Learn about the newest ways third parties meddle with your Amazon listings to steal sales & how to minimize their impact on your brand. Topics we cover in this webinar: - The latest tricks being employed by resellers to steal sales - The damage that can be inflicted by resellers - The most efficient paths towards addressing reseller issues - Strategies to slow down resellers from returning - Big-picture initiatives to shut down resellers for good

2. • Full-service Amazon agency, taking a proactive, strategic approach focused
foremost on sales acceleration
• Clients include Fortune 50 companies, mid-sized organizations, and
startups
• Brands in categories including grocery, personal care, home improvement,
home & kitchen, gifts & novelties, electronics, apparel, accessories,
furniture, books, and more
• Team includes full-time strategists, designers, writers, and advertising
specialists focused exclusively on Amazon
• Manage more than $1.5 billion in Amazon revenue
About Marketplace Strategy
marketplacestrategy.com

3. • Session recording & slides will be sent
out as a follow up
• Submit questions to MPS using the
question window
• Any unanswered questions will be
answered via direct email
• Email me for any additional resources or
questions following the webinar:
dina@marketplacestrategy.com
Housekeeping
marketplacestrategy.com

4. Today’s Speakers
Jeff Walcoff
VP Sales & Marketing,
Marketplace Strategy
jeff@marketplacestrategy.com
Sam Jennings
Lead Strategist,
Marketplace Strategy
sam@marketplacestrategy.com
marketplacestrategy.com

5. 1. Recap: Why this is an issue?
2. How Third Parties Steal Sales
3. The Damage that is Done
4. Minimizing the Effect
Today’s Agenda
marketplacestrategy.com

6. Issue Overview

7. • Anyone can sell a product on
Amazon
• The lowest price typically wins
the Buy Box
Recap: Why is this an issue?
marketplacestrategy.com

8. Amazon Professional Sellers’ Annual Gross Sales

9. • Aside from earning sales by winning the Buy Box, for years 3Ps have been stealing
sales by creating duplicate listings to avoid having to compete for a product Buy Box
Recap: Why is this an issue?
marketplacestrategy.com

10. How Third Parties Steal Sales

11. Within Amazon’s Rules:
• Creation of new pack sizes, variety packs, etc.
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

12. Within Amazon’s Rules:
• Creation of new pack sizes, variety packs, etc.
• Creation of enhanced pack sizes
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

13. Within Amazon’s Rules:
• Creation of new pack sizes, variety packs, etc.
• Creation of enhanced pack sizes
• Creating a “Personalized” or “Customizable” version
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

14. Gaming the System:
• Adding duplicate variations
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

15. Gaming the System:
• Adding duplicate variations
• Creating a ”Premium Pack” or “Limited Edition”
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

16. Gaming the System:
• Adding duplicate variations
• Creating a ”Premium Pack” or “Limited Edition”
• Creating a unique brand or distribution outlet
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

17. Gaming the System:
• Adding duplicate variations
• Creating a ”Premium Pack” or “Limited
Edition”
• Creating a unique brand or
distribution outlet
• Mayhem!
How Third Parties Steal Sales
marketplacestrategy.com

18. Damage to Brands

19. The Damage Done
marketplacestrategy.com
K-Cup 120-packs
selling
approximately $1m
per year
1. Sales

20. The Damage Done
marketplacestrategy.com
1. Sales
2. Brand integrity

21. The Damage Done
marketplacestrategy.com
1. Sales
2. Brand integrity
3. Product integrity

22. The Damage Done
marketplacestrategy.com
1. Sales
2. Brand integrity
3. Product integrity
4. Customer confusion

23. Minimizing the Impact

24. Minimizing the Effect of 3P Sellers
marketplacestrategy.com
• Constant monitoring of searches for duplicate listings
• Constant monitoring of product detail pages for issues with variations or
content

25. Minimizing the Effect of 3P Sellers
marketplacestrategy.com
The benefits of duplicate listings mergers:
• More transparency into sales
• Increased sales velocity & organic ranking
• Aggregated reviews
• Catalog cleanup & brand reputation protection
Constant cleanup also:
• Makes it harder for 3P sellers to gain traction and sales velocity, pushing
them further down search results and making it tough for them to
become discoverable

26. When not to merge or remove a listing or variation:
1. Low-velocity duplicates that provide an obvious price advantage to the
3P
2. Attached variations that provide an obvious price advantage to the
vendor
3. Attached variations or listings with high sales velocity
CASE BY CASE IS THE BEST APPROACH!
Minimizing the Effect of 3P Sellers
marketplacestrategy.com

27. Minimizing the Effect of 3P Sellers
marketplacestrategy.com
Warn customers via content of the potential issues association with purchasing from a third party.

28. Big Picture Approach

29. Big-Picture Initiatives to Shut Down Resellers
marketplacestrategy.com
Work with Amazon Brand Registry
Take active role & potential legal action
in monitoring and policing distributors
or wholesalers

30. Big-Picture Initiatives to Shut Down Resellers
marketplacestrategy.com
Take a new approach to e-
commerce
• We’re not in a brick-and-mortar
world anymore
• Different products are profitable;
different products are preferred by
the consumer
• Consider e-commerce friendly pack
sizes

31. Thanks!
Questions?
Jeff Walcoff
jeff@marketplacestrategy.com
Sam Jennings
sam@marketplacestrategy.com