How to Eliminate Rogue Buyers and Sellers on Amazon: 2020 Edition
March 30, 2020
There are two types of Amazon sellers: legitimate, authentic sellers and rogue sellers. Authentic sellers are legitimate business owners who are known by manufacturers as approved sellers of their products who adhere to all guidelines set forth by the brand. Rogue sellers are defined as any seller who is not transparent with manufacturers as to who they are as a company and who often violate guidelines set by the brand, specifically minimum advertised price (MAP).
The ultimate goal of rogue sellers is to make as much money, as quickly as possible. Rogue sellers research best-selling products on Amazon, purchase large quantities of these high-selling products directly from manufacturers – or from rogue buyers – and undercut MAP in order to control the “Buy” box, which increases their odds of a sale. Similar to rogue sellers, rogue buyers are manufacturer-approved buyers who then turn around and sell their inventory to rogue sellers.
Rogue sellers create several problems for manufacturers and brands. First, and foremost, rogue sellers can damage a brand’s image and reputation by selling damaged products and/or selling products below the brand’s established MAP. Violating a brand’s MAP can damage a brand’s reputation by creating issues regarding competition for merchants and their resellers. Furthermore, rogue sellers that are savvy always source new buyers who can consistently send them products from multiple manufacturers.
Second, rogue sellers can create supply chain issues where the brand doesn’t know how the products are being stored, shipped, or handled, which could create issues resulting in damaged goods. In these scenarios, customers are likely to be unsatisfied with the manufacturer’s company – as opposed to the Amazon reseller – which may result in negative reviews, lost business, and customer retention issues. Additionally, if the manufacturer wants to ensure customer satisfaction, they will likely end up replacing the product or refunding unsatisfied customers at their own cost.
THE ZQUARED ADVANTAGE
As a top seller on Amazon, ZQUARED helps companies through a two-way process: by helping manufacturers identify and eliminate rogue sellers on Amazon and through inbound protection that verifies new reseller submissions for wholesaler accounts.
To identify rogue sellers, our specialized team researches and identifies the reseller’s company that is behind the Amazon account selling the product, and we help to isolate who the buyer is who supplied these products to the rogue seller. We then pass along this information to the manufacturer so they can immediately extinguish the detrimental business relationship.
Additionally, when a buyer submits a reseller application, ZQUARED takes that information and inputs it into our database to see if we can identify company-specific information. We also utilize our vast network of connections to research and identify rogue buyers and sellers.
Our networks work collaboratively, and we have thousands of rogue buyer and seller accounts in our database system, so every time we identify a rogue buyer who may be supplying rogue sellers, we not only classify a buyer’s account as rogue, but we also flag every associated Amazon account and work with the manufacture to cut off their network from making future purchases.
Based on our findings, we send all relevant information to the manufacturer with our recommendations on how to proceed, and the manufacture then decides whether or not they should allow that company to sell their products.
About ZQUARED
Our company was born from a service mindset. Our passion is helping you navigate the online retail space in a way never before imagined. With years of industry-leading experience selling on Amazon, our team’s primary goal is helping you achieve success. We have solutions for managing all aspects of the Amazon platform: design, fulfillment, product listings, enhanced brand content, headline and sponsored ads, MAP violations, and even social media marketing. Though understanding all aspects of this sales channel can be overwhelming, we break down every aspect of your brand and what you will need to increase sales on Amazon.
See how ZQUARED’s partnership with Vetoquinol helped increase MAP compliance by upwards of 20% and contributed to 50% year-over-year growth. See the Vetoquinol Case Study.
For more information on how ZQUARED can help your brand, contact ZQUARED today at 234.978.2733.