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You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.
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If you’ve been selling on Amazon, then you’ve probably come across a number of product categories that are restricted. Perhaps you want to expand your Amazon business or are looking for opportunities in the restricted categories on Amazon?
Whatever the case, you can get ungated and start selling products in those categories.
In this article, we have put together all you need to know about how to get ungated on Amazon including how to apply and useful tips to help you get approved.
What exactly does it mean to get ungated? Well, Amazon has put selling restrictions on certain categories, subcategories, brands, and products. This means that new sellers can not sell in these categories without getting approval. So getting ‘ungated on Amazon’ simply means getting approval to sell restricted goods. Getting ungated gives you the opportunity to sell in categories with less competition and increase sales on Amazon. Many Amazon FBA sellers believe that the Amazon ungating process is complicated. But this is not always the case. Some categories are surprisingly easy to navigate while others need just a little more work.
There are specific codes of conduct that businesses must adhere to or risk paying huge fines or even losing their licenses. To protect its brand integrity, Amazon gates certain categories, subcategories, and brands. For example, big brands like Nike are gated to protect the quality of the products. Also, some categories in the Health and Personal Care category are gated to ensure that all products sold are safe for consumption.
In general, Amazon gates products to ensure safety, increase consumer confidence, encourage fair pricing and maintain the integrity of the platform.
A gated or restricted category on Amazon requires that you apply for approval before you can sell it. Here are some gated/restricted categories on Amazon:
Also, there are some ungated Amazon product categories that contain gated subcategories. For example, the Health & Personal Care category has some gated subcategories like:
Amazon could change its policies from year to year. This means that a gated category could become ungated and vice versa.
The application process is quite simple. Here are simple steps to get ungated on Amazon:
It is important to note that Amazon may not always accept ungating applications for some categories.
Amazon doesn’t explain the ungating process and in some cases may reject your application without giving you a reason. So, we have compiled some useful tips that can increase your chances of getting ungated on Amazon.
It is important to include your supplier’s contact information in your application especially if you sell via fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or you have a dropshipping store. This will help Amazon establish your brand credibility. You want to ensure you establish a good relationship with your suppliers by paying on time. In your application form, include your supplier’s name, email, and business phone number.
Most applications will request your invoice for the ungating process. You want to ensure you attach the final invoice which comes after you’ve purchased your product from your supplier and not the initial invoice for order confirmation. Basically, your invoice should include the following:
You want to ensure that every part of your application is as legitimate as possible. This includes your invoice. It is important to send it in a format that is not editable. So instead of a Word format, a PDF file or JPEG will be more ideal. You may also take a photograph if you have the hard copy version.
To get a better chance of getting your application approved, it is important to pay close attention to your address. Ensure that your Ship To and Bill To addresses match each other. In addition, ensure that these addresses match the address information on your Amazon Seller Account. You want to make sure that everything is accurate and up-to-date before you even begin your application.
To make it easy for your Amazon service agent and probably get on their good side, you can take out time to convert all EAN, ISBN, or UPC numbers to ASIN. Doing this will make it easy to cross-reference the gated categories and brands. However, you want to make sure you don’t edit or alter your final invoice.
Before giving you access to sell in certain categories, Amazon will want to make sure you have strong performance metrics and a good reputation with your customers. Here’s what you should aim for:
If you don’t want to deal with the entire ungating process, you can always employ the use of an Amazon Ungating Service. These companies will handle the whole process and help you develop an effective strategy to get ungated. Of course, you will need to pay these companies for their services. However, If you successfully get ungated, this could be a worthwhile investment. Some of these Ungating services include Ungating Amazon, The Funnel Guru, Ungating Guru, and so on.
There is no definite answer to this question. Approval can take anything from a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks depending on a number of factors. Some product categories take a short time while others may take longer depending on the amount of documentation required. Also if you have good performance metrics, this could speed things up a bit.
If there is a large number of applications, you can expect that the approval process will take longer.
Getting through the ungating process can seem daunting. However, once you get ungated, you can get access to more customers, increase sales on Amazon and expand your business. You can implement the tips above to get ungated and start selling today.
You’ve probably already considered selling on Amazon but its way easier than you think.
Call Us Now