Case Study: Sigil's Removals Stop Price Erosion

Introduction

Ecommerce used to be a much simpler space to do business. Even though unauthorized sellers (who we call “gray marketeers”) have always existed, the strategies for dealing with them ranges from concerted effort to apathetic acceptance.

No more.

Sigil’s price protection system effectively finds and eliminates unauthorized sellers of products without the need for threat or tying up your legal counsel's time. The following case study highlights how Sigil’s Gating technology for removing unauthorized sellers protects brands’ online pricing, can restore control of their marketplace buy box, and correct price erosion—better than anything else on the market.

The Story of the Client

The client is a medium-sized company that produces several well-known products in the infant and juvenile products industry. The client was dealing with a problem many multi-channel retail suppliers are faced with today: price erosion due to unauthorized sellers of their products on major online marketplaces.

In this case, one of the client's cornerstone products had eroded 41% due to the presence of unauthorized sellers. As a result, the company no longer controlled the authorized buy box on Walmart.com. Losing their pricing online also had a cascade effect that forced prices on their product lower on other ecommerce sites and in brick-and-mortar channels. Worst of all, as an infant product, there were concerns that these products could be counterfeits, which not only damages goodwill in a company that emphasizes trust and safety, but exposes children to potentially unsafe products.

Seeking a solution, our client reached out to their existing brand protection firm, a well-known, large, international agency. Despite using then-current state-of-the-art techniques, they simply could not stop the unauthorized seller problem.

Frustrated by their current provider, our client asked Sigil for help.

How Sigil Responded

Once contacted by the client, Sigil’s removal technology quickly identified the unauthorized sellers (at that point, we call them “bogeys”). After identifying the bogeys, Sigil’s technology investigated the listings, gathering necessary legal evidence to build a case against each one. With proof of unlawful activity in hand, the bogeys are reported to the marketplace for removal.

Reporting sellers to marketplaces can be a time-consuming and challenging process. Many suppliers lack the strategy and bandwidth to effect action from marketplaces. Removals do this for the client and a fraction of the time or cost.

The Results

"Bogey Down!"

Once the team at Sigil put the Removals strategy in place, Walmart responded quickly to remove the unauthorized sellers from the client’s listing. The client regained control of the buy box, and the listing price re-stabilized.

In less than two weeks, every unauthorized seller had been removed. After months of struggling on their own and with other branding agencies, Sigil’s removal technology swiftly solved the problem.

Sigil is eager to help more clients with gray marketeers, counterfeiters, and other gray market threats. If you are struggling to keep your buy box and maintain MAP pricing online, take a look at our pricing tiers schedule a demo and see how effective Sigil’s removal technology can be to protect your prices online.