Amazon Transparency is the retail giant’s answer to counterfeit products. The program was launched in March 2017 to protect Amazon’s products and labels in the marketplace.
Since then, Transparency by Amazon has helped mitigate the severe threat of counterfeiters to legitimate sellers.
Below, we review the benefits of Amazon transparency. You’ll learn how merchants can use this tool in the battle against counterfeit products.
What is Amazon Transparency?
Amazon Transparency stands as a cutting-edge brand protection program for sellers. It was introduced in response to the rampant counterfeiting issue that continues to plague the platform, despite efforts to combat it.
In 2020 alone, Seller Logic reported that Amazon had taken decisive action by destroying approximately 2 million counterfeit goods. The marketplace also blocked or removed a staggering 10 billion items from its marketplaces.
Alas, the persistence of counterfeiting on Amazon still goes on, and it poses several challenges for brands.
Beyond the immediate impact on profit margins, counterfeit products inflict substantial damage on a seller’s reputation. Plus, they also erode consumer trust in the platform’s authenticity. To address these concerns, Amazon saw the necessity of developing a comprehensive tool like the Transparency program.
Amazon transparency operates as a pivotal component of Amazon’s brand protection services. The program has a paramount goal: to safeguard seller items across the entire supply chain.
By providing sellers with unique barcodes for their products, Transparency by Amazon empowers customers to verify the authenticity of each item they purchase. This extra layer of security enhances the overall shopping experience, bolstering customer trust in the marketplace.
How Does Amazon Transparency Work?
This innovative process works based on what’s called Data Matrix 2D barcodes. These codes work like any UPC or serial number, allowing sellers to trace back products to their point of origin.
Sellers can use these unique barcodes to label and protect their products. Once the code is in place, users may scan it to verify the item’s authenticity.
Each code is unique for a single product unit, making it harder to duplicate it. Thus, counterfeits can be detected and stopped before they hit the marketplace.
Here’s what you can review when scanning Amazon Transparency labels:
- Where the product comes from
- When an where it was manufactured
- The materials it’s made of
- Expiration date (if applicable)
Amazon Transparency keeps track of around 750 million products. No surprise here, since it’s best to have customers enjoy a positive shopping experience.
When users receive a cheap knock-off, they don’t care if it was their own fault for not thoroughly checking the product before buying. In their view, such due diligence is Amazon’s responsibility.
By extending Transparency to all sellers, Amazon can protect third-party brands, and also ensure that users buy only genuine items.
Related content: Amazon Shipping Label Requirements
How Do I Join the Amazon Transparency Program?
Transparency by Amazon is available in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, India, Australia, and the UK. Here’s what you’ll need to enroll in the program:
- Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry.
- Submit a government-registered trademark that verifies you are the brand owner of your products.
- A Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) for the items you’ll register. For example: ISBN, UPC or EAN.
- Include unique Amazon Transparency Codes on every product, even if it’s not sold.
Once you’re in, your products will each have their own unique barcode, making them super traceable right back to their origin. Plus, the program works seamlessly with other Amazon services, like Project Zero, to keep those pesky counterfeiters out of the marketplace.
Sellers must also provide Amazon with every product they send to the warehouse. This is a key step, because the marketplace investigates all units for enrolled sellers.
Items without a code, or that use an invalid label, will get removed and destroyed. Plus, Amazon will also block the sellers listing to prevent more sales. All these tactics help ensure that customers buy %100 genuine products.
Note: Transparency is not a way to cut our resellers. Amazon will sanction any brand that uses the tool for unethical selling tactics.
How Do I Add Transparency Codes on Amazon
Sellers can register their products via the Seller Central. From here, you can request codes for all the items that you enroll in the program.
Amazon hasn’t disclosed an exact figure, but brands could pay $0.01-$0.05 for each barcode.
Once you have the data, you must learn how to print Amazon Transparency codes. There are two ways o do so:
- Request the labels from an Amazon-approved supplier. In such cases, pricing will vary depending on the amount of labels that you request.
- Print Amazon Transparency Labels.
Remember that each product unit must feature its own barcode. This can be an annoying extra step, but it will protect your brand across the supply chain.
Codes allow Amazon to know which products belong to which brands. It’s also a plus for suppliers or retailers. They can use the Amazon Transparency Scanner to verify the codes.
Note that customers can also scan the label. This way, they’ll make sure they bought an authentic product. So, it’s important to always label your packages before shipping them to the warehouse.
Items without a code, or that use an invalid label, will get removed and destroyed. Plus, Amazon will also block the sellers listing to prevent more sales. All these tactics help ensure that customers buy %100 genuine products.
Why Use Amazon Transparency?
We’ve stated the inner of Transparency by Amazon. Now, let’s take a deeper look at the benefits you’ll get from the program.
Protect Your Revenue
The program may not remove all counterfeiters, but it will protect youth products against hijacking.
When another seller tries to sell your items, Amazon will detect it. This is because the counterfeiter won’t provide a unique Transparency code. So, the fake product will never reach customers.
In short, the program will help protect your brand, and ensure that customers only buy from you, the real seller.
Customer Protection
Besides stealing products, counterfeit goods also eat profit margins. In the worst-case scenario, users will prefer the fake option, just for the pricing.
But users will soon learn they bought a low-quality item. This can only hurt your reputation, and also hurt the customers’ finances.
Transparency can offer your brand an authenticity badge. Both Amazon and your users will be protected against low-quality items, which will help you earn their trust.
Encourage positive reviews
Poor shopping experiences lead to negative customer reviews. By removing the threat of counterfeit items, you can ensure that users always get a positive experience on Amazon.
Plus, you’ll offer products that can help them improve their lives. And in return, they’ll come back and share their delight with other customers.
Final Thoughts
Amazon Transparency is a huge leap forward against counterfeits. It’s both proactive and preemptive, as well as actionable against existing fraudsters.
With your help, it’ll be easier to educate users about counterfeiters. And in doing so, you’ll help eliminate the problem from Amazon.
Authors
Antonella Fleitas is a freelance content writer from Argentina. Antonella worked with many projects to create fact-based, evergreen content about science, language learning, and culture. Her main goal is to build a strong content foundation for her clients, based on meaningful stories that people can learn from.
Julia Valdez is a professional teacher and long-time lover of the art of words on paper and the stage. She has an entrepreneurial heart and spends most of her time doing marketing and management, freelance content writing, volunteer work, and sharing lots of laughs over little crazy things.
