What is MAP and How Can It Protect My Brand On Amazon?

As a brand owner selling on Amazon one of the most important tactics of brand protection is implementing a MAP policy for your branded products.  Unfortunately, very few brands know about this tactic and fewer actually use it.  To give this topic formal clarity, MAP or Minimum Advertised Pricing is the lowest price a brand owner can allow its retailers to sell a product. 

 

If you have been dealing with third-party sellers on Amazon, you will know that enforcing a MAP policy is not as easy as simply telling them. Execution is always hard. Among the top reasons why it is challenging is you have to monitor these sellers when they try to dip the prices of your products in an effort to win the buy box and be the top seller of the product. 

 

And who has the time?

 

If you are a brand owner, monitoring other sellers can be a big inconvenience. There is only so much you can do to police these sellers. The hardest part is, Amazon will never help you monitor MAP violators. 

 

As you discover that Amazon doesn’t much care, you will scratch your head to know that you can either pay somebody to monitor MAP violators or add another expense to get software to alert you. 

 

Now, do you just simply quit enforcing MAP policy because it is too hard? 

 

Well, you might need to rethink that after you realize that not enforcing MAP will only cost you much more than braving the obstacles that come your way by executing it. 

 

So what are the terrible consequences of not enforcing MAP to your Amazon sellers:

 

1. Your retail partners who have brick-and-mortar stores will slowly notice the decline of buyers. Simply put, why will people buy from these physical stores that ask customers to walk or travel more if they can get the same exact product from Amazon, delivered and at a lower price?

 

      2. Once your brick-and-mortar partners slowly notice that the Amazon sellers are stealing their customers, they will begin to remove your products from their shelves. At this point, there’s no sense in storing your products.

 

      3. Without brick and mortar stores to get your products, the only channel to distribute your products will be online or on Amazon. 

 

     4. You are now simply an online wholesaler and you will start to notice that many third-party sellers are wanting to sell your products on the same platform.

 

     5. Granting more third-party sellers on Amazon without them following a set of guidelines will never lead to more sales, it will only lead to the same amount of sales divided into all these sellers.  Eventually, the interest in sellers selling your product will wane.  

 

    6. Over time, the value of the brand will be devalued and concentrated to only one or two platforms, which further inhibits the brand’s recognition and potential.  

 

Now what? Do you avoid third-party sellers entirely?

 

Not exactly. There is wealth in having a limited amount of trusted third-party sellers to distribute your products. And if you select the right sellers, all of you will grow to prosper. 

 

Here’s how to get your MAP policy enforced and followed by your sellers:

 

Create and Write MAP Policy Rules in Black and White

 

A written agreement on MAP policy that is justified for both parties, the seller and the brand owner, is the very first step. You see, nothing beats anything that is in writing before bringing in your third-party sellers. 

 

The creation of MAP policies can be as simple or as complicated as a brand owner would like to make it.  Much of this depends on the size and reach of the brand.  However, the basic necessities of a MAP policy are the following:  Effective date.  To whom it applies.  The definition of the MAP.  To which retail platforms it applies.  Who monitors and makes the decisions about MAP.  And the consequences if MAP is broken.  

 

With writing MAP policy rules, you also need to be clear about what kind of consequences await those who violate these rules. It does very little good to have these policies but then never enforce them.  

 

Make it Serious, Enforce the MAP Policy, and Show no Exceptions

 

As mentioned earlier in this article, Map Policy execution is not easy for busy brand owners. However, the importance of it can not be understated.   

 

For one, if you find a violator who did not take you seriously, make an example and give the appropriate consequence of their action. Make it known to your other sellers that you take your MAP policy seriously and there will be consequences to anyone who violates it. 

Serial Numbers might be Your Best Friend

 

Serial numbers can be your best friend and for a very good reason. You see serial numbers track everything and give you clarity on where the leak is coming from. This is true especially when an unauthorized seller pops out of nowhere. 

 

Give yourself a chance to do a test buy through an unauthorized seller. Once you get the product, track the serial number from where it is shipped off. This helps you better understand exactly who the unauthorized sellers are.  

 

Offer Manufacturer Warranty on Products Sold by Authorized Sellers

 

‘Material Difference’ in legal terms is an infringement on the brand owner’s original product. An example of a good material difference that can be defended, even by Amazon, is the manufacturer’s warranty. 

 

You see the manufacturer’s warranty on products sold by authorized sellers over products with no warranty through unauthorized sellers is heavily encouraged by trademark lawyers. You are best to follow this advice and list your authorized sellers on your website. If anyone violates, you can definitely send them a cease and desist letter and everything that follows after that. 

 

Brand-gating could be an option

 

There are a whole lot of steps to follow if you want your product to be gated on Amazon. The four important steps are:

 

1. Getting your brand registered as a trademark in a country where you want to sell your product.

 

       2. Enrolling in the Amazon brand registry.

 

       3. Contact Amazon and submit a list of your most important and/or most counterfeited ASINs (Amazon Standard            Identification Number) to Amazon

 

      4. Inform Amazon of the resellers you authorized to sell your brand.

 

Another layer of protection that Amazon has recently released is the Transparency Program.  This is another item-level tracing service that places a unique transparency label on each of the products.  This allows only the correct products to be sold by authorized retailers and it protects the brand’s exposure to counterfeits.  This is a service that Amazon offers only for brand registered products.   

 

Get One of Your Resellers to Monitor MAP and Report it to You.

 

As you build relationships with your resellers and retain a strong foundation of doing business, you can ask a trusted reseller to monitor MAP for you. Regardless, some of your sellers would even do it for you without asking because it is not only good for the brand, it is good for the resellers also.  

 

VDM Partners has always been committed to brands that we sell.  Having our own brand that we monitor ourselves, we understand the importance of brand protection.  And we not only commit to improving the Amazon listing and the rank of your products, but we also can be your MAP police in order to enforce MAP for other sellers. Our goal is not only to have our partners get as many sales as possible but also to help in building a world-class brand that is respected across all selling platforms.  Aiding in implementing a MAP policy and policing that is just one level of service we can offer your brand today.