Your brand is your most valuable asset, which is why you’ll want to learn about brand gating on Amazon.

Amazon brand gating helps your business prevent unauthorized resellers from using your brand name to sell knock-off versions of your products. Instead, resellers must provide proof that they’re an authorized reseller, like through an invoice and written permission from your brand.

If you’re interested in learning more about brand gating on Amazon, keep reading to learn:

• What is Amazon brand gating?
• How does brand gating on Amazon work?
• Why use brand gating on Amazon?
• Who qualifies for Amazon brand gating?
• How to set up brand gating on Amazon?
• FAQs about brand gating on Amazon

What is Amazon brand gating?

Amazon brand gating, sometimes called Amazon Brand Gating, is an Amazon Brand Registry program that helps your business prevent unauthorized resellers from selling your product or a knock-off version that uses your brand’s name on Amazon.

How does brand gating on Amazon work?

Brand gating on Amazon requires resellers or third-party sellers to prove you’ve permitted them to sell your product. The program uses Amazon Standard Identification Numbers (ASINs) linked to your product catalog and your product listings on Amazon to determine if a seller must provide proof.

Typically, third-party sellers and resellers will receive a notification when trying to use your ASIN. With this setup, Amazon takes a proactive approach by preventing unauthorized sellers from creating a listing, which they need to do to make money off your brand.

Resellers and third-party sellers can gain authorization by providing the following:

• Manufacturer invoice from the last 90 days
• Written permission from your brand to sell your products

They must also pay a non-refundable fee of $1500, which goes to your brand.

What brands like about brand gating on Amazon is that Amazon does the rest of the work after you’ve applied. You don’t have to check for listing hijackers or product knock-offs constantly. Instead, you can count on brand gating to protect your business.

Why use brand gating on Amazon?

Brand gating on Amazon is beneficial for a few reasons, including:

Stop your brand’s counterfeit sellers automatically

In 2020 alone, Amazon seized more than two million counterfeit products sent to Amazon warehouses. Amazon now focuses on taking a more aggressive approach to prevent counterfeit listings, which is why the company invested in brand gating.

With brand gating, your business can stop counterfeit sellers automatically using your product ASIN.

That’s a tremendous advantage because you have a proactive (and automatic) system in place that protects your business from knock-off product sellers. Plus, you save time, which gives you the chance to focus on other ways to drive sales, like through search engine optimization (SEO).

Increase your Amazon sales

You’ll always have competitors, but counterfeit sellers are a separate issue. They take legitimate sales from your brand that you’ve earned through your marketing efforts. Someone has chosen your business and your products but purchased from an unauthorized seller.

With brand gating on Amazon, you can fight back against counterfeit sellers.

The program prevents these sellers from even listing your product (or their knock-off version), which helps your company capture more sales from the marketplace because you’ve eliminated a source of lost sales.

Protect your brand’s value

Counterfeit products are rarely equal to the original.

Shoppers who purchase a knock-off product, but don’t realize it, will associate their experience with your brand. When someone mentions your brand or asks for a recommendation related to your product, that shopper won’t recommend you.

Instead, they’ll share their product experience, which will push people from your brand.

That all-too-common scenario can cause significant damage to your brand. Whether through in-person or online interactions, word-of-mouth is extremely effective at persuading someone to make a purchase or look elsewhere.

With Amazon brand gating, you can help people find, purchase, and experience your product. The result? People share real, authentic experiences with your product, which you can use as a trust signal or resource for your design and development team.

Who qualifies for Amazon brand gating?

First, brand gating is available to Amazon Brand Registry members, which requires a registered and active text- or image-based trademark issued by a government trademark office in one of the following countries:

• United States
• Brazil
• Canada
• Mexico
• Australia
• India
• Japan
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Turkey
• Singapore
• Spain
• Netherlands
• Saudi Arabia
• United Kingdom
• Sweden
• Poland
• European Union
• United Arab Emirates

If you meet these requirements, you’ll need to complete the application process for Amazon Brand Registry. After you’re approved, you can start applying for Amazon brand gating — keep reading for a walkthrough.

How to set up brand gating on Amazon?

Now that you’re an Amazon Brand Registry member, you can set up brand gating on Amazon.

Just follow these steps:

1. Compile your product ASINs

Begin by creating a list of product ASINs you want to protect with Amazon brand gating. If you have an extensive product catalog, start with products that generate the most sales and have been targeted by counterfeit sellers before.

You’ll then forward this document to your dedicated representative or contact at Amazon.

2. Document your company’s strategy for preventing counterfeits

However, before sending your product ASINs, set aside some time to document your company’s current efforts and procedures for preventing knock-off or counterfeit products from reaching the marketplace. Some Amazon specialists believe Amazon prioritizes applications combatting counterfeiters actively.

For example, has your business:

• Enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry? (This is an easy yes!)
• Applied your logo to your products and product packaging?
• Offered your products in bundles?
• Uploaded your products to the Amazon Transparency Program?
• Submitted your issues via the Report Infringement form?
• Sent your counterfeit sellers cease-and-desist letters?

All this information can inform Amazon about your efforts and help your business get brand gated.

When creating your document, stay focused and concise in your documentation. You want to make reading your document and following the cases easy. Include images too, like copies of your cease-and-desist letters, to provide proof of your efforts.

3. Submit your application

Once you compile your product ASINs and documentation for fighting product knock-offs, you can proceed with submitting your application for Amazon brand gating. Contact your Amazon representative to file this documentation and track your application status.

FAQs about brand gating on Amazon

Looking to learn more about brand gating on Amazon? Check out our FAQs:

Is Amazon brand gating free?

Yes! Your business will have to set aside time to create your application and apply to Amazon Brand Registry, but the service is free. That’s why it’s a smart idea to join Amazon brand gating since you can capture more sales by stopping unauthorized sellers automatically.

When will Amazon approve my brand gating application?

Three to five weeks is the average review time for brand gating applications. If you’re trying to get approved sooner, some businesses have reported success with submitting only a few product ASINs (like their top sellers) to start.

Protect your brand and increase your Amazon sales today

With Amazon brand gating, your business can put a stop to counterfeit sellers on Amazon and the harm they cause, whether by decreasing your sales, affecting your brand reputation, or damaging your products’ value.

If you’re interested in joining brand gating but don’t have the time to compile the documentation and submit the applications, WebFX can help. Use our team of Amazon specialists to become a part of not only brand gating but also Amazon Brand Registry — minus the hassle and headaches.

Contact us online or give us a ring at 888-601-5359 today to learn more about how we can help!