For Amazon sellers, building a successful product listing takes time, effort, and a reputation for quality. But once your product starts gaining traction, it may attract the wrong kind of attention listing hijackers. These unauthorized sellers can wreak havoc on your listing by selling fake or unrelated products under your ASIN, harming your brand, sales, and customer trust.

In this blog, we’ll explore everything you need to know about Amazon listing hijacking, including what it is, how to spot it, what to do if it happens, and how to prevent it altogether.

1. What Is Amazon Listing Hijacking?

Listing hijacking occurs when unauthorized third-party sellers offer counterfeit or unrelated products under your product’s listing on Amazon. These sellers use your ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) and copy your product page images, descriptions, bullet points to deceive buyers.

Two Common Forms:

• Counterfeit Product Hijacking: The hijacker sells fake versions of your product, often of lower quality, which misleads buyers and leads to negative reviews.

• Account Hijacking: Hackers or bad actors gain access to your Amazon account and alter listings, redirecting sales to their own products.

These hijackers often offer lower prices to win the Buy Box and divert your sales, causing confusion among customers who believe they’re purchasing from the original seller.

2. How Is a Hijacker Different from a Legitimate Reseller?

It’s important to distinguish between a hijacker and a legitimate reseller.

✅ Legitimate Resellers:

• Source their products from authorized distributors or directly from the brand.

• Have the right to sell your products through wholesale agreements or contracts.

• Maintain the product’s integrity—quality, packaging, customer service, and pricing.

❌ Hijackers:

• Have no official relationship with your brand.

• Often sell counterfeit, damaged, or used products as new.

• Underprice the original seller to win the Buy Box and disrupt customer trust.

• Compromise the product experience, leading to negative reviews that hurt your listing.

Knowing the difference is critical—while you might tolerate legitimate resellers, hijackers need immediate action.

3. Why Hijackers Target High-Performing Listings

Hijackers don’t randomly choose listings to attack. They are strategic and usually go after high-traffic, top-selling products with strong review histories and high conversion rates.

Their tactics include:

• Price Undercutting: Selling at a lower price to capture the Buy Box and dominate sales.

• Using Your ASIN: Hijackers list their inferior product under your ASIN, which saves them the trouble of building credibility.

• Exploiting Your Reviews: They benefit from your hard-earned positive reviews, even though their product may not match yours.

By doing this, hijackers not only divert sales but also damage your listing’s performance, eroding brand equity and long-term profitability.

4. The Impact of Listing Hijacking on Your Business

The consequences of listing hijacking are more than just a temporary drop in sales they can cause long-term damage to your business. Here’s how:

🔸 Loss of Buy Box

The Buy Box is where most Amazon sales happen. Hijackers win it by underpricing you, even if their products are fake. Once you lose the Buy Box, your sales plummet.

🔸 Negative Reviews

Buyers who unknowingly purchase from hijackers receive poor-quality items. They leave bad reviews, thinking your brand is responsible. These reviews hurt your product rating and search visibility.

🔸 Damaged Brand Reputation

Even one or two negative reviews due to counterfeit products can make new customers hesitate to buy from you. This erodes customer trust, especially if multiple products are affected.

🔸 Revenue Loss

Every unit sold by a hijacker is revenue you lose. Plus, the long-term costs of fixing your reputation and recovering from negative feedback add up.

🔸 Legal Liability

If someone gets harmed by a counterfeit version of your product, your brand could face lawsuits or legal scrutiny—even if you weren’t directly responsible.

5. How to Identify a Hijacked Amazon Listing

The sooner you identify a hijack, the easier it is to contain the damage. Here are some red flags to watch for:

🔍 1. Loss of Buy Box

If you were the only seller and suddenly lose the Buy Box, investigate immediately. Check if another seller is undercutting your price.

🔍 2. Unfamiliar Sellers

Visit the “Other Sellers on Amazon” section of your listing. If you see sellers you don’t recognize or haven’t authorized, that’s a major warning sign.

🔍 3. Unexpected Price Drops

Hijackers often price lower to get attention. A significant and sudden price drop—especially below your minimum advertised price—is worth investigating.

🔍 4. Strange or Irrelevant Customer Reviews

Reviews that mention missing parts, poor quality, or different packaging may not be about your product at all—they’re signs customers received a hijacked version.

🔍 5. Complaints About Shipping Time or Packaging

If you use FBA and customers complain about slow shipping or poor packaging, it’s likely they purchased from a hijacker using FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant).

6. Tools and Methods to Monitor and Detect Hijackers

Being proactive is key. Here’s how you can monitor your listings effectively:

🔧 FeedbackFive

• Automatically tracks new reviews.

• Helps detect counterfeit-related reviews.

🔧 SellerPulse

• Provides real-time alerts on listing changes.

• Monitors Buy Box status and seller activity.

🔧 Helium 10 Alerts

• Notifies you when new sellers join your listings.

• Offers keyword tracking and hijack detection tools.

🔧 Manual Listing Reviews

• Regularly check your listings through the customer’s eyes.

• Compare your inventory with what’s being sold by other sellers under your ASIN.

🔧 Automated Buy Box Monitoring

• Use alert systems that notify you instantly if you lose the Buy Box.

• These tools can often pinpoint who’s currently winning it.

7. What to Do If Your Amazon Listing Is Hijacked

Don’t ignore it—act quickly and strategically.

✅ Step 1: Investigate and Document

• Identify the hijacker’s store name, ASIN, and product page.

• Order the counterfeit product for proof—take clear photos, document packaging, and compare it to your official item.

✅ Step 2: Contact the Hijacker

• Send a formal Cease and Desist Letter via Amazon’s messaging system.

• Be professional but firm. State that they’re violating your IP rights and demand they remove the listing immediately.

✅ Step 3: Report to Amazon

• Open a case through Seller Central Support.

• If you’re enrolled in Brand Registry, use the “Report a Violation” tool.

• Include:

  • Order ID of the counterfeit item

  • Photos showing discrepancies

  • Invoices proving your authenticity

  • Any communication with the hijacker

✅ Step 4: Follow Up Diligently

• Monitor the case’s progress.

• Respond to Amazon support requests quickly.

• If Amazon doesn’t act, escalate using Amazon Legal or Report Infringement forms.

8. How to Prevent Future Listing Hijackings

While you can’t eliminate all risk, you can build strong defenses to minimize threats.

🛡️ 1. Enroll in Amazon Brand Registry

• Grants access to tools like:

  • Report a Violation

  • Listing protection

  • Proactive counterfeit detection

• Makes it easier for Amazon to take action on your behalf.

🛡️ 2. Join the Amazon Transparency Program

• Every unit gets a unique code that buyers and Amazon can scan to verify authenticity.

• Prevents hijackers from listing their own versions.

🛡️ 3. Get a Registered Trademark

• Required for Brand Registry.

• Adds legal weight to cease and desist letters.

• Proves ownership if disputes go to court.

🛡️ 4. Maintain Brand Consistency

• Use uniform branding on:

  • Packaging

  • Images

  • Bullet points

  • Logos

• This helps Amazon spot copycat listings and helps customers recognize fakes.

🛡️ 5. Set Up Buy Box and Listing Alerts

• Use software that tracks your Buy Box and alerts you to any changes.

• Know the moment something unusual happens.

🛡️ 6. Monitor Reviews Actively

• Reviews are often the first place counterfeit activity is exposed.

• Respond to negative reviews quickly and investigate them thoroughly.

9. When to Consider Legal Action

If Amazon fails to remove a hijacker and the damage continues:

• Hire an intellectual property attorney.

• Send a legal cease and desist letter.

• If necessary, file a lawsuit for trademark infringement.

• Use legal action as a last resort—but don’t hesitate if your business is suffering.

Conclusion

Listing hijacking on Amazon is a serious issue that can devastate your business if left unchecked. By staying vigilant, monitoring your listings regularly, and enrolling in Amazon’s protection programs, you can catch hijackers early and take swift action to protect your brand.

Remember: prevention is always better than cure. Protect your products, your profits, and your reputation by staying one step ahead of hijackers.