Is it a Good Idea to Sell Branded Products on Amazon?

I currently manage an account that sells officially licensed Disney products–Marvel and Star Wars properties included. And I kid you not, selling branded products has its own challenges. To be able to list any products under the Disney brand, or any big brand for that matter, you need two things:

1. Approval from the brand–i.e. letter of authorization or FAMA
2. For the brand to authorise your seller account in Brand Registry so you can create listings, create enhanced branded content or A+ content, run sponsored brands campaigns, etc.

It’s important to note that you can’t register for Brand Registry if you are not the brand owner.

Now if you’re not an official licensee or distributor of big brands but you buy branded products from retail stores and sell them on Amazon, these brands won’t be able to give you approval or authorise you to use their brand in Brand Registry because they don’t have an official business relationship with you. The transaction you made is between you and the retail store or wherever you bought the products.

Another thing, when selling branded products as non-official distributor or licensee, you might get a cease and desist letter from an official distributor or the actual brand owner. Worse, Amazon can suppress your listings and put your account at risk of deactivation because of copyright infringement.

We normally get copyright infringement violation emails from Amazon, which is normal, but as soon as we show them the letter of authorization from Disney, the violation goes away and the listings get reactivated immediately.

Selling on Amazon with private-label products is risky enough but if you sell branded products, the risk is higher. I’m not discouraging you–I want to help you minimize risks so you can maximize your limited resources. If you really want to sell branded products, you can start by becoming a wholesaler.