Brand restrictions are definitely not a brand new thing for Amazon sellers to deal with. They've been around since I started selling WAY back in 2009. Norelco is one of the original restrictions I remember having to deal with!

Then, a couple of years ago, we saw mass panic amongst Amazon sellers when Frozen toys and Star Wars toys became restricted. So although I know brand restrictions can be very frustrating, trust me it’s not a radically new concept and you aren't the only Amazon seller who's had to navigate them (you can do it!).

Why Does Amazon Restrict Brands From Third Party Sellers?

Amazon wants to be known as a safe place for consumers to buy with confidence. Unfortunately, some sellers sell counterfeit products and it hurts us all! Restricting regularly counterfeited brands is one way for Amazon to combat the issue.

Counterfeiting isn’t the only trouble area either, there are also sellers who will pass off product that’s not in the kind of condition Amazon would like. Like we always say “New is NEW” and “If you wouldn't give it as a gift, it isn't NEW”. But sellers still like to bend the rules and it makes us all look bad, unfortunately.

Situations like this mean that consumer confidence is down and people start to question whether they can should even buy on Amazon. There have been news stories reporting that buyers aren’t feeling as confident as when Amazon first started because of counterfeit product and sellers who are bringing in products from China.

The top 4 reasons we have seen for Amazon restricting brands are:

items are often counterfeited

items are easily stolen from retail stores

the brand doesn't want the perceived value to be decreased

the brand is sold exclusively elsewhere

Amazon has long had a brand registry, where brand owners could go through a process to register a product as theirs and say they didn’t want others to sell it. However, the brand wasn’t actually restricted, which is why some brands would Cease and Desist letters to sellers.

Now Amazon is allowing brands to register AND restrict sales by 3rd party sellers on the Amazon platform. This is the proper channel for brand owners to restrict there products. Unfortunately, some seller still resort to sending scathing emails through “contact a seller”…Which is totally a lame process in my opinion!

Here Are The Current Brands That Do NOT Allow 3rd Party Sellers On Their Listings

Since Amazon has not provided us with any type of actual list of brands that can't be sold by us, we have crowdsourced our own list!

Below you will find all of the brands that currently restrict 3rd party sellers, that we are aware of.

We try to keep the list to major brands, and not private label brands as those would almost always fall under brand registry or not want other sellers on their listings.

If you find a brand that is not currently on the list, but you have been restricted from selling it you may submit it here and we will add it to the list.