How to Remove Unauthorized Amazon Sellers: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide for Brand Owners

Introduction

As an intellectual property attorney who has spent over a decade fighting unauthorized sellers around the world (from courtrooms to factory raids), I’ve seen firsthand how devastating these sellers can be to brands. In one case I handled, we helped a brand recover $4 million in lost Amazon revenue after removing hundreds of unauthorized sellers from their listings.

The reality is stark: Amazon views unauthorized sellers as your brand’s problem, not theirs. As I often tell brands in my webinars, “Amazon operates as neutral ground and puts this burden on brands to manage.” This means you need a strategic, systematic approach to reclaim control of your listings.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through the exact step-by-step process I’ve developed from years of legal practice and now as CEO of Sigil, a brand protection company that has successfully removed unauthorized sellers for thousands of brands. I have put these steps in sequential order, and grouped them into different phases. 

Getting Started And Setting Up Your Foundation

Step 1: Understanding the Unauthorized Seller Problem

If you’re new to this problem space, start here. If you’re experienced, move to the next step. But it’s to understand the various types of unauthorized sellers that can impact your brand’s marketplace presence. Each type presents unique challenges and requires different approaches for resolution.

What Are Unauthorized Sellers?

Unauthorized sellers are individuals or entities selling your products without proper authorization from your brand. They can appear on your existing product listings or create new ones, potentially damaging your brand reputation, eroding profit margins, and creating customer confusion.

There are several types of unauthorized sellers, but I will focus in this article on “resellers” as described below. These are also known as 3P or third-party sellers and resellers, or grey (or gray) market sellers and resellers. 

Types of Unauthorized Sellers

• Resellers. Resellers, also known as grey market sellers, sell authentic products that have been diverted from authorized distribution channels. The products themselves are genuine, but the sellers lack proper authorization to distribute them in specific territories or through particular channels.  When someone says “unauthorized sellers” they almost always are referring to grey market resellers. They are also called unauthorized 3P or third-party sellers and resellers. These are the most common and most difficult unauthorized sellers for brands to deal with in the United States. They often acquire inventory through:
  • Unauthorized distributors
  • Supply chain leaks
  • Third-shift manufacturing (extra production runs)
  • International diversion
  • Liquidation channels
• Counterfeiters. Counterfeiters produce and sell fake versions of your products that are designed to deceive consumers into believing they are purchasing authentic goods. These products typically use your brand name, logos, and packaging but are manufactured without authorization and often with inferior quality materials. Counterfeiters appear on Amazon and Walmart to be no different than a reseller and impact your listings and your buy box performance. In my experience, most counterfeiters will try to get some grey market product as well so they can pass inspections or authentication inquiries, and then add extra “inventory” with counterfeits. Counterfeit products pose serious risks to consumer safety and brand reputation.
• Hijackers. Hijackers are bad actors who specifically target existing product listings on marketplaces like Amazon or Walmart that are not being managed and take over control, editing the copy and images to be an entirely different product. Hijackers are not just someone who has taken your buy box (like a reseller). This typically happens for listings that are not claimed in Brand Registry, and you can tell when this happens because the reviews will still be about your product, but that will be entirely different from what the listing now says. For example, last holiday season we dealt with a listing for a hair brush but the reviews were all about baked beans. This directly impacts your sales and can lead to customer confusion about product authenticity and quality.
• Copyists.. Copyists create new, separate listings that violate your brand’s copyright by using your protected images, unique advertising copy, or other copyrighted content without permission. Unlike hijackers who appear on your existing listings, copyists establish their own product pages using your intellectual property.
• Knockoffs. Knockoffs are products that imitate your brand’s design, packaging, or advertising but may not necessarily infringe on registered intellectual property rights. These sellers create products that closely resemble yours to capitalize on your brand recognition and market success. Knockoffs may or may not violate specific intellectual property rights, making them challenging to address through traditional IP enforcement mechanisms.

Impact on Brand Listings

The impact is severe: These sellers don’t just steal sales—they erode your Buy Box control, damage customer experience, create channel conflicts with authorized retailers, and can devastate your brand’s long-term value. Each type of unauthorized seller affects your brand differently:

• Counterfeiters and Resellers directly impact your existing listings by offering competing products that appear to be authentic and of good quality, but may not be. They can undercut your sales performance and create conflict between sales channels, e.g., with retail and DTC.
• Hijackers directly impact your existing listings by changing the product listing entirely, stealing sales and confusing customers.
• Copyists fragment your market presence by creating competing listings using your own marketing materials. This confuses consumers and hurts your branding, as well as creating channel conflict issues. 
• Knockoffs can dilute your brand distinctiveness and capture market share through imitation, but they sell on distinct listings under a different brand name, with their own images.

Understanding these distinctions is crucial because different types of unauthorized sellers require different enforcement strategies, legal approaches, and technological solutions. For example:

• You can file counterfeit complaints against counterfeiters, but you absolutely should not file a counterfeit complaint against a reseller. You risk not only having your Amazon account suspended, but also being countersued for sanctions by the reseller.
• Hijackers can be reported to Amazon through different internal departments because they violate several Amazon policies. 
• Copyists can be controlled with smart use of copyrights. 
• Knockoffs require in-depth legal examination. For an interesting example currently playing out in the court system (as of this writing in 2025), look at the lawsuit between lululemon and Costco.

The framework that follows will show you how to remove unauthorized Amazon resellers.

Step 2: Gather Company Documents

Even if you do not have any unauthorized resellers harassing you yet, these are useful, value-add steps that you should take for your brand. Although I list nine items below for completeness, don’t let this be overwhelming. You can often gather your trademarks with a quick search on the USPTO website, for example. New AI tools like Gemini or connecting email to ChatGPT can allow you to pull all the contracts signed with authorized sellers or distributors over the last few years very quickly. 

Registered Trademarks

From my legal practice, I often tell clients that registered trademarks and copyrights are some of the best investments you can make. The upfront cost is relatively quite low, but the value later when you need them is quite high. As I’ve watched omnichannel commerce take over and become the norm, now every brand eventually needs their trademarks and copyrights in order to maintain their growth.

Gather trademarks for your brand, product lines, and logos. For trademarks, I recommend using a tactic I call “sword and shield” marks. Some marks you plan to use offensively (sword) and some defensively (shield). DM me on Linkedin if you have questions. 

Copyright Registrations

For copyrights, without getting too academic and the moment of creation of copyright, take my word here: get them registered. In practice, they are nearly useless without registration. You’ll want to register your valuable content, including unique packaging, labels, and creative works. DM me on Linkedin if you have questions. 

Utility or design patents.

If applicable to your brand, it’s useful to have this available also. 

Authorized Seller Agreements

An Authorized Seller (or Dealer) Agreement defines the terms under which an entity may purchase and resell the brand’s products. This is important for any brand selling to retailers, or agency partners. Key elements include:

• Scope of permission (territory, products, resale channels)
• Conditions of sale (e.g., adherence to MAP, authorized online channels only)
• Obligations regarding product display, support, maintaining quality standards, and customer experience
• Benefits of being an authorized partner
• Termination and enforcement procedures for violations (such as selling on Amazon without authorization)

Distributor Agreements

A Distributor Agreement sets the terms for wholesale distributors who resell products to other retailers or dealers. Typically, distributors do not resell to the end consumer (otherwise, they would fall under the Authorized Seller Agreement). Some industries rely on distributors, while other industries rarely use them. Core provisions include:

• Purchase minimums and delivery logistics
• Restrictions on sub-distribution, internet sales, and exports
• Compliance with MAP policy and brand quality controls
• Mechanisms for product traceability and recall
• Termination clauses in case of unauthorized sales or diversion

Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) Policy

A MAP Policy is a unilateral statement by the brand setting the lowest price at which its products can be advertised. It cannot be used to fix prices. Not all brands decided to use MAP policies. While it used to be standard practice to put a brand’s entire catalog on under a MAP policy, it is increasingly common for brands to only put a portion of their catalog under a MAP policy. DM me on Linkedin if you want to go deeper on this. Essentials include:

• Specific MAP price lists by SKU and region
• Clear definition of “advertising” versus “actual sale price”
• “Do not sell” consequences for MAP violations (e.g., withholding supply or termination of authorization)
• Statement of unilateral policy, not an agreement; retailers cannot negotiate MAP terms
• Procedures for monitoring and enforcing MAP (e.g., automated software, secret shopper checks)

Warranty Documents

A Warranty Document outlines the coverage, duration, and terms for repair or replacement for a manufactured product. Brands are not required to offer a manufacturer’s warranty, but it is considered best practice because it allows the brand to set the boundaries of their warranty liability. Otherwise, courts will find an implied warranty and they will decide when a brand has to repair or replace products. If a brand chooses to have a warranty, they must document that policy and make it publicly available. 

This is the most common method of creating a meaningful distinction between legitimate product and product sold by unauthorized Amazon resellers. Typically, because brands cannot verify the treatment of products outside their carefully vetted distribution stream, they cannot reasonably provide a manufacturer’s warranty to repair or replace damaged products that are sold by unauthorized sellers. This is because often the unauthorized sellers themselves caused the damage to the product. Legitimate products sold brand new by the brand and under warranty are considered materially different from products sold by unauthorized resellers. 

It should go without saying, warranty programs need to be real and properly managed by the brand. Terms in warranty documents typically include:

• If the warranty is “full” or “limited”
• Who can claim warranty coverage
• The products or parts are covered
• What is not covered, such as exclusions of third party marketplace resellers
• The duration of the warranty period
• What the warrantor will do to address the claimed issue
• The consumer’s responsibilities in seeking the warranty
• How to make a warranty claim and get service

Quality Assurance and Product Handling Policies

Quality Assurance and Product Handling policies detail the systems and protocols for maintaining product standards throughout manufacturing and distribution. Where unauthorized seller are unable to support or maintain the quality assurance standards on the product, this can also be a basis to establish a material difference between legitimate branded products and resold ones. Key components include:

• Standards for manufacturing processes, materials, and components
• Regular inspection and testing requirements
• Procedures for ongoing quality audits and compliance verification
• Documentation protocols for tracking batch quality and improvements
• Consequences for failing to meet standards (e.g., supply suspension or corrective action)
• Requirements for storage conditions (temperature, humidity, shelf life)
• Guidelines for packaging, labeling, and shipment
• Instructions for receiving, inventory control, and stock rotation
• Procedures for returns, recalls, and disposal of defective items
• Mandated handling practices for authorized sellers and distributors

Recall and Incident Response Policy

A Recall and Incident Response Policy sets forth the steps to be taken in the event of product defects, safety concerns, or identified quality failures. Programs for post-purchase consumer safety and care are also important components to evaluating and delivering a materially different product than those resold by unauthorized Amazon sellers. Main provisions include:

• Notification requirements for affected parties and authorities
• Product traceability and lot identification processes
• Statement of roles and responsibilities during recalls
• Corrective actions for quality lapses and communication protocols

Step 3: Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry

For most brands, Amazon Brand Registry is more important because of its A+ Content features and other programs that help improve sales performance. That is the most important reason to register. 

But it is not the be all end all solution to brand protection that Amazon and others would have you believe. As an attorney, I helped advise Amazon on the creation of policies and programs that are now part of Brand Registry. It is a necessary tool, but it is limited and not sufficient to solve the problem. 

Still, without it, your enforcement options become limited and you lose an important part of the process.

Requirements:

• Active registered trademark (word mark or logo), or an active trademark application and proof demonstrating you are actively selling under that brand, e.g., DTC website. 
• Authority to act on behalf of the brand

How to enroll:

1. Visit brandregistry.amazon.com
2. Click “Enroll a new brand”
3. Provide your brand name and trademark 
4. Verify your identity through Amazon’s verification process
5. Wait for approval (typically 1-2 weeks)

To be able to report violations:

• You must have a registered trademark (not pending) with the USPTO
• Your Brand Registry account must be assigned Rights Owner or Registered Agent role
• Your trademark must be registered in the same country where you’re reporting the infringement

Why this matters: As I explain to brands, “Amazon handles brand-registered brands with a higher degree of support.” You’ll gain access to enhanced tools, automated protections, and priority customer service.

Intelligence Gathering and Investigation

Up until this point, everything we’ve done has been to support the general sales hygiene of your brand, from gathering necessary documents to setting up Brand Registry. Now, there is no reason to go any further unless you actually have unauthorized Amazon sellers to deal with. So the first thing to do is start paying attention to them.

Step 4: Detecting Unauthorized Seller Activity

Manual Monitoring

You’ll need to regularly check your product listings for sellers you don’t recognize. In my experience, unless you have a small catalog and you’re looking at your Amazon listings daily, then doing this manually is impractical. Some brands like to wait for their retailer to report the problem to them, but when I was in-house with a brand, that caused us a lot of problems. After about 6 months, our retailers got sick of it, and when we came to them later to expand SKUs and doors, they weren’t interested.

Automated Monitoring

There are a lot of good reasons to use automation for monitoring. For just the basic information on who is selling your products and at what price, our system at Sigil is excellent and will fit almost any budget. If you have complicated sales channels, consider a comprehensive tool like TrackStreet or Wayvia, as they will surface a lot of information from your other sales channels. 

Look for red flags:

• Sellers you don’t recognize with no brand authorization
• Pricing significantly below MAP
• Pricing significantly above MAP (they are looking to grab a payday if your listing stocks out)
• Poor seller ratings or limited seller history
• Unusual fulfillment methods (dropshipping from other retailers)

Step 5: Gather Evidence on the Seller

The traditional first move once you’ve detected an unauthorized seller is to try to identify who are the individuals operating the reselling entity. If they are one of your distributors or other partners, then you can reach out and solve the problem with them directly. If not, then your aim is to send them a cease-and-desist letter. 

Many major resellers are large, public, and not hiding themselves. You can simply look at their storefront and google them. But others will try to obscure their identity. In that case, you can use open source intelligence to track down most resellers.

OSINT Techniques for Identifying Unauthorized Resellers

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) gives brands the ability to connect anonymous online sellers to real-world identities. By pulling together open data across platforms, companies can uncover who’s behind unauthorized reseller operations and link them back to distribution leaks or fraudulent activity. This is easier to learn than you think, and you can find a lot of information online on how to do each of these steps. If I can learn it, you can as well.

Core Investigation Areas:

• Identity & Attribution: Correlate usernames, bios, posting patterns, and reused images across platforms to tie accounts together.
• Contact Discovery: Trace email addresses, phone numbers, and messaging handles for cross-platform profiles.
• Business Intelligence: Verify company registrations, map directors and officers, and cross-check addresses to expose reseller networks.
• Digital Footprint: Investigate domains, DNS records, web archives, and news mentions to establish ownership and history.

Marketplace & Social Commerce Focus:

• Amazon & Walmart: Analyze seller profiles, suspicious review patterns, and recurring inventory across multiple accounts. Sometimes you can do test buys of the product to gather shipping and email information. Unfortunately, with the use of comingled inventory, this technique has lost its usefulness over the years.
• Social Platforms: Examine Facebook Marketplace, Instagram Shops, and TikTok Stores for business account ties and customer interactions.

Advanced Profiling & Networks:

• Study writing styles, product category focus, and communication patterns.
• Map supply chains, shared addresses, or financial connections that reveal collaboration among unauthorized sellers.

Best Practices:

• Cross-verify findings from multiple sources, log timestamps, and maintain chain of custody for legal use.
• Grab screenshots of their activity, including on Amazon and Walmart. 
• Stay within public sources, respect privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA), and rely on automation tools to monitor brand mentions and suspect listings.

Used systematically, OSINT can transform faceless accounts into actionable identities, helping brands prioritize enforcement, package evidence, and dismantle unauthorized reseller networks.

Pro tip from my practice: Always document everything with timestamps and preserve evidence in multiple formats. Courts and Amazon’s systems require specific types of evidence for different violations.

Contacting the Unauthorized Amazon Seller

After completing your OSINT research and before escalating to Amazon’s reporting tools, direct contact with unauthorized sellers represents a critical intermediate step in your brand protection strategy. This approach can often resolve issues cost-effectively while providing valuable intelligence about your supply chain leaks.

This initial contact can open dialogue opportunities that reveal crucial information about how sellers obtained your products, their inventory levels, and whether they might become legitimate authorized partners. Many unauthorized sellers are simply unaware they’re violating distribution policies and will voluntarily remove listings once properly informed.

Step 6: Attempt at Least Three Seller Communications

Manual Communication

Depending on the results of your investigation, you may have a valid email address. If not, you should have found one (or several) mailing addresses. If you have a valid email, this is a fast and cost effective place to start, but messages can often end up in spam filters and never get delivered. Sending certified mail is considered more reliable in that the message has actually been delivered.

• Email Communication. Use email for initial contact attempts and when you have verified seller email addresses from their storefronts or business registrations. As best practice, use professional, non-threatening language in your initial approach sent from a branded company email address to establish legitimacy. Include clear subject lines like “Unauthorized Reseller Notification – [Brand Name]” and attach relevant policy documents and authorization requirements. 
• Certified Mail. Use this when email is unavailable, and for formal cease and desist notices, follow-up communications after email non-response, or when dealing with persistent violators. This has the advantages of providing legal proof of delivery and receipt and is harder for recipients to ignore than email messages.

Pro tip: Remember that this is a communication process, so plan for responses and for that to be time consuming. 

Automated Communication

Automated systems are best when you have a couple dozen or more unauthorized Amazon sellers.

Automation will have significant savings by avoiding the OSINT research or the communication campaigns. Doubly so when factoring in the time involved in handling responses from the resellers. More advanced technology providers like Sigil utilize AI systems and deep databases of unauthorized Amazon seller information to provide automated communications to these resellers. 

Example Three-Tier Communication Approach

While the optimum timing and process will vary from brand to brand, the following is a proven timeline and process for seller communication. 

• Tier 1: Initial Notice Letter (Week 1). Keep the tone professional and informative. Identify yourself as the brand owner or authorized representative. Explain your authorized dealer program and distribution policies. Request voluntary removal of unauthorized listings. If applicable, offer dialogue about potential authorized partnership opportunities. Allow 7-10 business days for response before escalating.

Here is a template:

• Tier 2: Policy Education Letter (Week 2-3). Tone should be more firm, but still professional. Reference your initial notice and lack of response. If they did respond, address any issues they raised, such as the limitations of First Sale Doctrine. Set clear deadline for compliance (typically 2 weeks from original notice). Reference potential legal consequences for continued violations. 
• Tier 3: Formal Cease and Desist (Week 4+). This should be a formal, and final, notice. It should come on official letterhead. Some brands like to use an attorney’s legal letterhead for this. Provide a detailed explanation of any violations, and very specific and timebound demands for compliance.  This is when most brands warn of future legal action. 

Word of Caution: although Sigil is not a law firm, because I am an attorney, I feel compelled to make clear that brands should consult an attorney before making any allegation around legal violations for threats of future legal action. Ideally this can be managed inhouse, and once you have the proper guidance, you can carry out the process without continual legal oversight. Alternatively, work with a reputable brand protection service that maintains strict legal adherence, like Sigil. 

Reporting the Seller to Amazon 

After making your attempts at initial outreach, you can then consider submitting formal complaints to the marketplaces. 

Warning! There is a lot of bad and misleading information online about how to do this! Please be very careful! DM me on Linkedin if you have questions.

Step 7: Use Amazon Brand Registry, If You Can

This is your first step when working through Amazon’s systems. Earlier in my legal career, I consulted with Amazon’s legal department and helped set up some of the policies that are now part of Brand Registry. Amazon has a culture of escalation, meaning that you need to exhaust your options and slowly work your way up. Start with Brand Registry.

Accessing the tool:

1. Log into Amazon Brand Registry
2. Navigate to “Protect” → “Report a Violation”
3. Search for the problematic ASIN or use order numbers

Types of violations to report:

• Trademark Infringement (Most Common): Use this when sellers use your trademarked brand name without authorization, such as in the product detail page title or description, or on products that you don’t sell. This is best used to report counterfeiters for selling counterfeits. Amazon recommends conducting a test purchase to confirm infringement, but you may have to conduct several tests in order to confirm the counterfeit product due to comingled inventory. Do not submit unauthorized resellers for trademark infringement through Brand Registry, and especially not as a “counterfeit”. Many Amazon consultants and advisors who are not experienced IP attorneys recommend this because (i) it will work for a short period of time, and because (ii) since resellers and counterfeiters look the same, they don’t know the difference. But when your Amazon account gets suspended and you get sued for filing “false” counterfeit complaints, you’ll regret following that consultant’s advice.
• Copyright Infringement: Use this when sellers copy your product images, descriptions, or packaging and use them on rogue listings. Amazon’s TOS include a copyright license for the images on the PDP, so you won’t be able to file a copyright notice on sellers on your own listings.
• Patent Infringement: This is not common when dealing with unauthorized resellers, but if you have applicable utility of design patents, then use them. I learned early in my legal career that elite brands don’t invest in patents just to park them on the shelf. But this is definitely an area to consult an attorney before making a submission. 

Step 8: Report the Unauthorized Amazon Seller to Amazon’s Legal Department 

If the seller is unresponsive, then it’s time to report their infringement to Amazon. 

Conducting a Test Purchase for Evidence

Create a consumer Amazon account separate from your business account. This will avoid the unauthorized reseller recognizing your brand as a customer and cancelling the order. For this same reason, ship to a personal address. 

When purchasing, targeting third party sellers that fulfill FBM will give more reliable evidence, because FBA sellers often have comingled inventory. For FBA sellers you may have to conduct multiple test buys. Keep documentation of the following:

• Seller name and seller ID from the product page
• The ASIN/ISBN number and complete product title
• Screenshots of the product listing, pricing, and seller information
• The order confirmation email and order number
• The delivery confirmation email from Amazon

• Photographs of the packaging, shipping labels, and return address
• Detailed photos of the product itself, focusing on any material differences, such as:
  • Warranty cards or documentation showing limitations to authorized sellers
  • Quality control differences such as missing batch codes or serial numbers
  • Packaging variations from authorized versions
  • Missing customer service information or contact details
  • Product registration materials that differ from authorized versions
• Preserve all packaging materials and included documentation

Reporting the Evidence of Violation to Amazon

Brand Registry does not support material difference trademark complaints. So you will need to submit your evidence to Amazon directly. This can be done using either of Amazon’s public-facing accounts:

• copyright@amazon.com
• notice@amazon.com

You can also mail the physical complaint to Amazon’s legal department:

Amazon.com Legal Department

P.O. Box 81226

Seattle, WA 98108-1226

Important! Do not use Brand Registry to submit trademark complaints based on material difference arguments. This is not supported by Brand Registry and can result in penalties against your Brand Registry account. Amazon is constantly fighting against mistaken and sometimes intentionally false complaints filed by both well-intentioned and bad-acting sellers. You do not want to get accidentally caught up in their anti-fraud systems. 

Here is a template of language you can use:

To Whom It May Concern:

We are reporting trademark infringement based on material differences in the products being sold by [Seller Name]. Through our test purchase (Order ID: [Number]), we have confirmed that this seller is offering products that are materially different from those sold through our authorized distribution channels.

Specific Material Differences Identified: [add details as necessary, e.g.,]

• Products lack our standard warranty coverage, which is exclusively available to purchasers from authorized sellers
• Missing quality control documentation and batch tracking information required for authentic [Brand Name] products  
• Absence of customer service contact information and product registration materials provided with authorized sales
• [Add other specific differences found]

These material differences create consumer confusion regarding the source and quality of the products, violating our trademark rights under USPTO Registration #[Number]. The unauthorized seller cannot provide the same warranty coverage, quality controls, and customer service standards that consumers expect from genuine [Brand Name] products purchased through authorized channels.

We request immediate removal of this seller from our product listings to protect consumers and our trademark rights.

Contact: [Your Name, Company, Email]

Post-Submission Monitoring

Amazon typically reviews reports within 24-48 hours, but complex cases involving material differences may take longer than counterfeit claims. To set expectations, Amazon’s backend technology was built over 20 years ago, and has been updated and upgraded piecemeal ever since. Even with their early entry into machine-learning and now AI, there are a lot of errors and load issues running a system as large as theirs. Expect problems. As I typically say to brands, “The back end of Amazon is like a bag of cats. You don’t know what’s coming out.”

Potential outcomes include:

• Immediate seller removal from the listing
• Request for additional evidence if initial submission is insufficient (in which case you need to respond with the information they request)
• Rejection if Amazon determines the claim doesn’t meet trademark infringement standards (if you run into this, DM me on Linkedin)
• Automated notice from the incorrect department at Amazon (in which case you’ll need to start over)

If the initial report is rejected, often Amazon will say there is insufficient evidence of material differences, that they view this as an exclusive distribution claims rather than trademark infringement, or that the trademark has the improper jurisdiction.  In any of these instances, you’ll want to contact seller performance to attempt to escalate the complaint. 

Step 9: Consider Amazon’s Specialized Programs, if Available

Amazon Transparency: The sales team for Amazon Transparency push this product aggressively, but the details of the program often differ from what brands tell me they hear on sales calls. Amazon Transparency is an anti-counterfeit solution. It requires serialized codes on all your inventory of that particular product. But it does not prohibit resellers of the inventory.

• Serialized product codes
• Prevents listing without proper codes
• Can be expensive with higher per-unit cost

Amazon Project Zero (Invitation Only): For brands with high counterfeit risk and very high success rate in reporting counterfeits, Project Zero can be a great solution:

• Direct counterfeit removal powers
• AI-powered automated protections
• Product serialization capabilities
• Requires proven accuracy in past violation reports

Amazon Patent Evaluation Express (APEX): If you have utility patents, APEX offers a fast-track patent dispute resolution. Consult an attorney first.

• $4,000 fee (refunded to winning party)
• Neutral third-party evaluation
• 30-day resolution timeline vs. 2+ years in court
• Removes need for expensive litigation

Escalating Seller Communication

After submitting a complaint against the seller directly to Amazon, many sellers will respond and seek to resolve the issue. If not, then you’ll now need to escalate the issue to more formal and aggressive demands. 

Step 10: Make Investigation Demands

For more persistent sellers, escalate to investigation demands. The intention here is to demonstrate additional risk and liability for the seller. It is unlikely that they respond providing the demanded evidence (though it does happen). Instead, you are building a record that you have been trying to resolve this as clearly as possible so that if it ends up in front of a judge you look reasonable. 

Obviously, at this point, you’ll want to ensure you’ve received legal counsel before going forward.

Request:

• Proof of authorized purchase
• Business licenses
• Purchase invoices from authorized sources
• Confirmation of compliance with your policies

Here is some sample language you can add to your template:

To resolve this matter, please provide within 10 business days:

1. Proof of authorized purchase from [list authorized distributors]

2. Business registration documentation

3. Purchase invoices showing authorized acquisition

4. Confirmation that you will discontinue unauthorized sales

Failure to respond may result in further enforcement action.

Pro Tip: The biggest mistake I see here is that brands get angry when a seller’s lawyer responds. If you received a letter demanding you stop some business activity and provide your confidential business documentation, what is the reasonable and prudent thing for you to do? Talk to a lawyer! So a seller who responds using an attorney is a rational actor and that’s exactly who you want to work with.

Step 11: Legal Escalation

When other methods fail, legal action may be necessary. You’ll want to consider:

• Formal legal demand with threat of litigation
• Should be drafted by qualified attorney
• Include specific legal claims and deadline for compliance

Advanced Strategies

I typically save these for clients and brands who are serious about solving this problem for the long term, not just looking to remove the unauthorized Amazon sellers they currently have. These are more intensive programs that will require closer management by you, but they are extremely effective. I’ll touch on these lightly, but you should DM me on Linkedin if you want to learn more.

Step 12: Buyback Programs

One of the most effective but underutilized strategies due to challenges around financial accounting and shipping logistics:

How it works:

1. Offer to purchase remaining inventory from unauthorized seller
2. Require seller to sign agreement never to sell your products again
3. Obtain information about their supply source
4. Resell inventory through authorized channels

Benefits:

• Immediate removal of seller
• Inventory recovery
• Supply chain intelligence
• Legal protection through signed agreements

From my experience: Buyback programs work exceptionally well when executed properly. You can often recover inventory profitably while permanently solving the seller problem.

Step 13: Supply Chain Investigation

Address the root cause by finding and stopping leaks:

Techniques:

• “Salt and pepper” tests
• Serial number tracking
• Test purchases to trace product sources
• Distributor audits and visits

I sometimes offer webinars on how to execute some of these investigations. DM me on Linkedin if you want to learn more about them. 

Quote from my mentor: “Every penny counts in this battle.”

Conclusion

Removing unauthorized Amazon sellers requires a systematic, multi-faceted approach. As I’ve learned from conducting raids in China, working with German police on seizures, and building AI-powered enforcement tools, success comes from persistence, proper documentation, and using the right combination of strategies.

The landscape is constantly evolving. Amazon’s enforcement mechanisms improve regularly, new tools become available, and seller tactics adapt. The key is building a sustainable system that can scale with your brand’s growth while maintaining the flexibility to address new challenges.

Remember: Brand protection isn’t a cost center—it’s a revenue unlock. Every unauthorized seller you remove is a step toward healthier margins, stronger retail relationships, and better customer experiences.

For brands facing unauthorized seller challenges, consider using our advanced technology at Sigil. We’ve helped hundreds of brands remove unauthorized sellers and recover millions in lost revenue. Together, we’re making eCommerce honest.