Remove Hijackers from Your Amazon Listing
Amazon Listing Hijacking: Running a successful Amazon business is a tough trail of fighting competition and maintaining good customer service. There are so many challenges on the way and still there are so many sellers who work hard to provide the best. Yet! There are some who simply like to take shortcuts. Well, this lot is actually known as Amazon Hijackers. They make their place in high selling product pages and take away an honest seller’s prospective business. If you have ever suffered or are suffering from an Amazon Hijacked Listing then our article will help you remove hijacker from it.
But before taking any action, it is important to have a basic understanding. Why? Because these problems are recurring and they can haunt you every now and then. And, It is a believable thought that there is no better preparation than knowledge.
Who are Amazon Hijackers?
The term “Hijacker” may have been used for effect. But, all they are…are third-party sellers or distributors who will hijack your product listing and offer the same product at the discounted product. It is worse when they offer the product as you which is actually a cheap imitation of what you are offering. Then there are other times when as sellers you provide products at a discounted price for promotion. But, these Amazon listing hijackers will purchase your inventory during that time and will send that product in normal times with a discounted rate.
This is truly a pain because your “Buy Box” i.e the add to cart button box is sabotaged. Instead of supporting you, it is serving the hijacker as their cheaper offering seems like a better proposition to regular customers.
Types of Amazon Hijackers and how they Hijack your Amazon Product Listing
Below we have mentioned the types of hijackers and the way they hijack your product listing:
- Counterfeiters: These are mostly manufacturers and distributors that have a similar product but of poor quality. They will copy your product description from images to text and will list their product. These listings are separate from yours but it can hamper the overall image of the product. It is essential that you remove these hijackers on time
- Liar: These simply copy all your data and list their product. The only thing that will be different is the seller name. This way they take advantage of all the promotions and hard work you do without spending a single penny.
- Sabotagers: These are probably the worst of the lot because not only they hijack your buy box, but also sabotage your product listing. The one who makes the most sales owns the product which means they can change images, description, and whatnot. In fact, there have been times when even reviews are being sabotaged by using bots for putting up bad reviews. It is essential to act towards hijacker removal in this case.
How Hijacking can be malicious to your Amazon Business?
Everything that steals business from you is malicious to your business. But then there are others that can affect you in more than one way. And, it is never ideal to get caught in a place where someone else doing affects your hard work. It is a tough business and losing anything for any so-called reason can be downright demotivating.
But leaving that aside, there are a couple of ways an Amazon hijacked listing can affect your business:
- Loss of Business: This is the most obvious point. When a buyer comes to your page that means your promotions, ranking, and product quality has taken its effect. Yet! Instead of you making a sale when someone else takes benefit of your resource then it leads to loss of business. Buyers will visit your page but buy from the hijacker that means you are making less sales and less profit.
- Poor Rating: Losing money is one thing but losing credibility is something else. On Amazon, the rating on your product is the key indicator of quality that you offer. When a hijacker offers a cheaper knock-off using your listing, it can end-up affecting your rating. Unsatisfied customers will come to your product page and will provide bad reviews and ratings. If not checked in time then this can also lead to seller suspension, and trust me it is absolutely something that you don’t want.
- Poor Ranking: In the search result, your product is at the top. This means that chances of you making a sale is higher. Although, when your listing is compromised by an Amazon Hijacker then he/she is taking the benefit of it. This means that you are making less sales. And evidently, the listing that makes less sales is often dragged down in ranking. It is an absolute pain because maintaining a good ranking takes a lot of work, great product, exceptional customer service, and often money in promotions. And it is always easier to lose ranking then to gain it especially if you are in a competitive market.
How a Hijacker Hijack your Product Listing?
This is purely for educational purposes and we in no way promote such kind of behavior. And, if you really wish to spend your brain on something, there is nothing better than your own listing. Although, learning the offense is always the best defense. And, if you don’t know how your product listing can be sabotaged, you can’t build the wall around to avoid something like this in the future.
Things to Keep in Mind before Amazon Listing Hijacking
- Hijacks brands that are not well-known.
- If you wish to Hijack a well-known brand then you need authorization for that from the brand itself (but authorization for selling not hijacking).
- Is the product that you are hijacking available on the Trademark Website as a patented or registered product.
- You need to have more than one seller account in order to hijack.
- If you are selling an imitation then it is often advisable to check the difference between the product description and your product offering.
- Hijack listings that are best-sellers.
- Avoid hijacking any listing that is already not being hijacked by someone else.
- Upon receiving a letter for authorization instead of entertaining anyone, just stop your listing.
Note: It is advisable to keep an eye on the product description of the Amazon hijacked listing for any changes. Failing to do so can lead to wrong shipment.
Steps to Hijack an Amazon Product Listing
- Open the product page that you wish to hijack.
- Now go to the “Buy Box” and click “Sell on Amazon” button which is available at the bottom of the Buy Box.
- You will be redirected to Amazon Seller Central, there click on the “inventory” tab and select “Add a Product”.
- Now enter details like UPC, ASIN, or the title used for the product.
- Finally! Click on the “Sell Yours” button and your sale will start.
Now that you have finally learned Amazon listing hijacking avoid doing it at cost. It is a temp job and stops generating value once the actual seller catches hold of it. On top of that, it can also end-up compromising your seller account. And, it is itself a whole different ball game to have multiple seller accounts because Amazon AI system checks everything. And, if the systems find that you are operating more than one account then chances of their suspension is very high. While suspension may not seem like a big deal since hijacking itself is ethically wrong. Yet! This can take away all your chances of creating a seller account in the future and if you think about reinstating then trust me, we are a service and we know how difficult this whole ordeal can be.
How to detect Amazon Hijackers for your Listing?
Now, since you have enough education about Hijacking, it is time to know how to detect if your product listing is hijacked. Well, there are a couple of way one case do so. And, we have mentioned those below:
- If someone has been using your listing to sell his/her product that is not you. And, the one who is doing so is not licensed to do it.
- If someone has claimed your Buy Box to sell his/her product.
- Suddenly, if you start to get bad reviews from the customer despite providing quality products.
- Moreover, if you open that listing page and what you see is identical to your product page.
Best ways to remove Hijackers from your Hijacked Amazon Listing
When something goes wrong, it is essential to take necessary action against it. Such is the case with an Amazon Hijacked Listing. If something is wrong then it is your duty being the proud owner of that product listing that you take necessary actions. This kind of behavior by anyone is intolerable and hijacker removal should be your collateral mission. Therefore below are some ways that will be effective in removing hijackers:
Send an Amazon Cease and Desist Letter
Directly confronting the hijackers does the trick half of the time. Most of the hijackers keep on operating because they feel they have not been detected yet. And, the first thing that they do upon detection is unlist their offering. Although sending a normal letter won’t be of much help, you need to send an Amazon Cease and Desist letter. The format for that is provided by Amazon itself. You can checkout the format below itself:
Make sure you change the format according to your needs. The above format is officially provided by Amazon to help fight back in such a situation.
Contact Amazon and Report a Violation
Cease and desist letters are usually very effective. But, in case that doesn’t work then contacting Amazon and filing a complaint will do the trick to remove the hijacker. Amazon is very heavy on nefarious activities and usually helps sellers to fight back.
Now, the time taken and the remedy both will depend whether your brand is registered for trademark or not. If your brand is registered for a trademark then all you have to do is write a short letter consisting of a couple of lines stating your issue. For effective assistance, it is ideal that you share the screenshot of the product as evidence and also share the link to the hijacker’s listing. All of this will do the trick and the hijacker will be taken down in no time.
However on the other hand, if your brand is not registered then it can take a little longer as stated before. You need to be as detailed as possible but in a concise manner. The content of your letter should tell about your situation and nothing else. You should also submit the evidence that you have aggregated with images, screenshots, links…whatever you have. The letter will be sent to Seller Performance on their mail id i.e. seller-performance@amazon.com.
Make a purchase from the Hijacker
Now this seems a little anticlimactic. At one place we are trying to save you from this and at other we talk about giving business to hijackers. Well that is not the case. In fact buying from the hijacker will get you substantial proof. Nothing can be better evidence than the product itself. People who purchase things from you at a lower price and sell it later on are opportunists.
But, you know that there is a limit to it. On the other hand, if someone is selling an imitation, the quality of the product will most likely be compromising. The bad reviews that you will be receiving is the ultimate proof for that. You can send the picture of that product and explain how it is different from what you are offering. And, also talk about how it doesn’t justify the product description. This will make your case stronger and will be of remedy to you at the end. This technique works best for hijacker removal for sellers who don’t have a registered brand.
How to prevent an Amazon Listing Hijacking?
Prevention is always better than cure. And I personally advocate this a lot (though I am often quite lazy) but with work this should never be the case. Also to have a fulfilling and successful business it is always better to be a little proactive. So, below are some methods that you can use to prevent Amazon listing hijacking :
Mention the Logo
It is important to push the brand logo in your listing. This will make sure that the buyer coming on your product page has something to distinguish. In fact, it can be the best line of defense for you against a hijacker be it pre or post hijacking. Having a logo clearly mentioned in your images will also inform buyers that the product they are purchasing is different from the one that is sold by hijackers. And if the hijacker copies that image also then you can simply make an order or use any of the bad reviews that mentions it, and use it to make a strong case in front of Amazon.
Constantly Monitor your Listing
It is important that you constantly check your listings. And, if you find anything nefarious that is happening then take actions ASAP. At least sending an Amazon Cease and Desist letter is not going to be stressful by any means.
Bundle the Product
Bundling just like the logo provides a strategic advantage. One can create a bundle of offerings and sell on Amazon with complimentary items or things that are unique to your product. Sourcing all the items in the bundle can be quite tedious and it definitely separates you from the Hijacker itself.
Trademark Your Amazon Products
Trademarking will give you additional legal advantage and you can report Amazon for copyright infringement. Simply trademark your brand and if someone else uses your product without your authorization then you are legally liable to take action against him/her. And I am talking about serious action which is not limited to a mere suspension.
Offer Money Back Guarantee
This may not be feasible for everyone yet if you can do then it can be a decent pain reliever. Most of the hijackers as discussed before offer poor products. This means introducing a money back guarantee if the product is poor will create problems for the hijacker. It is one really great ordeal that you can do to protect your product listing.
Amazon is a competitive business and the task to remove hijacker can be a decent pain. But, it is important that one takes it. Success is a collection of different actions you have taken in a certain direction. And there will be people who will come as impediments in your way. It is important that you don’t lose hope and push back harder.
If you are looking for a professional Amazon seller suspension service then we can help. We are APlus Global Ecommerce and we are a bunch of individuals who tirelessly work to reinstate our clients seller accounts. If you or your friends need someone like us kindly refer. You can also get a free consultation by entering your details on our homepage by clicking here. Besides that we also provide other services related to Amazon. We hope this article may have been of some help to you. Also, thank you for reading it until the end.
