Buy Box Experts Sees Amazon Tighten Up UPC Access

Universal product codes, or UPCs, are the 12-digit numbers shoppers see under the barcodes on products sold in the US. Companies that sell products in retail stores and online, such as Amazon, need barcodes for their products for standardization and inventory control. While UPCs have been around for decades, counterfeiters have found them to be an opportunity to flood the Amazon marketplace with knockoff products. This has lead Amazon to start tightening up on UPC access.

Retailers need different UPC codes for every product they sell. Each UPC may designate a different product, or the same product but with a different variation in size, color, etc. Since the UPC is on every product, counterfeiters have easy access to duplicate a product and even match its UPC, allowing them the ability to inject their fake goods into Amazon’s marketplace. Amazon’s new UPC enforcement is looking to put a stop to that injection.

Amazon’s UPC problem stems from unscrupulous sellers using the system to sell counterfeit merchandise. Sellers of counterfeit merchandise buy barcodes to make their products look legit on Amazon. Some sellers of brand name products substitute or include in the bundle other products not belonging to the brand.

Amazon has started addressing the problem by mandating that only valid UPCs supplied by GS1 be recognized. Amazon verifies the authenticity of merchandise UPCs by checking them against the GS1 database. UPCs that do not match the information in the GS1 database are deemed invalid.

Joseph Hansen, Co-Founder of Buy Box Experts and FBA selling coach, comments on Amazon’s new UPC policies, “Amazon recommends that sellers obtain their UPCs directly from GS1 and prohibits getting UPCs from other issuers. This will prevent some sellers from making up their UPCs or purchasing barcodes from third party retailers, minimizing counterfeit products on Amazon.” He continues, “While there are other options to buy from Internet-based sellers of UPC codes, submitting inventory to Amazon won’t be guaranteed to pass their UPC quality control checkpoints.”

In addition to new UPC policies, Amazon rolled out a new Brand Registry. Amazon’s new Brand Registry allows sellers that manufacture their own products to take better control their products and listings to minimize re-sold and counterfeit products on Amazon. The rolling out of Amazon’s new Brand Registry also allows sellers to file reports and complaints about infringement of trademarks. Amazon keeps on improving the rights of brand owners protect the reputation of their products, keeping Amazon the leader in quality goods.

While there are still several outstanding issues surrounding the crack-down of counterfeit goods on Amazon, this is a step in the right direction. To learn more about Amazon’s continuous policy updates, visit BuyBoxExperts.com.

About Buy Box Experts

Buy Box Experts specializes in Amazon account management, including A+ content detail pages, Amazon product SEO, and brand equity management. Amazon sales consultants and branding strategy managers at Buy Box Experts help businesses sell more on Amazon and protect their brand equity.