Hi guys, help a bro out here !

I want to start selling international cosmetic brands like ceraVe, ordinary, Skin1004 in my own country using instagram but im totally new to this business I did some research on my own and I dont know where to start, I came across companies like q-depot and yesstyle but there wholesale price is quite alot with there limit to minimum quantity you can buy which is more than 100 units per order , I am run short of money and I also wanna sell in affordable price as I came across some pages who sell authentic products in lower price , ofcourse they wont share there secrets I ordered from this one page and there products are authentic as I used CheckFresh site to put the code from packaging and I got the manufacturer date and stuff plus the printing code on the package also looks real –dotted type; considering that the price they are selling is almost lower than the wholesale price of products on q-depot I asked them about it and they say its because they are wholesalers themselves and sell directly on there own page which is why they are able to sell at such a low price.

So, I came across another site called ‘globalsources’ where the wholesale price is very low but I read some concerns about its validity and authenticity while also learning about the facts that product might be original but might not be authorised by the original brand more like manufacturer stuff , should I go with them ? will I be fine , there are some badges granted by site itself to those sellers/manufacturers/wholesalers in ranking ordered like verified exhibitor, verified standard and premium legendary etc I did some research on the company info and came across nothing but some random news or maybe they are valid signs like one company is from uk and its trading brand name and the shareholder name is available on uk find-and-update site and another with its shareholder name and identity on linkedin with 120+ connections Idk if its a good sign or bad so just share some insights regarding anything.

I dont have much budget I can only manage upto 2-3k USD for now and upgrading it while doing this business as side to idk maybe main someday,hence, Im thinking of buying some authentic and low budget products that I can upgrade later which are also verifiable plus the cost of shipping and packaging and sites creation are another hustle that I gotta figure out on my own.

So, any advice or experience is appreciated.

Hi everyone, I want to share a shocking and deeply unfair blackhat tactic that has completely crippled my business—and could easily happen to anyone selling on Amazon.

My direct competitor, who sells the exact same product as me, fraudulently stole my trademark by forging documents and submitting them to the USPTO. In just 7 days and with a $200 fee, they managed to transfer my trademark ownership. They did it twice—first to an unknown individual, and then to themselves—both transfers conducted by the same lawyer, Grace Zhang.

Once my competitor took control of my trademark, they filed two infringement complaints against my own Amazon listing. The result? Amazon shut down my account, froze my cash flow, and is now preparing to destroy all of my inventory.

We contacted USPTO immediately, however they told us we need to wait another 7 months (totaling 9)to assign an examiner to update “ownership”.

Meanwhile, Amazon has flagged my inventory as “inauthentic” and plans to dispose of all my stock within 30 days. The financial damage is devastating—we are already suffering a $200,000 loss, and with cash flow cut off, we are struggling to stay afloat and may be forced into bankruptcy. We can no longer afford to pay our employees.

Counterfeits & Reputation Damage

Since losing control of my trademark, my listing quality has plummeted because my competitor entered my listing and is now selling counterfeits —resulting in listing quality drop and permanent damage to my reputation. Meanwhile, the fraudster sits back and profits from my hard work while completely destroying my brand. Even taking legal action feels useless because my competitor is using a fake identity from China, making enforcement nearly impossible.

The Most Outrageous Part?

The USPTO approved the 1st transfer despite an obviously incorrect record of my citizenship. Then, they approved the 2nd transfer with the signature box left blank, with only a single page of text claiming that I agreed to transfer my trademark. Despite these clear and blatant errors, the USPTO still approved both fraudulent transfers. I have no idea how such sloppiness got through, but now I am the one paying the price.

Desperate for a solution, I hired an attorney for $550 per hour, who told me that I could file a corrective declaration—a process that shouldn’t take more than a month.

What can be even worse?

After submitting a corrective declaration, the same USPTO agent put my First and Last name wrongly, causing another 7 months delays in updating the trademark ownership because they need to “manual check”. At this point, with so many glaring mistakes—wrong citizenship, missing signatures, name mix-ups—it no longer feels like incompetence. It feels deliberate. At this point, it’s hard to believe this is just a series of unfortunate mistakes.

A friend who works in intellectual property suggested that this may involve an Insider Fraud within the USPTO assisting the fraudster—approving the transfer, deliberately delaying corrections, and giving my competitor just enough time to profit before the fraud is exposed.

As for now, Amazon is not willing to do anything because the USPTO still listing them as the “current owner.”

Still Fighting to Get This Resolved

This should be a warning for every business that relies on USPTO protections and Amazon’s brand registry—because if this loophole exists, no one’s brand is truly safe.

Has anyone else encountered something like this? Any advice on how to speed up the process would be greatly appreciated.

Hi everyone, I want to share a shocking and deeply unfair blackhat tactic that has completely crippled my business—and could easily happen to anyone selling on Amazon.

My direct competitor, who sells the exact same product as me, fraudulently stole my trademark by forging documents and submitting them to the USPTO. In just 7 days and with a $200 fee, they managed to transfer my trademark ownership. They did it twice—first to an unknown individual, and then to themselves—both transfers conducted by the same lawyer, Grace Zhang.

Once my competitor took control of my trademark, they filed two infringement complaints against my own Amazon listing. The result? Amazon shut down my account, froze my cash flow, and is now preparing to destroy all of my inventory.

We contacted USPTO immediately, however they told us we need to wait another 7 months (totaling 9)to assign an examiner to update “ownership”.

Meanwhile, Amazon has flagged my inventory as “inauthentic” and plans to dispose of all my stock within 30 days. The financial damage is devastating—we are already suffering a $200,000 loss, and with cash flow cut off, we are struggling to stay afloat and may be forced into bankruptcy. We can no longer afford to pay our employees.

Counterfeits & Reputation Damage

Since losing control of my trademark, my listing quality has plummeted because my competitor entered my listing and is now selling counterfeits —resulting in listing quality drop and permanent damage to my reputation. Meanwhile, the fraudster sits back and profits from my hard work while completely destroying my brand. Even taking legal action feels useless because my competitor is using a fake identity from China, making enforcement nearly impossible.

The Most Outrageous Part?

The USPTO approved the 1st transfer despite an obviously incorrect record of my citizenship. Then, they approved the 2nd transfer with the signature box left blank, with only a single page of text claiming that I agreed to transfer my trademark. Despite these clear and blatant errors, the USPTO still approved both fraudulent transfers. I have no idea how such sloppiness got through, but now I am the one paying the price.

Desperate for a solution, I hired an attorney for $550 per hour, who told me that I could file a corrective declaration—a process that shouldn’t take more than a month.

What can be even worse?

After submitting a corrective declaration, the same USPTO agent put my First and Last name wrongly, causing another 7 months delays in updating the trademark ownership because they need to “manual check”. At this point, with so many glaring mistakes—wrong citizenship, missing signatures, name mix-ups—it no longer feels like incompetence. It feels deliberate. At this point, it’s hard to believe this is just a series of unfortunate mistakes.

A friend who works in intellectual property suggested that this may involve an Insider Fraud within the USPTO assisting the fraudster—approving the transfer, deliberately delaying corrections, and giving my competitor just enough time to profit before the fraud is exposed.

As for now, Amazon is not willing to do anything because the USPTO still listing them as the “current owner.”

Still Fighting to Get This Resolved

This should be a warning for every business that relies on USPTO protections and Amazon’s brand registry—because if this loophole exists, no one’s brand is truly safe.

Has anyone else encountered something like this? Any advice on how to speed up the process would be greatly appreciated.

I am the owner of a registered brand. But I would like to sell the branded products under a different business name. Is this possible?

I am the owner of a registered brand. But I would like to sell the branded products under a different business name. Is this possible?

My seller account was shut down, a while ago, for no reason given, and Amazon never explained why. It’s been some time, but I’m trying to get it reactivated. I can log in, but then I get to a step, which it prompts me to select an account. There is only one option, in the pull down menu, the name of my store. I click on it.. the select button is deactivated. It does nothing. It does not respond to my cursor. Nothing. And I can’t get any support from Amazon, while logged in, because the option does not come up.

Newbie here and I cannot locate my 1099. I’ve looked everywhere on the site but I just don’t see it.

My seller account was shut down, a while ago, for no reason given, and Amazon never explained why. It’s been some time, but I’m trying to get it reactivated. I can log in, but then I get to a step, which it prompts me to select an account. There is only one option, in the pull down menu, the name of my store. I click on it.. the select button is deactivated. It does nothing. It does not respond to my cursor. Nothing. And I can’t get any support from Amazon, while logged in, because the option does not come up.

Newbie here and I cannot locate my 1099. I’ve looked everywhere on the site but I just don’t see it.