Effective September 1, sellers on the US Amazon marketplace will be required to show their name and address on their seller profile page. [This change will make the US consistent with the European, Japan, and Mexico marketplaces, that have always had this feature because of local laws.] Armed with the name and address of sellers, it will be easier for registered brand owners to monitor and manage their third-party sellers. However, brands still will not be able to send cease and desist letters directly from the Buyer-Seller Messaging system on Amazon. Such letters will be blocked by the system. Cease and desist letters will need to be mailed via traditional channels.
HINGE COMMERCE’s Third Party Tracking report will include this seller information, in addition to the sellers’ ratings, their MAP compliance, and the number of SKUs that they are selling within a brand’s assortment. Reach out to us to learn more about our 3P Seller Monitoring.
The note from Amazon explains why they are making this change:
“Over the years, we have developed many ways for sellers to share more about their business, including through features like the Seller Profile page, Store pages for brand owners, and Handmade Maker Profile pages. These features help customers learn more about the businesses of a seller and the products that they are selling. We are making this change to ensure there is a consistent baseline of seller information to help customers make informed shopping decisions.
..You are welcome to add additional information about your business and products that you think would be helpful to customers. However, remember that you should not include an email address in order to prevent spam and abuse. We ask customers and sellers to use our Buyer-Seller Messaging system to communicate electronically.”
Read this related article about how to protect your brand from unauthorized third-party sellers.