Reselling on Amazon: How to prove resale policy compliance with screenshots

If you’re looking for a relatively simple business to set up from home, you might be interested in reselling on Amazon. This marketplace not only gives you a headstart as it’s the go-to place for everyone who’s looking to shop online, but it also offers interesting fulfillment options that take the weight off your shoulders when it comes to storage and shipping. What’s not to love?

Besides just choosing a product and publishing it on Amazon, you may have to pay attention to brand compliance. Depending on the product you’ve selected, the supplier behind it can have a reseller policy in place that requires you to comply with certain aspects of pricing and advertising.

It’s also not simple to find reliable sources for products, so once you find them and establish a strong business relationship, you want to maintain it. Reseller compliance is key for it to be long lasting.

In this Amazon reseller compliance article we’ll dive into what resale policies can look like, what you may be expected to comply with, and how you can use screenshots to protect your business from Amazon policy violations.

Complying with resale policies

Resale can be a good extra income for brand owners, but leaving your product in other’s hands comes with risks. Resale policies–or brand protection policies–are there for suppliers to protect their own intellectual property.

When a supplier allows you to sell their product, you’re selling them in their name, meaning the experience should be the same. A resale policy can ask you to respect:

• Brand elements: such as colors, fonts, and logos
• Packaging: to sell the product in its original package and not bundled with other products
• Buyer eligibility: for example, can you sell wholesale or only to end users?
• Warranty conditions
• Customer experience: the supplier can request that you maintain specific customer experience channels to resolve queries

A common and important item across resale policies of all industries is minimum pricing. Minimum Advertised Price, or MAP is a price set by the supplier that resellers can’t sell below. This allows for fair competition between the supplier and all resellers, as well as a means to protect the brand–since pricing also contributes to how people see the brand and its products.

Another item that may sound slightly obvious is that some suppliers may ask that you actively make it clear that you’re a reseller and not the original brand. This will help with user confusion.

The contents of a resale policy of course vary per brand and each company might have its own restrictions, so make sure to thoroughly review that policy and revisit it periodically to make sure you’re complying with all articles.

Using screenshots to protect your business in case of a claim

If you’re familiar with your supplier’s resale policy and make efforts to meet all requirements, your supplier relationship management should be strong, and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. However, if you do get a complaint, you should know that you have the opportunity to answer it–and it’s best if you do it with the correct documentation.

I received a claim from my supplier

The brand owner you’re working with could contact you directly regarding a current or past infringement of their resale policy. Though an unwanted situation, it’s best to settle these disagreements directly with your point of contact in the manufacturer than through Amazon.

It’s common that, in this situation, the brand owner requests documentation in order to validate compliance with brand usage or any of the items we covered in the previous section. This is where screenshots come in!

With Stillio, you can set captures of your Amazon listings at the interval of your liking. This way, you can create an archive of what the products you sell look like at specific moments in time–be that daily, weekly, or monthly. This means that if you get a complaint from the brand about wrong pricing or brand elements, you can provide screenshots of the listings as evidence that you’re compliant. 

Stillio’s set-and-forget system allows you to collect proof without having to do any additional manual work. Screenshots are stored on your personal account, which you can link to Dropbox or Google Drive at your convenience. In addition, screenshots on Stillio can be timestamped, providing extra safety that the image is in the precise moment the brand owner is concerned about. 

I received an Amazon Policy Violation

How do you know if you’ve received a policy violation on Amazon? This information is under the Performance section of your Seller Central. By selecting “Account Health”, you’ll get a list of all the possible violations and how many of each you have. If you only see zeros, you’re all good!

All the types of violations deserve your attention, but let’s look at the three that apply to brand compliance when reselling on Amazon:

• Suspected intellectual property violations: this is when Amazon believes you’re infringing someone else’s IP rights. In this case, you can provide Amazon with purchase orders and other documentation that proves you’re an authorized reseller.
• Received intellectual property complaints: This is when the brand owner complains directly about the misuse of IP rights on Amazon. If you’re an authorized reseller, this shouldn’t happen, but if you’re not meeting the reseller policy and the brand has already contacted you directly, they might try to complain directly on Amazon. To fix this, you should talk to the brand, agree on whatever needs to be adjusted. Then, show Amazon documentation to prove the issue has been settled between both parties.
• Product authenticity customer complaints: in this third scenario, the customer thinks the product is fake, and Amazon takes the complaint as IP rights infringement. Similar to suspected intellectual property violations, you can share documentation that proves the products are original and that you’re allowed to resell them.

If you were to get one of these three or any Amazon policy violations, you’ll want to act quickly to avoid getting your listings or your Amazon account deactivated. Under Account Health, you’ll find a Next steps option that’ll help in the process. 

For more information on Amazon infringement notices, you can check out their Intellectual Property Policy for Sellers.

Keeping copies of compliance will help you get a retraction should you receive an infringement notice from the brand owner on Amazon. Besides a copy of the licensing agreement or a letter from the brand owner, timestamped screenshots can be attached as an extra. Stillio’s automated screenshots let you archive your listings constantly, meaning you’ll have proof at hand if you ever get a complaint.

Final thoughts

As a reseller, it’s crucial that you have your supplier’s resale policy very present at all times. That and a good relationship with the brand owner will ensure great success for your business. If you want an extra layer of safety, Stillio can help with a timely archive of your listings should you get a complaint at some point. 

Ready to give it a shot? Start your 14-day free trial today, or book a demo with us for a more personalized experience.