registry.

• Join Brand Registry at Amazon: This will give you the best protection.

• It should be easy to prove illegal brands: Unique packaging and branding.

•  Transparency codes or serialisation: The Transparency Program implemented by Amazon pretty much ensures that no hijackers will take off with their shipments.

•  Check your listing every day: It is important to identify a hijacker at the first stage.

Conclusion

Amazon hijackers could ruin your sales, ruin your reputation, and ruin your business, yet the right strategies would help you block them in the near future, along with saving your brand in the long-term perspective.

By understanding how to remove a hijacker from an Amazon listing, using Brand Registry, documenting evidence, and improving your product protection, you can keep your listings safe and maintain control over your brand.

The best defence is an offence. Never wait to be attacked; now establish good protection and keep the members of the hijack society at bay.