🪥 Gleem Brand Gating Case Study – Documented Enforcement Inconsistencies

Case Summary:
After successfully selling Gleem products without issue, Amazon retroactively applied a brand restriction to my account. Despite this, my Gleem listings remain active, fulfillable, and continue to receive orders via FBM. The same products are unrestricted in Canada and Mexico, and remain fully sellable on Walmart. This case demonstrates Amazon’s inconsistent enforcement logic and the presence of a silent backend restriction not grounded in policy or communicated via Seller Central.

📅 Timeline of Events

• Jan 21, 2024: 25 units of Gleem purchased from XYZ (PDF sales order on file)
• May 2, 2025: Brand approval request submitted with supporting documentation and sales history
• May 7–11, 2025: Amazon acknowledges case receipt; no resolution provided
• May 8, 2025: Executive reply states: “There is no further action… case will be resolved.”
• May 22, 2025: Gleem ASINs remain active and selling under FBM
• May 29, 2025: New Gleem order successfully fulfilled
• June 3, 2025: Case open >30 days with no substantive response

📦 Contradiction: Active Listings Despite Brand Restriction

The following Gleem ASINs remain live and fulfillable via FBM:

Amazon support claims I am restricted from selling these ASINs — yet listings remain active, visible, and shippable.

🖼️ Visual Documentation

📄 Submitted Documentation

• XYZ sales order (PDF)
• Dated Jan 21, 2024 — includes SKU, quantity, location, and payment details

This is the same documentation Amazon has accepted in multiple IP, counterfeit, and authenticity removal cases — now rejected for brand approval with no policy rationale or alternate instructions.

See supply chain arbitration framework →

⚠️ Enforcement Inconsistencies

• No notice: Restriction applied silently — no dashboard warning or case creation
• Conflicting support: Appeals denied while listings remain active and sales continue
• Partial enforcement: Cannot create new listings or send FBA — but existing FBM listings stay live
• No remediation path: Case remains open and ignored for 30+ days

💡 Root Cause: Residual Trust Flag

This pattern suggests the presence of an unacknowledged backend restriction tied to a legacy enforcement flag. Amazon’s system blocks new listings and inbound FBA SKUs — while failing to deactivate existing ones. This is not a brand restriction, but a fragmented enforcement artifact stemming from unresolved account flagging.

Result: Sellers are left in procedural limbo — able to sell, yet simultaneously denied brand approval with no resolution process.

⚖️ Legal Standing

Pursuant to Section 18 of the Amazon Business Solutions Agreement, I reserve the right to pursue arbitration based on:

• Rejection of previously accepted documentation
• Contradictory enforcement across Seller Central workflows
• Ongoing collection of fees on “restricted” listings
• Failure to provide access to a fair review or remediation process

🧾 Conclusion

I am requesting clear and consistent application of Amazon’s brand approval policies. If I am permitted to sell Gleem, it should be acknowledged. If I am restricted, my listings should be blocked accordingly. The current contradiction — in which active listings remain live under an invisible restriction — is procedurally unsupported, unenforceable, and actionable under arbitration.