eEnforce FAQ's

Can anything be done about Unauthorized Sellers? Yes, eEnforce deals exclusively in removing 3p sellers that are not authorized to list or sell your legitimate products(s) on the 3p marketplaces. Brands with a properly structured US trademark under the Lanham act have the right to defend their trademark and restrict the illegal use of that trademark in the advertisement or sale of their product(s).

Why won’t Amazon help? Amazon’s policy classifies these as distribution related disputes between two companies and it would therefore be inappropriate for Amazon to get involved. They also make more than ½ of their revenues off of 3rd party sellers so definitely does not make financial sense for them to restrict them!

What Legal right do I have to make them stop selling? A brand with a properly structured Trademark under the Lanham act has the right to prevent the advertisement or sales of products from sellers illegally using their trademark.

How are they getting our Products? Most brands have perpetual inventory leakage from their supply chains. It can come from Distributors, Large Retail Presence, Retail Arbitrage, Freight Theft, Liquidation or large-scale returns from major retailers.

eEnforce helps brands isolate what products are the worst offenders and then provides identifications and locations of their sellers.

What if I send out cease & desist letters via the Marketplace. In 2018, Amazon and other marketplaces stopped the ability to transmit such letters via their marketplaces. While this was a very common tactic, it is now totally ineffective on Amazon. The only way to send is to identify the seller and send via direct communications.

What’s the difference between you and a software service provider(SaaS)? SaaS providers are rapidly exiting unauthorized seller enforcement since they are not able to legally identify the illegal sellers without appropriate licenses. Our primary differences are 1) We deliver messages to the seller’s doorstep because we can identify them, 2) we can often locate sources of leaking products, and 3) our client’s get access to a dedicated team of professionals with over 30 years of collective unauthorized seller experience.

What about a service that contacts Amazon through Brand Registry. Amazon’s policies are to not get involved with distribution and supply chain issues. We know because our attorneys talk daily with Amazons legal team. Yes, due to some inefficiencies at Amazon, you might have some limited success. To the best of our knowledge, no brand has been successful long term with this approach.

Can I just report them through Brand Registry? Brand Registry is primarily created for the quality control of content and the physical quality of the products. If the products and/or the listings are legitimate, then using Brand Registry can result in legal and civil penalties both from Amazon & from the Seller.

Can I just get my Brand Gated and Stop Anyone from getting on our listings? Brand Gating is a tool created to assist Brands with significant counterfeit issues and not applicable for use against unauthorized sellers. Also, many products and categories are not “gate able”.

What is our liability or exposure if we enforce? All of our methods are created specifically to protect your brand from any liabilities or recourses from the Marketplaces and their policies, the Sellers we are enforcing against and your current B2B customers. This is why we always focus directly on the violator, keep enforcements off the platform and do not bend on legal, moral or ethical standards.

I don’t have a MAP Policy. Can I Still Enforce? Yes, a MAP policy actually does not make a difference with Unauthorized sellers because they are not obligated to abide by it. However, as long as you have a valid Trademark you can enforce it on the 3p Marketplaces.

Can I just use a MAP monitoring software service? A MAP agreement is a contract between two parties, Unauthorized Sellers have no signed agreement hence they are not required to abide by such policies. Sophisticated sellers clearly understand this distinction.

I don’t have a Trademark; Can I still Enforce? Without a Valid US trademark, it is very difficult to obtain legal enforceability.

Can I enforce in Other Countries like Amazon UK or Canada? Currently, no. According to the laws in those countries, most unauthorized sellers of legitimate product cannot be stopped. However, many attorneys are working on resolving these issues and if successful, then eEnforce will gear up to help our brands there as well.

I think my Staff Can Handle It. If you only have a few SKU’s, or sellers that is probably your best bet. If you have several SKU’s or unauthorized sellers and product leakage from your supply chain, then most brands simply do not have adequate tools, expertise or bandwidth to be cost and time effective. If you think you can, try it and if does not work out, then come talk with us.

Can You Just Give Us the Sellers ID? We get this a lot. What we have found is that without all the other enforcement pieces in place, even if you have the ID, they just change their name, try to hide etc. Our turn-key managed services takes away that ability from them, thus stops the game of whack-a-mole.

Can you Permanently fix this issue? Yes, but understand that the sellers exist because of the ability to acquire inventory from the brands supply chain. As long as sellers can purchase inventory, there will always be a flow of new sellers. This can come from Distribution, Retail Arbitrage, Liquidation and other ways that knowledgeable sellers assisted with technology can maintain a steady flow of inventory at discount prices.

A lot of Companies advertise Investigations and Enforcement, why is that so special: eEnforce is currently the ONLY eCommerce brand protection company in the world that is a Licensed Private Investigation firm and has security clearance to multiple Federal Law Enforcement Databases. eEnforce has a proven history in over 1300 high level cyber-crime cases and identifying over 350,000 Unauthorized Sellers. When others claim they can get the identification, often they cannot but even if they can, they are committing an illegal act while working for your brand.

Other Than IDs and Letters, Do You Do Anything Else? IDs and letters are only about 1/2 of the value we bring to our

clients. The other ½ comes from no additional cost access to our team of experts. After working and advising over 250 brands, we understand that unique situations ALWAYS arise. Your dedicated account manager can rapidly access the situation and get you the help/advise you need..

Why Is eEnforce unique? Since 2011, we have successfully ID’d and enforced over 350,000 key sellers on Amazon, eBay & Walmart and handle all aspects from client management, to scanning of marketplaces, licensed investigations, security clearance for law enforcement databases, sending of legal notices, tracking and reporting of results, ability to consult client through any issues related to unauthorized sales. Plus, we guarantee our results with a 30-day, 100% money back guarantee. To the best of our knowledge, no one else will offer this guarantee since they know their approaches cannot compete.

How long will we need this service for until this is cleaned up?  That’s really dependent on the brands ability to get control over their supply chain. Bottom line, as long as unauthorized sellers can get ahold of inventory from either Distributors, Large Retail Presence, Retail Arbitrage, Freight Theft, Liquidation or large-scale returns from major retailers, there will always be new sellers coming into the marketplace. However, for several brands with good inventory control, we helped them get quick cleanup and then reduced to a maintenance fee to stay on top of the trickle of new sellers.

What is the pricing and terms? Pricing is based on the number of Unauthorized Sellers, Level of inventory leakage through your supply chain and overall amount of resources required to clean up your channel and keep it clean. Pricing starts at $1350 per month and can go up to over $3k per month for larger brands with significant issues. eEnforce operates on a month to month agreement with a price fixed at a low monthly rate. Plus, they guarantee the first 30 days with a 100% money back guarantee. In order to give you specific pricing; I can have your brand evaluated and provide you with a proposal in 1-2 business days.