Amazon Lawyer: What NOT To Do When Going up Against Unauthorized Resellers

by | May 1, 2024 | Podcast | 0 comments

CJ Rosenbaum
CJ Rosenbaum

CJ Rosenbaum is an Attorney and Partner at Rosenbaum & Segall, PC, which helps Amazon sellers protect their accounts from suspensions and trademark, patent, and copyright infringements. With over 25 years of experience representing entrepreneurs, he has written six books on Amazon product sales and account suspensions and has participated in dozens of global Amazon speaking events. Before venturing into the Amazon space, CJ was a trial lawyer. He has been quoted about Amazon suspensions and appeals in publications and media outlets, including Forbes, CNBC, FOX Business, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, International Business Times, Daily Journal, and The Seattle Times.

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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • [0:00] Introducing CJ Rosenbaum, the leading authority in Amazon legal affairs
  • [3:29] The risks of going head-to-head with unauthorized Amazon sellers
  • [8:02] Will Amazon reveal its algorithm to the public?
  • [10:12] CJ addresses Amazon’s new customer return policies
  • [16:05] How TikTok Shop will impact Amazon sellers
  • [21:34] The ramifications of the FTC lawsuit against Amazon
  • [29:50] A lawyer’s advice for managing third-party Amazon sellers 
  • [43:46] Why is it so difficult to become profitable on Amazon?
  • [47:30] Rapid-fire segments with CJ

In this episode…

Losing money to an unauthorized Amazon seller can be infuriating, and going head-to-head with them in court may seem enticing. While brands that take this route may win in the end, it’s an arduous process that’s rarely profitable. How can you protect your brand against third-party sellers and adapt to the changing landscape?

Having spent his career in the trenches of the Amazon legal space, CJ Rosenbaum recognizes the risks and hidden stipulations behind legal proceedings. Before filing a lawsuit, he says to conduct asset searches to ensure you can receive payment upon winning the case. After evaluating the assets, you may find that the third-party seller lacks the funds to compensate you appropriately. In this case, rather than fighting it out in court, include your exclusive distribution rights in your warranty, denying third-party sellers delivery rights. This gives you the legal right to remove these sellers from your listing.

In the latest episode of What The Teck?, Rolando Rosas interviews CJ Rosenbaum, an Attorney and Partner at Rosenbaum & Segall, PC, about Amazon legal regulations. CJ explains Amazon’s algorithm changes, the ramifications of the FTC lawsuit against Amazon, and the challenges of becoming profitable on Amazon.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

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Episode Transcript:

CJ Rosenbaum 0:00

$3.4 billion. We can frighten people get screwed over there with a lawyer who knows about operating in a courtroom. Absolutely. Europe, but I think it’s also a little scary. I have yet to meet a single lawyer,

Intro 0:13

CJ Rosenbaum the leading authority and Amazon Legal Affairs known for his extensive courtroom experience and dedication to educating brands and sellers from 1000s of videos online.

CJ Rosenbaum 0:25

I think it’s also the beginning of the end of a lot of medical providers. I call my doctor as like, oh, he can come in in three weeks, right? I’m like, you, I’ll call Amazon. I’ll have a guy on a video. Razzie. Oh, bought up tons and tons of Amazon based brands and businesses, and they’re filed for freaking bankruptcy. That’s crazy. And those are the aggregators who had all the tools at their disposal. So I think Amazon is still a great opportunity for anybody who’s willing to work at it, put their blood sweat and tears into it. I can’t tell you how many get rich quick passive income scams pop up on my feed. I would add the Lamborghini if anyone is showing you a picture their car, I wouldn’t believe me if anyone is starting with pictures of their freaking cars, their watches and that kind of, to me snake oil run the other way. If somebody’s telling you give me 25 grand for passive income or if there’s other boats. run to the hills. Okay, run to the hills.

Rolando Rosas 1:28

You know what, CJ, you make too much sense. Okay, so here’s this welcome to What The Teck? your gateway to business strategies and tech secrets, shaping today’s workplace. Let’s welcome to the show. Our repeat guest CJ Rosenbaum. CJ, good to see you.

CJ Rosenbaum 1:52

Hey, Rolando. First of all, I am only the best in the world because I got the best team in the world. Okay. All out to our incredible team. Amazon sellers are like our bread and butter. You guys built this firm by us helping you in solving problems together. But as many of you have obtained exclusive distribution rights to sell brands, we grow in that area as well. So we help you protect your brands from other sellers. Not only do we help Amazon sellers and brands with legal issues, my team is the best in the world with non legal issues like plans of action for in authentics, or you sold this new Are you no bullshit, sorry about my language, Rolando. And go ahead,

Rolando Rosas 2:34

no, go ahead. Don’t feel to yourself out because people want to know the real you is. And for me when I said in the piece, in full disclosure, we have retained CJ and his firm in the past. And also in full disclosure, I gotta say, not only are we happy, and sometimes we don’t see eye to eye because I look at things from our business operations. And you have this holistic approach in where, you know, I say CJ, darn these this so and so this vendor, this supplier, this brand, Amazon, is there any way we can tell them? We’re not fucking around? And sometimes you say, you know, Rolando made that. But that may not be the right approach today, maybe we should just try to use honey to get to where we want to go. And that’s what I like about you. Because you know when the right tact is required, depending on the situation. Well,

CJ Rosenbaum 3:29

you know, it’s sort of like, when you’re building a house, right? You have a general contractor who watches over the the guys who the wood guys, the electricians, the plumbers, right? There’s a general contractor who knows all and many times sellers, like you or others will call someone who is only focused on one thing, and they don’t see what’s down the road. So my responsibility is to treat the entire business or the entire seller, or the entire brand. So like if you want to go full bore against so and so. But it’s going to fuck you up 10 ways. My job is to say, hey, Rolando, I agree with you. You’re right, they shouldn’t be allowed to screw you. But here’s the risks you’re likely going to face. Plus, there might be some anticipated consequences. So let’s look at the problem as a whole business operation to figure out what’s best and listen, sometimes the best thing to do is like fucking nothing.

Rolando Rosas 4:26

And yes, you told me that the other day. That’s right, we walked through a scenario where, you know, we had a legitimate problem in the six figures with a vendor and you walked we walked through the math, and you’re like, I don’t know, at the end of the day, you go through all of the math, you may you may end up with $0 when you try to claw this stuff back.

CJ Rosenbaum 4:46

That’s right. So like listen, plenty of times. I’m not saying this was your issue. Okay, so I never reveal anybody’s confidences. But you know, I get a call Ring Ring ring. I want to sue somebody and said that’s great. It If we win on everything, how much money you’re gonna get 50 grand, 100 grand, I’m like, it’s not worth it. It’s not worth the time, it’s not worth the effort. There’s no guarantee. So like, oftentimes I gotta say, Nope, I cannot take your money because it doesn’t make good business sense. And

Rolando Rosas 5:17

not. So what I like about you, because that’s not the answer I wanted, I wanted you to say, yep, held it, we’re going into court, we’re going to drag all this stuff in, and we’re going to sue the pants off of them. Because you’re, you’re you’re not only right, you have the law on your side. But you’re going to get, you’re going to feel better at the end of the day. But in this case, just like, you may not feel so good, because we may not get as much or nothing. In which case, you’re back at square one.

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