Brand Gating 101: The Facts You Need to Know Now

Update 6/15/17: Amazon recently contacted sellers of certain Nike brand ASINs to alert them that they may no longer sell those products on the marketplace. Click here to learn more.

Whether you are new to selling on the Amazon marketplace or have been doing it for a while, you’re going to want to understand how brand gating works. In our recent webinar, Dan Meadors of The Wholesale Formula explained strategies for success.

Although policy changes can be challenging at first, Meadors noted that brand ungating provides a great opportunity for sellers. “All Amazon changes are to benefit the customers, which do benefit the sellers. If you think about this, it [brand gating] also helps you develop better relationships with your manufacturers. For example – to avoid counterfeiting,” he said.

Brand Ungating Procedures

If you want to become an authorized seller, you must follow the proper procedure. You'll need three invoices or a letter of authorization from the manufacturer. As Meadors explained, this authorization process helps to filter bad sellers out of the business, so it’s actually helpful to all of us.

There are two ways to prepare your paperwork. Meadors provided very specific instructions on exactly what you need for a successful brand gating application.

Option One: Provide Manufacturer Invoices

As Meadors put it, "The more info, the better!" If you're providing invoices from the manufacturer in order to get a brand ungated, the following details must be included:

Seller contact information: name, address, email, phone number, website
Dated within the past 180 days
Names of products purchased
Reflect purchases/deliveries in the past 180 days
Issuer's contact information: name, address, phone number, email, website

Remember these important tips when gathering your manufacturer invoices:

They must have the proper date on them.
Must include purchase and delivery information.
Both the company address and website must match on the invoice.
The product you purchase needs to be in a commercial quantity – more than 30 units.
This also needs to be specified in units, not case packs. The units must be visible.

Option Two: Get a Letter of Authorization

This is Dan’s favorite way to become an authorized seller because it is very simple. He noted that it's important to be upfront with vendors about where you are selling their products. That makes it much easier to ask for a letter.

Here's what the letter must include:

Dated within 90 days
Manufacturer name and contact information
Your legal business name or the name that corresponds to your Seller Central account information
Legible and written in English
Your physical address