DEFINITION:
A competitor’s ability to increase its market share is affected by a product developed by a firm that is comparable to that competitor’s product.
To put it another way, a me-too listing, sometimes referred to as linking, is the act of tying our product to one of our strong rivals in an effort to steal its customers or reduce its market share.
EXPLANATION:
Me-too items are regarded as dangerous since the business might not have the knowledge or experience required to develop a competitive product. Additionally, there is a significant chance of being charged with the infringement action brought by the rival website we are linking to. But only if he is the legitimate owner of his brand and has a registered trademark. Our account is highly likely to be suspended as a result of numerous infringement cases, which is the primary danger associated with me-too listings.
HOW TO DO:
Even though we are aware that me-too or copy listings are against Amazon standards, individuals continue to do them since, in a roundabout way, Amazon is indirectly enabling them because it cares about sales and many sellers are making hundreds of dollars through them. Simply select the ASIN of the rival whose listing we want to copy and set the condition to “New” before clicking the “Sell Yours” button.
Then set a sales price for your offer and try to compete on pricing to get the buy box and sales. Give the quantity after entering the price, and make sure you always choose “Fulfillment by Merchant / Seller.”Then click “Save and Finish,” and your listing will be prepared to sale.
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDELINES FOR LIST A PRODUCT:
STEP 1:
(Go to Amazon Dashboard)
STEP 2:
Click on “Catalog” in the top left corner of the page. Click the “Add Products” button there.)
Or, you may also find the “Add Products” option under “Inventory.”
STEP 3:
(Clicking “Add Products” will take us there. The product name or ASIN of the item we want to link, create a copy listing for, or place an offer for will be added here.
STEP 4:
(Once we enter an ASIN, the search icon will direct us to that page. You can see a “Select a condition” option with an arrow pointing downward in front of a product. Toggle that arrow.)
STEP 5:
(When you click the arrow, a drop-down option with different product conditions (new, used, etc.) will show up. In these conditions, we won’t sell or list our product. (Choose a condition.)
STEP 6:
Clicking “Sell this Product” (which turns blue after condition selection) will send you to the back end of your product listing after you’ve chosen the condition.)
STEP 7:
(The backend window’s This Offer section will appear after clicking “Sell this Product”).
STEP 8:
Choose Shipping Template, enter Price, SKU, and Condition (choose the same condition as what was chosen earlier, for example). If New, choose New here as well.)
STEP 9:
Include the handling time and the product’s tax code (A GEN TAX is typically used to collect taxes from clients). And yes, if you’re selling “Used” goods, you should choose the “Used-Like New” condition option here. You should also add the phrase “Brand New (Never Used) in Original Box and Condition” to the “Condition Note” field. Finally, choose “Merchant Fulfilled” and press “Save and Finished” to finish linking that product. Additionally, this listing will appear in the “Manage Inventory” area.
Any product on Amazon will be linked to a listing in this manner. The competition we are partnering with must not have a registered brand, or else he may claim trademark infringement against you.
METHODS FOR BRAND ANALYSIS:
By entering a competitor’s ASIN in the “Add a product” search window and waiting for the “Need Approval” button to appear, we may determine whether or not the brand is registered.
The second method of verification is to visit the detail page and look for the A+ Content. He can file a complaint against you if the listing has A+ Content, which indicates that it is a brand. (The first approach is more recommended.) Here are some approaches as examples:
NEED APPROVAL OR APPLY TO SELL:
A+ CONTENT:
PRODUCT RESEARCH:
The intriguing part is that there is also a straightforward process for conducting product research for me-too listings. These considerations are as follows.
CRITERIA: –
- The product must be more than $15 so that we can have a good profit margin
- The profit margin must be a minimum of 10-15%
- The product must not be under the registered brand
- The product must be on more than one marketplace
- The product source must be a manufacturer or a big seller
- The number of reviews must be between 200-500
- There must be more than 2 new sellers on the listing
HOW TO GET RID OF HIJACKERS OR LINKERS:
There are two methods to take hijackers off of our list.
- Letter of Cease-and-Desist
- Report an instance of infringement
LETTER OF CEASE-AND-DESIST
We write to them through the link on their Seller Profile and ask them to withdraw their offer if we are not brand registered. Inform them that you are the private brand’s owner and that you have used legal action and Amazon complaints to successfully suspend the accounts of previous account hijackers.
REPORT AN INSTANCE OF INFRINGEMENT
When we are brand registered, we have legal ownership of our brand and can file a claim of infringement against the hijacker using the parent seller account on “brandregistery.amazon.com.” Within 30 minutes, Amazon will remove the hijacker. Though it usually happens within the time frame mentioned above, sometimes it may take longer.