Amazon is absolutely littered with products with unreadable, unrecognizable brand names.
Uieosmuff, Weelux, and Kirkson.
Believe it or not, it wasn't always like this. But where did they all come from?
Are these names simply from some foreign language that doesn't translate well to English?
The answer to the second question is actually no. Although many of these off the wall brands you see
are from China, these brand names are just as fanciful
and meaningless there as they are in the English speaking world.
But before we get into why that is, let's take a step back and explain
where these brands even come from. Although China is the largest country in the world
by population, only a few very large companies dominate the online shopping landscape there.
We're talking companies such as Taobao and T-Mall. And if you're a Chinese seller,
it can be hard to sell on these platforms because there are already so many other folks
trying to sell the same product you have. So it's unsurprising that Chinese sellers
are looking to the American market instead. Amazon gave up on trying to operate
a retail website in China as there was just too much competition,
but Amazon does actively recruit Chinese sellers
to pedal their wares on the US website. The company even holds huge conferences
for folks in China interested in making money on Amazon,
a practice that began circa 2015. Not only is it a big opportunity for the sellers,
but it also gives Amazon another source of cheap goods they can use to undercut competitors
like Walmart in the US. The reason these names are so random
is that it makes it much easier for these brands to obtain a trademark,
which is extremely important for selling on Amazon. You see, Amazon has a program called the Brand Registry,
which provides sellers with important benefits such as reduced fees, cash back,
a campaign asking customers to leave trusted reviews
and notably help with marketing and advertising on the site.
But to participate in the Brand Registry, a seller has to have a registered trademark
as one of Amazon's goals in having a Brand Registry is to cut down on counterfeit goods.
And it's usually very easy to get a trademark approved
that's a nonsense word or just a string of random letters
as it's unlikely that some other company is already using that trademark.
This way they can avoid the arduous process of getting a trademark approved
that's too similar to a different company's existing brand
based on a word that makes sense. In fact, the US Patent and Trademark Office
has complained of being flooded with more of these trademark applications
than they can actually handle. And even though one of the main reasons
companies typically register a trademark is so that they can build a strong identifiable brand
that one can pronounce, that isn't really necessary
for many product categories on Amazon. Sure, if you're looking for a stand mixer,
you might think KitchenAid or you might trust Yeti
if you're looking for an insulated bottle. But if you just need a pair of scissors,
a garden hose or a bowl for your dog, these aren't items where a dominant brand
has mind share with the public. Instead, good reviews will get the product pushed
to the top of the Amazon results, which is what will drive sales far more
than memorable branding. But even though buying from one of these brands
might seem like a good idea to save money, please make sure you check to see that there are reviews
that sound like they're from real people. Amazon hasn't had a very good track record
of cracking down on fake reviews or ensuring that these products
are properly labeled and meet US safety standards.
Though Amazon claims that this is something they continue to work on.
So try not to get sucked in just by a cool design
and a good price, although I will say, the allure of this loomie loo unicorn fanny pack,
it's hard to resist. Hey, thanks for watching that whole video, guys.
Like it if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Check out our other videos,
comment below with video suggestions, and don't forget to subscribe and follow,
especially if you've got a wacky name that it's hard to pronounce.
I wanna see those.