MAP policy on Amazon: what a brand can enforce
A minimum advertised price policy is a brand's own rule for how low its dealers may advertise. On Amazon, the brand enforces it, not Amazon. Here is where the line sits.
By Vance FerryUpdated 2 min read
Apply as a brandDoes Amazon enforce MAP?
Short answer
No. MAP is a policy between a brand and its resellers, and Amazon is not a party to it. Amazon lists Report a Violation as covering intellectual property, store policy and regulatory compliance concerns, and its Brand Registry page makes no mention of advertised price. A seller under your MAP is yours to address.
Amazon's Brand Registry page describes the tools a brand gets: Report a Violation for suspected IP infringement, store policy violations and regulatory compliance concerns, automated protections, Transparency and Project Zero (Amazon Brand Registry). Price floors set by a brand are not on that list.
What can a brand enforce?
Short answer
A brand can set its own unilateral MAP policy and choose to deal only with resellers who follow it. It can stop supplying a reseller that does not. Under federal law these policies are judged under a rule of reason, and some state laws differ, so the wording and how you apply it matter.
The FTC says the law allows a manufacturer to deal only with retailers who agree to its resale price policy, and that a manufacturer may stop dealing with a retailer that does not follow it. It also says the law gives a manufacturer considerable leeway in setting the terms for advertising it helps pay for, that vertical price programs are evaluated under a rule of reason, and that some state antitrust laws view minimum price rules as illegal per se (FTC).
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Have counsel review your MAP policy before you rely on it.
What goes in a MAP policy that works on Amazon?
Short answer
Name the covered products and the minimum advertised price for each, define what counts as advertising on a marketplace listing, state the consequence of a breach and who decides, and say how you will update the price list. Then apply it the same way to every reseller, including the ones that sell the most.
- A dated price list by model number, updated before each season.
- A plain definition: the price shown on a marketplace listing is an advertised price.
- The steps after a breach, for example a notice, then a pause in supply.
- One person on your side who records breaches and decides.
How do you see who is under MAP on Amazon?
Short answer
Check each product detail page on a schedule. When several sellers offer the same product, every offer shows on that one page, with the seller name and price. Record the date, the seller and the price, then match the seller to your dealer list before you act. An authorized seller can do this weekly for you.
Amazon shows every offer for the same product on one product detail page (How to sell on Amazon), so one page per model is enough to see the field. If a seller is not one of your dealers and the units are genuine, the guide to stopping unauthorized Amazon sellers covers test buys and dealer terms. If the price gap comes from your own route onto Amazon, the guide to Amazon routes compares the options.
Sources
Accessed
- Amazon, Amazon Brand Registrysell.amazon.com
- Federal Trade Commission, Manufacturer-imposed requirementsftc.gov
- Amazon, How to sell on Amazonsell.amazon.com