az seller saying cannot sell generic item

[oompaloompa]

so a listing for generic item, pics exact same, seller has said it is their brand, they have put a 'brand tm' on listing title that is the name of their shop but there is no brand name on the item I have or the pics they have on listing and they are same item and prob from same manufacturer....I doubt they own the brand, if there is one. If I report them to az and what will happen?? Am I able to list under a 'self-branded' listing or do I start my own? I would rather list under theirs as it is less time consuming and I can beat their price.

[tatersalad]

I run into this quite a bit. If the seller seems like they are willing to defend thier listing then i create my own listing and try to outlist them.

To me, its not worth the chance of entering a battle with another seller, which often times is account suicide for both sellers.

I know how az seller aggreement reads about listing products , but thier seems to be a sellers etiquette, at times.

if a seller starts a listing and nurses it to success. They feel entitled to the listing and take mental ownership of it. So i try to avoid conflict when i can.

[oompaloompa]

I get what they are doing, they are putting a trademark sign on their listing, but if they do not own the brand?

so if I report them to az, I will get in trouble for it??I would have thought the other seller needs to prove they own the brand.

I get the thing about etiquette though......but marking your territory with pee is just that....

[Dmshark25]

Yea I actually started my own listings on an item that I could not find at all, well the item yes the color no

So I made the listing myself, pictures everything and in the beginning sales were slow , but after 5-6 weeks more traffic started building and finally sales

I would hate to see another seller go under the listing I made and start undercutting me in price

I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I use other listings for all my other products, but I could see a seller getting upset if like the last poster mentioned built it up to where it's profitable and now someone is coming in after they did the work

But it would be interesting to know if they could do this by Amazon rules or not

[rsot]

So the picture itself has no branding text on it?

[oompaloompa]

look this is not a handmade item, it is a generic product , they are using the same pics as from my supplier site!!!!!!!

I would hate it too, someone under my listing, but what I need to know is does putting a bogus tm on the title enough to stop others under the rules...........

[Dmshark25]

You can't photoshop a trademark and call it your own, no , this I know

[oompaloompa]

Originally Posted by rsot

So the picture itself has no branding text on it?

it has some writing on it, but it is not the tm this person has put in title, it has some other generic writing on it, plus instructions....mine is same as this other guy exactly the same.

[oompaloompa]

Originally Posted by Dmshark25

You can't photoshop a trademark and call it your own, no , this I know

no the tm is in the listing title, it is not on the product pic, no photoshopping....

[Callidus]

Well then you have the same rights to sell it as he/she does. As long as it is generic just because they've added a TM and a different name in the title means nothing.

If the name in the title is what their product is called, they should have a photo of the product with this name on it.

[Dmshark25]

Than your doing what Amazon tells u to do when creating a listing , see if the product already exists and list under the parent listing

I mean that's how Amazon works, you find the main listing and list your item under it

[rsot]

Originally Posted by oompaloompa

no the tm is in the listing title, it is not on the product pic, no photoshopping....

Then the other seller can't claim the brand tm if it's generic

[Dmshark25]

The only thing is now you know you have a crazy competitor, that could buy from you and say it's counterfeit or return something totally different if it's FBA

[Dmshark25]

Your going to need to knock them out before they get you

[MICKY H]

Just cut to the chase, ask the seller to send an email from his lawyers to your lawyers to show that this is his trademarked product. My guess you won't here from him again. Also report what you are doing to seller-performance.com just to keep amazon in the loop.

[oompaloompa]

ok update, I checked the product, the writing on it has a brand name on, eg. the name the china factory gave it. Alot of sellers are selling it under its real brand name or just generic, but all pics are the same on all the listings....so I can list under any of those guys BUT this guy is selling for alot more, as he has obviously scared off competitors on his listing, he is not mentioning real brand name even though it is in his pics......he has instead branded it himself and sending me emails saying they are HIS products....

[oompaloompa]

Originally Posted by Dmshark25

The only thing is now you know you have a crazy competitor, that could buy from you and say it's counterfeit or return something totally different if it's FBA

thats true.....they cannot say counterfeit though as not that kind of brand....but yes I agree may not be worth it........

[jeffweico]

Trying to claim ownership of a product manufactured by someone else is completely ridiculous, in my opinion. The whole purpose of copyrights and trademarks is to give exclusivity to the person or company who created the product in the first place, to protect them from others stealing their work and driving the value down.

In this case, however, the person claiming to own the product does not actually own it, but he wants to be protected from competition so that can keep his profit margin high. But to allow that interferes with the free market and keeps the price artificially high. I cannot imagine that Amazon would be in favor of that.

I would alert the supplier of the product and have screen shots of their listings on Ali or wherever available, so that I could forward them to Amazon if need be.

[jai]

isnt the point they own the asin and the nature of he listing is there own buisiness

[rsot]

Originally Posted by oompaloompa

thats true.....they cannot say counterfeit though as not that kind of brand....but yes I agree may not be worth it........

Profitability vs chance of retaliation

[MICKY H]

Just consult your lawyers, they know better than anyone on this forum, just like I said earlier.

[Gamefreak]

don't list against the asin, amazon will remove your listing if that sellers has a trademark for the TM in the title. TURST ME I've had it happen to be before. exactly what you are describing, best way is to ask seller to send you their TM, if they do stay away if they don't list away as theres nothing they can do really.