MAP Policy

On piece of advice that I can give any company who sells product is to create a watertight MAP policy. Not just one that sets the pricing structure but one that talked about the policies around your resellers selling your product online. 

Too many times I have talked to small, medium and even multimillion dollar companies and they do not have this in place. By all means this is not the end all be all to stopping resellers but it can help the beginning stages of tracking down these violators. 

Amazon is an open marketplace, meaning anyone who has your product can sell it on the same listings that you are on. Think of a store and it’s shelf space, but in this case it’s different vendors selling the same product. 

A watertight MAP policy that is signed by the dealers will help with the beginning stages and potentially help you stay in front of unwanted resellers on marketplaces. There are lots of ways to track down where the product is coming from but this does require some detective work. What we are seeing lately is the onslaught of “just launched” sellers, they pop up with minimal amounts of products sell through them and then launch as a new seller, proving to be very difficult to track. 

Being proactive when it comes to reselling your products is way better than being reactive. Your business can thrive, and when it does (if it not already) then stay in front of the Wild West of the marketplace tactics that are out there. Create a watertight MAP policy, remember other legit businesses want to sell your product, that’s how they make money, if they value the brand and relationship they should abide by the internet policy you have in place.