Exclusive distributor

#21

Fine, you say you have a contract with the Manufacturer so then what you need to do is the following:

First make sure you the other competitor is selling the same thing and not something similar, that it is the same brand, do a test buy.

Secondly, you need to contact the manufacturer/factory and ask them how this is possible that these products are sold to non-authorized dealers.

Thirdly, you want to go into that rabbit hole of what the distributors are doing and to whom they are selling to, have fun with that because you still can’t touch the reseller if these were bought legitimately. You mentioned that you have to be authorized distributor, what if there is another authorized distributor selling to whomever, you can’t control what the other distributor does.

And another point, if you are a distributor, distribute, sell wholesale don’t compete with the retailer. Then you won’t have to worry about who’s selling with you because you are selling wholesale.

#22

Haven’t you read my first post? They are saying they got the products from a department store in Korea. That department store is a huge big time department store there.

But if an authorized distributor closes the business then yes I would know about that and I have no problems with it as long as they are bought within US soil.

#23

Good point. I know it doesn’t look good doing retail while being a distributor. This is a new brand introduced in the US. Somebody’s gotta spread the brand. We are just doing this temporarily until we have enough retail channels.

#24

That’s my question too… That’s why I think it’s not genuine besides the fact that they are not authorized seller.

#25

No they put that in their product condition field as follows and that’s how I know they got it from a department store in Korea.

+“Manito Castle Alpha Stroller Weather Shield / Rain Cover (Purple). Purchased from Shinsegae Department store, Korea’s most exclusive and famous department store. All our Manito products are made in Korea and are absolutely 100% genuine. This is shown by the Manito label being present and watermarks on our baby pram covers. Cheap Chinese imitation products do not have this label or watermarks. All our products come sealed in original Manito packaging. All our products are checked by Amazon.com before being shipped to you. Delivery is 1-3 days after order. Free delivery is available… If you want to return the product please return it free of charge in it’s original packaging with one month of ordering it… We have been selling a variety of products through Amazon.com for the last 5 years. Thanks!”+

#26

How many did this other seller buy form this Korean department store? So they bought them retail and they can still compete with you? Were these on sale?

#27

If a total stranger contact myself or many other sellers out here by email saying what you told him, I would lie to you just like many others would because we have no idea who you really are and it would be none of your business who we got it from.

#28

Have you contacted the manufacturer to ask them about it?

Are the products you’re selling branded or modified for the US Market? Instructions in English, UPC instead of EAN, etc.? If the Korean versions are different than what you’re selling, you can get them kicked off your page(s). But you’ll have to do a test buy of the merchandise to confirm it’s different. Most people suggest doing it with a different account, not your Seller account.

#29

Yes it is true and I try to move much merchandise as possible so my prices are not bad. They are not my competition, they are my authorized seller’s competition. My authorize seller sells in FBA $14.49 vs this seller sells $13.99 using FBA (originally listed as $14.99 but nothing was selling so lowered the price). Since both of them are FBA my authorized seller is losing business because of this. I don’t sell using FBA just because I want to give benefit to my authorized seller so they can take benefit of Prime Members. So for that particular item, my seller was selling much more than I was.

I checked the department store’s website and their prices. If you list them in Amazon after you purchase those in retail prices, after FBA fess and Amazon commission, margin is so thin that it is not even funny.

Edited by: ManitoShopUS on Dec 6, 2013 9:04 PM

#30

On one hand you say you don’t think the products are genuine and on the other you say you believe your competition when they say they were purchased in a Korean department store. It seems to me you simply do not want competition. If you were moving much merchandise I would imagine you would be able to get a better price than from a retail department store in Korea. I suggest you put as much energy into developing more channels of distribution rather than trying to create a monopoly for yourself. If your competition can make money buying retail in Korea and shipping here and then reselling it…good for them. I looked at their listing and they are completely honest about it. As someone else told you, lawyers will say anything when they are paid by the hour (like some other ancient professions).

I do not believe you can stop someone from selling something they own. Are you saying I cannot sell my Buick because I am not an authorized Buick dealer?

#31

So you have added another level to the distribution chain that also wants to make money. Trying to elimination your seller’s competition is not the way to do it. There are lots of actions you can take:

  1. Lower the price you charge your seller.
  2. Suggest your seller lower their price.
  3. Both of you lower your price.
  4. Increase volume and negotiate a better price with Manito.
  5. Eliminate one of the middlemen in your chain (that would be you or your seller).
  6. Take a loss for a while and hope your competition gives up.

There are probably other things you can do as well. I do not think you will succeed in getting Amazon to not allow the resale of items your competitor lawfully owns and is forthright about their provenance. And, frankly, I hope you do not succeed. The one area you probably have an advantage on is that you may be able to offer a manufacturers warranty on the items. But maybe you do not have such an agreement with the manufacturer but I see you competition essentially takes the warranty risk upon themselves. For low priced items it is not much of a risk. So in the end I think you have to cut out a middleman or accept smaller profits. Did you make promises to your seller you cannot keep?

#32

TECHNICALLY, Amazon owns the Catalog Listing Page, and all the information contained therein.

So, if anyone is infringing upon your “Trademark,” it would technically be Amazon, and that is who you would need to have your Attorney go after to Sue.

And good luck with that.

Amazon’s use of your Trademark would be protected under the nominative fair use defense, and not subject to the Lanham Act false advertising/trademark infringement claim.

It’s already been ruled on, and a precedent has been established in Tiffany Inc. v. eBay Inc., 600 F.3d 93 (2d Cir. 2010.)

Read up.

Tide.

#33

Hello all, I have already been told by Amazon.com that I am able to sell these online and I believe Amazon messaged ManitoUS and informed them of this. I don’t appreciate another company suggesting my products must be fake because I can sell a little cheaper than them. I did not message Manito US directly as I didn’t want the hassle of arguing with them. Amazon checked the products, so they are not fakes. I purchased them from a very reputable department store in Korea, not a five dollar market stall in China. I would not risk a shut down of my Amazon account by selling a few fake Manito products. In fact these are not selling very well anyway, as they are a niche, seasonal product.

ManitoUS are now using the forums to complain and blacken my reputation. I was made aware of this today when somebody using the forum brought this to my attention. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I have been selling on Amazon for 3 years, and have sold many different brands. This is the first time I have had another seller trying to “bully me” off of selling something which they are also selling. It seems they want to be the only seller listing these products on Amazon.com and want to have a monopoly on the site. The department store which I purchased these products from also order from the same supplier in Korea, which supplies ManitoUS with their Manito baby products. I told the store I would export them and they were happy with that. Also consumers in the USA are able to buy these Manito items from Shinsegae department store’s online website anyway! Other Korean stores such as E-Mart and Homeplus (Tesco) also sell these to overseas customers, so ManitoUS obviously do not have exclusivity to sell in the USA. There are a ton of sellers selling them on Ebay too. There must be USA department stores also selling these. It would be impossible for a company to be awarded exclusive selling rights across such a large area as the entire USA. The retail markup in Korea for Manito products is around 80%, which is high for this kind of product. I negotiated a bulk buy discount, which leaves me with a reasonable enough margin to make selling them worthwhile. Also ManitoUS are directing Amazon customers to buy from their own website, which breaches Amazon’s selling rules. I don’t know what else to say really. I enjoy buying and selling openly on the internet, and feel it would be a sad world if an open marketplace become a one seller marketplace.

#34

Just FYI, having your mankito website in you logo is against Amazon rules and will get your account suspended. You need to remove the .com from logo. Amazon policy is that you are not allowed to mention website anywhere. The only ones that are allowed to mention website are companies that are owned by Amazon (such as Zappos.com, Diapers.com, Soap.com, YoYo.com)

#35

Yes, you do have rights. You may file a lawsuit against this seller asking a court to order the seller to stop selling this item.

If you win that lawsuit and the seller loses (or doesn’t file) an appeal, then Amazon will remove the seller’s listing.

Amazon is not in the legal enforcement business without a court order. You do have rights, but you must first go win in court.

That will cost money, perhaps a lot of money. If you were hoping that Amazon would simply obey you without making you spend a lot of money, well, sorry, but they won’t.

#36

You are doing nothing wrong and many of us other sellers support you!

If the markup is as big as you say then maybe next time I go back to Korea I should stock up on FaceShop products to sell here.

Maybe I should check out these Manito products and start an import chain going.

#37

I see you fixed the logo, which is good. But, you also need to remove the website from everything. You have it in About Us, Shipping Policy, Privacy Policy, Returns & Exchange Policy (3 times), your FAQs (you tell ppl two different times to visit website for list of authorized vendors and mention the .com multiple times).

#38

OutWest thanks for the advice. We copied all that info from our site and have not noticed on that. We’ve removed everything so it should be ok now. Thanks.

#39

Dear university-books1,

We sent you an inquiry the first time. Maybe you could have explained all this before hand. Also, you can check with Total Kids Corp. in Korea and ask if we are exclusive or not. I wouldn’t have sent or offered anything to you to become authorized reseller if I’m not exclusive distributor in the US. Now I understand everything, good luck. I am not going to argue about this anymore. Thank you all

#40

I am glad you did not give in to being bullied. Good luck.