Amazon Transparency Program Review: Is It Really Worth It?
In the world of e-commerce, Amazon stands above all others as the reigning market champion.
According to experts, Amazon.com registers approximately 2.45 billion monthly visits, and in the near future, the site is expected to acquire 50% of the entire e-commerce market.
Beyond unmatched convenience and efficiency, Amazon’s dominance of the online retail field is additionally fueled by how they facilitate third-party sales through their site. Offering programs like FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon), FBM (Fulfilled by Merchant), and SFP (Seller Fulfilled Prime), Amazon makes it easy for third-party sellers to use their platform for a small cut of the profits.
Although Amazon’s third-party programs are successful, they are not free of problems. Counterfeiting, in particular, has been a high-profile issue over the last few years. To help ensure product authenticity and protect the reputations of dependable sellers, Amazon recently introduced the Amazon Transparency Program—a product serialization service that proves to customers that the seller is trading legitimate merchandise.
In this Amazon Transparency Program review, we take an in-depth look into the service to demonstrate how it works and its benefits. By the end, you will be able to determine whether this program is right for you.
Amazon Transparency Program: What It Is and How It Works
The Amazon Transparency Program is a product serialization service that prevents counterfeiting through the use of precisely traceable barcodes. These barcodes differ from standard UPC barcodes in that they not only contain information relating to the product and brand but are tied to specific product units.
Accordingly, if a seller enrolled in the Transparency Program wants to sell 500 product units, Amazon will provide them with 500 2-D barcodes. Every unit receives one code, and as the units make their way through the distribution path, Amazon workers scan them every time they are moved. These actions effectively eliminate the risk of counterfeit products and enable customers to check product authenticity for themselves through a smartphone application.
Beyond product authentication and tracking functions, the Amazon Transparency app also provides sellers with optional customer engagement opportunities. This engagement revolves around providing customers with additional product information when they scan the Transparency barcode.
Customer engagement opportunities include:
- Providing customers with in-depth product data (e.g., manufacturing date and location, development backstory, etc.)
- Offering customers promotional deals such as coupons and rebates
- Incentivizing customers to leave reviews on Amazon
- Sharing additional product information, such as alternate product uses or recipes associated with food and beverage products
Is This Program Right for You?
The Amazon Transparency Program provides sellers with several benefits. The top advantage is that the unique product 2-D barcodes communicate to customers that they are buying an authentic product. Additionally, the Transparency barcodes prevent other sellers from jumping on your product listing to sell questionable goods. This protects the reputation of your products and thwarts other sellers seeking to commandeer your listing to sell potentially counterfeit goods.
The Amazon Transparency Program is available to sellers that are enrolled in either the FBA or FBM programs. However, sellers must also meet these three criteria to qualify for the Transparency Program:
- All sellers must be able to verify themselves as the rightful brand owners of their products via enrollment in the Amazon Brand Registry.
- All sellers must use Global Trade Numbers (e.g., UPC barcodes) on their products.
- All sellers must have the ability to apply the Transparency barcodes on every single unit, either through hand-labeling or automated print-and-apply systems.
If you meet these requirements, you also need to consider the price of the program. As of now, Amazon does not charge sellers to enroll in the program, but it does charge for every unique code that sellers put on their products. Current pricing tiers include:
- 1 cent/code when ordering 10 million codes or more at a time
- 3 cents/code when ordering 1 million - 9.9 million codes at a time
- 5 cents/code when ordering less than a million codes at a time
These costs can quickly add up over time, especially if you aren’t able to print labels yourself and have to turn to an outside supplier. However, for those who qualify for the service and have quality label-making systems, the Amazon Transparency Program is certainly worth the investment.
Counterfeit goods have the potential to damage your reputation with your customers and cause your ratings to plummet. By using the Amazon Transparency Program, you can prevent these negative effects and protect your brand for years to come.
InkJet, Inc. Has the Tools To Help You Understand This Amazon Transparency Program Review
The Amazon Transparency Program enables sellers to thwart counterfeiting efforts and protect the reputation of their products. For many sellers, these benefits far outweigh the per-label cost that Amazon charges program members. However, to make the most of this service, it’s important to have the labeling hardware necessary to create and apply these labels at an efficient rate.
At InkJet, Inc. we help members of the Amazon Transparency Program by providing them with high-quality print-and-apply labelers, printing consumables, and intuitive labeling software. If you’re interested in joining the Amazon Transparency Program, contact us today to learn how you can best prepare your operation for the service.
To go beyond this Amazon Transparency Program review and take steps towards becoming a successful member, contact us online today or call 1(800) 280-3245.