Another newbie question. I received this email (see the bottom) from a company demanding me to remove the listing of their products. I guess it was because the price was too low. To be clear, I’ve never heard of this company before. I believe they’re legit. I purchased the products from a liquidation source. I never signed or agreed to this company’s MAP policy. After doing some research, under the First Sale Doctrine, I am lawfully permitted to resell these products, even if I am not part of their authorized reseller program.
However I’m considering making them an offer to buy all my inventory at the price that I’m currently selling on online marketplaces. This would be a win win on both sides. I only have a few hundred units which worth around $20,000 total in retail price. That’s way cheaper than going the legal route. They would get all inventory and control their MAP price while I would get to sell out all my inventory.
I’ve never done this type of deal before. Let’s say if they accept, how would the payment and logistics workout? We would probably need a purchase contract, right? How do I know that I would get the payment after shipping the inventory to them? Or should I collect money before releasing the inventory? Those few hundred units are sitting on 3 pallets in my warehouse. Please advise. Thanks.
It does apply to selling on Amazon or any marketplaces as long as these conditions are met: genuine product, no modification, and not counterfeit. See details below:
Your legal rights and your rights on Amazon are not the same.
The manufacturer may not be able to enforce the MAP in federal or state court, but they may be able to enforce it through Amazon by getting you kicked off the listing, or filing IP complaints against you.
I would think this transaction would take the same form as any other sale of product that you engage in.
You seem to confuse what you can legally sell in regards to being prosecuted by law, versus what Amazon allows you to sell on their platform. You signed a TOS stating that Amazon will determine what you can and cannot do on their platform.
You knowingly and willfully chose to let Amazon determine what can or cannot be done on their platform.
Even the site you linked said this in plain english.
" * Source from Authorized Channels: The single most important step. Purchase inventory exclusively from authorized distributors or directly from the brand. Avoid liquidation sales or unverified wholesale sources."
So there is no chain of custody here, so technically your items are NOT NEW, and should be listed as Used - Like New.
Then I would reach out to them and start a discussion. Because of the violation, they may ignore you right off. You have to find out and make your next move from there.
Thanks for this info. Ok they have no legal legs to stand on for the federal court, but Amazon would listen to this company even though no MAP contract is signed?
Sorry I only sell online. Never had to sell in bulk (multiple pallets) like this before. How do the money and products exchange seamlessly? Utilize an escrow account?
No they will simply state your items are used like Otterbox did and get you suspended because your chain of custody is broken. When asked for an invoice you will be hung out to dry.
How do I know, because I do this exact thing to grey market sellers of our products on a monthly basis.
You are only getting a MAP notice because they are treating you like a dealer… .Until they don’t.
Yup. Company just reports your listing as counterfeit and Amazon nukes you and tells you to provide an authorized invoice. CLOSE THE LISTING NOW. DELETE ASIN FROM YOUR INVENTORY until this is resolved.
I pay my supplier (some net 30, some cc, some bank transfer) and items are shipped.
I know some sellers who import from Alibaba use an escrow, but I believe they cost $ and not all suppliers allow that. Talk to this company and find out their terms.
Sorry I didn’t make it clear. This is corporate liquidation. All products are brand new, not return. Never opened. Never used.
Thanks. Will do.
How about the payment and physical goods exchange? How does that work? Since there would be a trust issue (we haven’t done business together before), I assume that they wouldn’t want to pay first and I wouldn’t want to send the inventory to them first. Utilize an escrow account? Please advise. Thank you.
@VTR and @Pepper_Thine_Angus are correct. Your items may be “new” in the sense that they are still unused and unopened, but they are not “NEW” in the sense that they are supported by the manufacturer, under warranty, etc. You also do not have paperwork to support the supply chain authenticity of your product.
I don’t know what you are selling, but selling them as Used - Like New or similar is probably your best bet here.
“chain of custody is broken” Pepper_Thin_Angus mentioned this as well. Frankly I don’t fully understand what it means. I purchased these items from a multi-billion dollar company who definitely has contracts with the brands. This multi-billion dollar company wanted space in their warehouse and sold me their inventory. Hence I have the bill of sales and everything. It’s brand new, never used. Does this still qualify as broken chain of custody?
