I sell in the coins category so this is a very niche question.
Since coins don’t have a brand (The government makes them) everyone sells under their own trademarked business name. I was speaking to a friend who sells on amazon and apparently, I need to have my items properly bundled with my own item in order to not get flagged by amazon for misuse of trademark. I am confused and would love some insight on how to properly do it.
I am no expert, but I poked around in Amazon’s collectible coins. It appears to me that your friend meant either to bundle coins together in some way (e.g., “a pound of wheat pennies”), or to provide an additional item with the sale.
And yes, they all appear list themselves as brands and manufacturers, and some are clearly part of Amazon’s Brand Registry.
Many of them use FBA, too, which I found interesting given cost for lower-inventory collectible items and uncertain storage conditions, but meh, what do I know?
Finally, just some unsolicited advice @Resaleretail – many of the existing listings have multiple violations and multiple Sellers whose items don’t appear to be consistent with the main images and descriptions.
With your own brand and your own branded add-on item in your bundle, create your own new branded listings.
Your main image should include your branded item in addition to the coin, but not text or a watermark.
Use BR if possible as a barrier to other Sellers jumping on.
Hype your specific premium storage conditions, packaging, and treatment of your coins.
Be clear if you have or have not “cleaned up” the coins in any way.
To clarify he meant bundle items such as a George Forman Grill with a private label grill cleaner. (Just an example not what he or I sell).
For the formatting of the title/ description what the correct method?
For the bundle with a premium package method how prominent does the mark have to be and does it need to be embossed or would an ink stamp suffice?
Does BR mean brand registry? If so, I already have a trademark pending and have been selling under that brand.
Lastly to clarify, what exactly do you mean by " many of the existing listings have multiple violations and multiple Sellers whose items don’t appear to be consistent with the main images and descriptions"? I know there are sellers who do a bait and switch, but what other violation are you referring to?
I had a great post on this in the OSFE … but alas … it’s gone. I don’t know if I have the energy to redo it.
Read over the Bundling Policy. It will tell you that listings like the example you mention of the G.F. Grill are in violation. Yes they get by most times, but they are still a violation.
I’ve done a deep dive and couldn’t find correct information that wasn’t contradicting itself or another post. For my scenario and based on what papy said, what is the correct method? I am stuck and amazon customer support has not been helpful.
US Mint is not a trademark by the government. It is controlled by a single person who is listing under that. There are a few variations of the name that only one specific seller will sell under.
What’s the proper way to photograph and title a coin and a premium holder that is branded?
What type of branding has to be on the item that is considered branding?
Here’s an example ASIN, emblematic of many collectible coin listings, with multiple violations across the entire listing and most offers: Pound of Wheat Pennies. I personally don’t have the energy right now to delineate all the violations, but day-um… And this is just the last ONE of the MANY coin listing dumpster fires I saw in a brief dig earlier today.
Be sure to read the entire descriptions of all offers AND the reviews.
It gives you so specifics; one of which is this, ““Unsearched” bags, rolls, tubes, jars, or any other unknown bulk coins sales are not allowed. The detail page must clearly identify to the customer the specific coins they are purchasing.”
I find the question to be extremely difficult to answer because there are coins listed in the Collectible Coins Category and there are coins listed in Toys and Games.
The coins listed in toys and games usually have b.s. brands and usually are from sellers who have not qualified for Collectible Coins.
IMO coin bundles are not intended to exist on Amazon, but probably have existed for longer than the Collectible Coins category has.
The pound of wheat pennies listing that @papy linked to is in toys and games.
I do not think Amazon is actively enforcing their rules relative to coins, but do believe sellers who list in toys may find themselves collateral damage from Amazon safety initiatives.
As for collectible coins, the best Amazon can offer is benign neglect.
My unstudied opinion is that if you want to sell online, Ebay is the place to sell your coins. But the competition on Ebay is fierce.
Whew, good catch! I didn’t even check because I searched “collectible coins”. And still, tons of listing violations, even for T&G category (one of mine). Thanks for that algo, Amazon.
To clarify I sell exclusively in the coin category. I am not selling pounds, rolls, etc. Soley type coins (I know it is a tiny market, but an additional wing to my brand and more clicks. Also improves SEO by having more links online of my brand).
For your listings what do you do? Can you show me a correct example in order to not receive any violations?
I was told they disbanded the backend team for coins which is why customer support has been ZERO…
Thank you for providing the additional information.
I’ve read all of this when I began and comply with all of it. My question is specifically about the brand to list under to comply with Amazon’s TOS.
As for the example listing with the ASIN: B08DWP23NC that is clearly against amazon’s TOS and based on the reviews the listing they are scamming customers.
Certainly! I was simply cautioning you against using these as a model of how to list and/or jumping onto an extant listing without fully investigating it first.
In terms of formatting and photos I still am not sure what is considered proper and listing items with a premium packaging. Here are a few ASINS. Are they correctly done?
B0B3PXL77V
B07KCL9L4H
For ASIN B0BZWZ5P1Y what is the correct brand to list under? Would I have to bundle it with a pouch like MSG does? It has been graded but is a one of one since there is a certification.
In terms of formatting and photos I still am not sure what is considered proper and listing items with a premium packaging. Here are a few ASINS. Are they correctly done?
B0B3PXL77V
B07KCL9L4H
For ASIN B0BZWZ5P1Y what is the correct brand to list under? Would I have to bundle it with a pouch like MSG does? It has been graded but is a one of one since there is a certification.
I had a moment to check one of these and did not see any obvious violations, but I am not qualified to say whether or not it is completely violation-free. It was ten times better than the ones I found through searching, though! Nicely done BR listing for sure.
Two possible issues (not necessarily violations) I noted:
The main image should likely contain only one image of the coin, saving what I think is the image of the back for another image, to prevent any confusion by Buyers that they are receiving two coins (yes, even though the text clearly specifies receiving only one coin).
Otherwise, these images were good and very clear. In this case, the certificate of authenticity–whether it is actually legitimate/acceptable provenance for these “mint” coins–plus the acrylic capsule set this listing apart into “branded” bundle territory.
The A+ content is only images and not ASIN-specific…but maybe that’s just my own (non)preference as a shopper.
looks like a proper listing to me. It needs no brand. Pages are not shared by multiple sellers in the collectibles categories.
No problem I see with B0B3PXL77V or B07KCL9L4H Though the brand is more appropriate for B07KCL9L4H than B0B3PXL77V
IMO B07KCL9L4H is different from other coins because it us a way of selling silver and unique silver at that.
I do not want to encourage bundling items which are too inexpensive to justify the individual sale of. In general, many bundles sit unsold because no one wants all of the components of the bundle. It is a rare bundle that offers a buyer value, most are just an attempt by the seller to make stuff go away, and it does not make the stuff go away.
So far as I am concerned if you must enter a brand, generic would be just fine since no one else can list on the page you create.