Copycat (Hijacking) listing on Amazon – Why you shouldn’t, how to protect your listings?
After a tonne of product research, working with the manufacturer, and running sweat from your forehead, you finally find a winning product. You start selling and are about close to the buy box. Then one day, while checking your Amazon Listing, you find that there are other sellers selling the same product.
Right there on your product page, you see “Other sellers on Amazon” on the right bottom. Now, what is the issue here… will you lose customers because of this?
Listing hijacking is a grey or black hat popular option for Amazon beginners. Search for the high selling products with less competition and everything else included in the product research book. Then copy the listing and order counterfeit products and list on Amazon. But the first seller who did all the hard work from scratch gets very little satisfaction and economic benefit.
Don’t be this type of seller!
So, should you too be the listing hijacker yourself? Don’t lose ethics over the market competition, rather take the path that Amazon has paved. Ethics is one part, but there are more reasons why you shouldn’t practice hijacking listing on Amazon.
- Amazon is one of the retail giants where you can earn more by practicing genuine selling rather than selecting quick routes.
- Once you are recognized by the system as an unethical seller, it is not just your product listing that is taken down but your seller reputation also goes down.
- If you get caught by the original product lister, you will have more consequences to face, in the worst case, a lawsuit outside of Amazon.
How can you prevent yourself from listing hijacking on Amazon?
Private Label Registry
Registering your products as a brand on Amazon will give your products a unique identity and keep the listing hijackers away from your products. Private labeling your product on amazon is not that hard and the process also takes a minimal amount of time. Also, your Amazon product listing will be in priority when you make a complaint against the hijackers.
Product images with Branding
Never underestimate the power of branding. A product with your brand can be copied but cannot be hijacked, and we know just copying does no good to the listing hijacker unless you give them the reselling rights, or sell your products wholesale.
Sell from your website as well
This is not just protecting yourself against the listing hijackers but making your business lasting. When you launch your website for your Amazon business, you can not only run ads on Amazon for sponsored products but bring customers through Facebook and Google to your website. Then you can decide whether you want to redirect them to Amazon for reviews or sell directly through your website. Either way, your products listed on your website means that you have ownership of those products.
Communicate strictly with the hijacker
Once you find that your Amazon listing has fallen prey to the hijackers, you should send an email to them strictly asking them to put the listing down. If they agree and do so, even then, we recommend you to keep an eye for some time on those sellers. You fell victim once, they might look out for your other products to enjoy the ride.
Complain to put down the counterfeit listing
Filing a complaint on Amazon against listing hijacking is the ultimate way to go. Amazon is known to have taken these cases seriously and will take strict actions. At least you will have your Amazon selling growth like in normal quickly.
Note: When you identify that your product listing is hijacked, make sure to immediately change the pricing of your product to the lowest among other sellers so that you are still best suited for the buy box.