Should You Use An Amazon Seller Lawyer?
What is an Amazon seller lawyer?
An Amazon seller lawyer is a lawyer that specializes in dealing with legal issues that are common to Amazon sellers. Many lawyers have a lot of experience with ecommerce and Amazon’s platform specifically. They can help you navigate legal issues and list out what options you have as a seller. Some Amazon seller lawyers operate as individual lawyers and there are some Amazon-focused law firms.
Most Amazon seller lawyers can offer a consultation to talk briefly about your needs. You can discuss important issues about your Amazon business and the likelihood of success when you take legal action. The majority of the good Amazon seller lawyers have an active website and a blog. You can check out their free resources because that will likely answer most of the basic questions you have.
Why are Amazon seller lawyers needed?
Amazon seller lawyers are specialists with Amazon’s legal policies. Just like there are divorce lawyers, corporate lawyers, etc., there is a demand for sellers that focus on Amazon sellers. With more than 2.5 million sellers on Amazon, there is a huge demand for Amazon seller lawyers.
Taking Amazon-related issues to a traditional lawyer can be difficult. This is because a seller will likely need to explain Amazon’s policies in addition to explain their complaints. Experienced Amazon seller lawyers have helped hundreds of Amazon sellers that have the same issues you may be experiencing.
When do you need an Amazon seller lawyer?
Generally, if you have an issue on Amazon, you can dispute it with seller support. Seller support works directly for Amazon and will always have Amazon’s interest at heart. Sometimes an issue may persist for months and seller support may refuse to help you. This can be a good time to seek out an Amazon seller lawyer.
You don’t need an Amazon seller lawyer for small disputes. It’s often in your best interest to take the loss and keep it moving. When an issue escalates and has a big impact on your business, this may be a reason to get legal support. Some of the issues that you may need an Amazon seller lawyer are listed below
Scenarios where you should get an Amazon seller lawyer:
- Account suspensions: Account suspensions is one of the biggest reasons you may need an Amazon seller lawyer. Depending on the size of your business, a long suspension from Amazon can make or break your business. Many Amazon businesses have employees, so a long Amazon account suspension can be very costly. First, try to work through it with Amazon. If that doesn’t work, you should get a lawyer.
- IP Claims: IP Claims can be very damaging to an Amazon business. This happens when a company or brand reports an Amazon listing for using their intellectual property. One IP claim may not suspend your account, but repeated claims can put your account in jeopardy. If one listing is a big part of your business, it makes sense to ask for legal help from an Amazon seller lawyer
- Brand damage: Building a brand on Amazon can be very costly and brand owners take their products seriously. If a situation occurs where your private label brand is damaged by an Amazon seller, you can seek reparations with an Amazon seller lawyer.
- Withheld money from Amazon: Amazon can choose to withhold your money for a variety of reasons. When they do this, it brings your business to a complete halt. If this issue persists for months, getting legal help can be your final resort.
- Selling your Amazon business: One of the best times to get a lawyer is when you’re selling your Amazon business. Sellers often build their businesses for many years and the majority of their net worth is in their business. Getting hold of an Amazon seller lawyer will make sure you can sell your business seamlessly and avoid issues that may come up in the future.
How do you find an Amazon seller lawyer?
If you are in an Amazon seller group, there’s a good chance someone has used a lawyer before for Amazon related issues. Asking your immediate circle should be the first step because that maximizes the chance of getting a real review from someone you trust.
Google: Doing a quick Google search on Amazon seller lawyers will bring up lawyers with an online presence. From my own research, the first few sites look pretty old even though they have content. You can go through the first few sites and shoot them an email or a call. The good thing about doing a Google search is that you can get the Google Business reviews. All you need to do is type in their business name along with the word “review”. I’d recommend going with the first few law firms that have ads. They probably have a bigger team and will likely have better outcomes for sellers
Reviews: There are only a handful of Amazon seller lawyers out there, but it’s important to check reviews before working with them. Reviews are probably the best indicator of how good an Amazon seller lawyer is. Taking time to read the reviews will give you a good idea of how sellers have dealt with a certain lawyer.
Does using an Amazon seller lawyer guarantee success?
No. An Amazon seller lawyer is a legal consultant for your problems on Amazon. The better a lawyer is, the higher the chance you can get what you want. Even the best lawyers cannot guarantee success, some situations are very hard to resolve on Amazon. Assuming your problem is a regular Amazon legal problem, it will likely be fixed. If you have a unique circumstance, success is highly dependent on a lot of factors. It’s case by case for most lawyers, but it’s the best shot you have at resolving your issue.
Costs:
The costs can vary between lawyers and law firms. Anyone who has worked with lawyers in the past knows that legal fees can be very hefty. Personally, I would recommend getting a lawyer if my problem was big enough. For example, I wouldn’t mind paying $1,000 to get my account back from Amazon. This is assuming I already have a running business on Amazon that generates profit for me. I’ll have to take my losses and consider it as a cost doing business.
I sent an email to one law firm on Amazon for a quote on getting a suspended Amazon seller account. They quoted me $600 to craft an appeal letter/plan of action to get my account back. Amazon generally asks for those once an account is suspended. I’m assuming the rest of the lawyers are around the same ballpark range for costs. If a case continues on for a long time, I’m sure the costs will go up.
Final thoughts:
As you can see, running an Amazon business is just like running any other business. If you run your business for a period of time, you are bound to have some sort of legal issues. Knowing this ahead of time allows you to plan proactively and not panic when something jeopardizes your Amazon business. It’s always a good idea to keep some contacts and having some Amazon seller lawyers in your file doesn’t hurt.
When I need these kinds of services in the future, I will ask around other Amazon sellers first and ask for a quote from the lawyers I find on Google. This will likely give the best shot at resolving my issue.