How to Handle Duplicate Listings on Amazon

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There’s nothing more frustrating for an Amazon seller than discovering a competitor is hijacking your sales through a duplicate listing. Duplicate listings create ASIN confusion, split your review pool, dilute your sales velocity, and can permanently damage your brand’s integrity.

How To Handle Duplicate Listings On Amazon, Infobeam Solution

Whether created by error or by a malicious competitor, knowing how to handle duplicate listings is a non-negotiable skill for protecting your business. This guide will show you how to find, report, and prevent duplicate ASINs to ensure your products maintain their rightful place in the Amazon catalog.

Table of contents

What is a Duplicate Listing & Why is it Harmful?

A duplicate listing is a second product detail page (ASIN) created for the exact same product that already exists on Amazon.

Why duplicates are a critical problem:

  • Splits Sales Velocity: Your sales are divided between two pages, making both appear less popular to Amazon’s A10 algorithm, which hurts your organic ranking.
  • Dilutes Reviews: Customer reviews are spread across multiple listings, reducing the social proof on your main listing.
  • Hijacking Risk: Unscrupulous sellers can use the duplicate listing to sell counterfeit, used, or different products under your brand name.
  • Buy Box Suppression: You are forced to compete against yourself, often causing neither listing to win the Buy Box consistently.
  • Wastes Ad Spend: You might accidentally run PPC campaigns on the wrong ASIN, burning money on a page you don’t control.

How to Find Duplicate Listings

Be proactive. Regularly search for your products to catch duplicates early.

  1. Search by Product Name: Use your exact product title and model number in the Amazon search bar.
  2. Search by UPC/EAN: If a hijacker creates a new listing, they may have used your product’s UPC.
  3. Use Brand Analytics: If you’re Brand Registered, use the Brand Analytics search query tool to see if traffic is going to unexpected ASINs.
  4. Use Third-Party Tools: Software like Helium 10 or Jungle Scout can help monitor your brand for new, unauthorized listings.

How to Handle Duplicate Listings: A Step-by-Step Guide

Your course of action depends on whether you are Brand Registered and who created the duplicate.

Option 1: You Are Brand Registered (The Best Case Scenario)

This is your most powerful tool. Use the Report a Violation (RAV) tool in your Brand Registry dashboard.

  1. Navigate to: Brand Registry > Report a Violation
  2. Select: “Product detail page violation” as the issue type.
  3. Select: “Duplicate detail page” as the specific violation.
  4. Provide Evidence: Enter the ASINs of both the correct original listing and the fraudulent duplicate listing.
  5. Explain: Clearly state that the duplicate ASIN is for an identical product and is creating confusion in the catalog. Specify that you want the duplicate merged into the original ASIN or deleted.
  6. Submit: Amazon will investigate and typically resolve the issue within a few days.

Option 2: You Are Not Brand Registered

This process is more manual but still effective.

  1. Contact Seller Support: Use the “Contact Us” > “Selling on Amazon” > “Products and Inventory” > “Product Page Issue” path.
  2. Choose: “Merge duplicate product pages” or “Fix a product page.”
  3. Provide Clear Information:
    • The ASIN of the original, correct listing.
    • The ASIN of the duplicate listing.
    • A clear explanation that they are for the exact same product.
    • Proof, such as images showing both products are identical and share the same UPC.

Option 3: If the Duplicate is Your Own Mistake

If you accidentally created two listings for the same product, you can often fix it yourself.

  1. Delete the Incorrect ASIN: If the duplicate has no inventory or sales history, you can simply delete it from your inventory management page.
  2. If there is inventory, you must first create a removal order to have the inventory sent back to you before you can delete the listing.

How to Prevent Duplicate Listings from Happening

Proactive prevention is the best strategy.

  1. Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry: This is your #1 defense. It gives you authority over your brand and access to powerful reporting tools.
  2. Use GTIN Exemption Correctly: If you are GTIN exempt, be extremely careful when creating new listings to avoid generating duplicates.
  3. Always Check Before Creating a New Listing: Always search by UPC/EAN first to see if a listing already exists.
  4. Use a Flat File Inventory Loader: For large catalogs, using a spreadsheet to upload products can reduce human error that leads to duplicates.
  5. Monitor Your Catalog: Regularly use the “Manage Your Inventory” page and search tools to check for duplicates.

What NOT to Do

  • Do NOT add your inventory to the duplicate listing. This only legitimizes the fraudulent page.
  • Do NOT engage with the hijacker. Never place an order from them or message them. Work only through Amazon’s official channels.
  • Do NOT ignore it. The problem will not go away on its own and will likely get worse.

Conclusion: Protect Your Most valuable Asset: Your Listings

Your product listings are valuable digital real estate. Duplicate listings represent a direct threat to your revenue and brand equity. By enrolling in Brand Registry, vigilantly monitoring your catalog, and using Amazon’s reporting tools correctly, you can defend your territory and ensure your products maintain their hard-earned ranking and sales velocity.

Spending too much time fighting hijackers and duplicate ASINs? Let InfoBeam Solution protect your brand. Our account management services include proactive monitoring and enforcement to keep your catalog clean and your sales focused.

Learn About Our Brand Protection Services, contact us: +91 96545 53640 or email sales@infobeamsolution.com.

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