Is Brand Registry broken? What can Amazon sellers do?

 

Brand Registry seems like such a great idea for sellers. Just register your brand, Amazon says. Then you receive benefits like Enhanced Brand Content and the ability to kick bad actors off your listings.

Unfortunately, Brand Registry goes wrong – frequently. But I have good news. Just like account suspensions and ASIN takedowns, Brand Registry problems can be appealed, escalated and fixed!

What is Amazon Brand Registry?

With Brand Registry, a brand owner can:

• Maintain primary control over the Listing Detail Page, so other sellers cannot make inaccurate changes
• Establish their ASINs as authentic and legitimate
• Kick hijackers who sell counterfeit product off their ASINs

In addition, sellers with Brand Registry can create beautiful storefronts and Enhanced Brand Content on their product detail pages.

Essentially, Brand Registry helps brand owners establish and maintain some semblance of control over their brands on Amazon. It’s not a perfect system, and the “bad guys” will always find workarounds. But Brand Registry offers a reasonable solution for brand owners trying to stay a step ahead.

What is the key component of Amazon Brand Registry? It all starts with a trademark. Amazon requires brand owners to submit their trademark paperwork (via their attorney) and confirm it is accurate. Only then can brand owners and sellers establish a Brand Registry account and control their ASINs.

This is why it’s critical for private-label sellers to start the paperwork on a trademark as soon as it is established. It can take six months for the trademark process to be completed, and another two to three months for Brand Registry to be established after that.

This is why it’s critical for private-label sellers to start the paperwork on a trademark as soon as it is established

Brand Registry does not help brand owners control who distributes their genuine products. Brand Registry also does not restrict who can and cannot sell your brand, nor does it help you manage.

It can take six months for the trademark process to be completed, and another two to three months for Brand Registry to be established after that.

When applying for Brand Registry, you officially own that brand if you provide proof of ownership. Brand Registry means product information across all listings will be consistent. So, while the seller owns the storefront, you control how the brand appears as a brand owner.

Brand Registry does not help brand owners control who distributes their genuine products. Amazon Brand Registry also does not restrict who can and cannot sell your brand, nor does it help you manage product resellers.

Where does Brand Registry go wrong?

Sometimes, Amazon limits the ability of brands to fully enjoy the benefits of Brand Registry. In other cases, bad actors or technical difficulties can cause a host of problems. Common seller struggles include:

• The seller cannot register a new brand
• The seller cannot add a product to its brand
• The brand cannot add a user to its Brand Registry
• The brand cannot access Brand Registry because of an account suspension
• The brand cannot remove a hijacker who has taken over ASINs or the brand
• The brand cannot report infringement because Amazon revoked the reporting function
• The brand cannot log into Brand Registry
• The brand cannot transfer brand ownership

How do I get help with my Brand Registry?

Amazon’s Executive Seller Relations team has Brand Registry specialists. Sellers experiencing Brand Registry issues can file a case to request help, just like you do with regular Seller Support-type concerns.

However, be aware that even with this dedicated team of Brand Registry specialists, it can be a long and repetitive slog to get assistance — just like communicating with Amazon in general. There are no easy or quick fixes, and part of this is because of the numerous ways Brand Registry can go awry. So, what can a seller do to maximize its chances of getting help? A few communications best practices can increase your success rate:

• Be concise and describe your issue clearly. No matter how frustrated you are, spell out the problem minus excess emotion.
• Provide the details. When did the problem start? How many brands/ASINs is it affecting? What kind of impact is it having? Think of it like telling your doctor what hurts.
• Include screenshots of error messages (or other technical issues). These are super helpful. Send them!
• What is your desired outcome? Ask for what you want plainly — don’t assume the rep understands. Clarity is king.
• If you’ve written in before on the same issue, reference those past cases – basically, help your rep help you.

When doing all this, you need to add one more tool to the toolbox, patience. It’s rare for a Brand Registry problem to be resolved with one case. The key to success in solving Amazon Brand Registry issues is having accurate expectations on resolution time.

Not only will this reduce your stress level, but it will help you prioritize and not lose sight of the goal — fixing the problem.

Be careful how you use Amazon Brand Registry

The most common reason for Amazon Brand Registry actions against sellers is when Brand Registry identifies “abusive” seller and brand activities. This happens for several reasons:

• The brand removes sellers from its ASINs for alleged intellectual property violations, but a large percentage of these removals are overturned.
• The brand is linked to other sellers or brands that have been abusive in shared or linked Amazon Brand Registry accounts.
• The brand is suspected of Black Hat activities against sellers or other brand owners.

Fortunately, all of these can be appealed. While the process isn’t as clearly laid out as Amazon account and ASIN suspensions, it can be navigated effectively by the pros.

In my experience,Amazon Brand Registry is far from perfect but sellers with their own brands can enlist a supporting cast of specialists to help with listing snafus and nefarious players. The two key ingredients to resolve these? Patience, plus professionals who can navigate through it with you.