WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.560 Amazon is absolutely littered with products with unreadable, unrecognizable brand names. 00:00:05.560 --> 00:00:10.560 Uieosmuff, Weelux, and Kirkson. 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:14.360 Believe it or not, it wasn't always like this. But where did they all come from? 00:00:14.360 --> 00:00:18.760 Are these names simply from some foreign language that doesn't translate well to English? 00:00:18.760 --> 00:00:23.720 The answer to the second question is actually no. Although many of these off the wall brands you see 00:00:23.720 --> 00:00:26.980 are from China, these brand names are just as fanciful 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:30.240 and meaningless there as they are in the English speaking world. 00:00:30.240 --> 00:00:34.080 But before we get into why that is, let's take a step back and explain 00:00:34.080 --> 00:00:37.840 where these brands even come from. Although China is the largest country in the world 00:00:37.840 --> 00:00:43.320 by population, only a few very large companies dominate the online shopping landscape there. 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:47.320 We're talking companies such as Taobao and T-Mall. And if you're a Chinese seller, 00:00:47.320 --> 00:00:51.520 it can be hard to sell on these platforms because there are already so many other folks 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:56.200 trying to sell the same product you have. So it's unsurprising that Chinese sellers 00:00:56.200 --> 00:01:00.480 are looking to the American market instead. Amazon gave up on trying to operate 00:01:00.480 --> 00:01:04.000 a retail website in China as there was just too much competition, 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:07.400 but Amazon does actively recruit Chinese sellers 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:12.240 to pedal their wares on the US website. The company even holds huge conferences 00:01:12.240 --> 00:01:15.240 for folks in China interested in making money on Amazon, 00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:19.960 a practice that began circa 2015. Not only is it a big opportunity for the sellers, 00:01:19.960 --> 00:01:24.840 but it also gives Amazon another source of cheap goods they can use to undercut competitors 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:28.740 like Walmart in the US. The reason these names are so random 00:01:28.740 --> 00:01:32.480 is that it makes it much easier for these brands to obtain a trademark, 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:38.760 which is extremely important for selling on Amazon. You see, Amazon has a program called the Brand Registry, 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:43.480 which provides sellers with important benefits such as reduced fees, cash back, 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:46.600 a campaign asking customers to leave trusted reviews 00:01:46.600 --> 00:01:51.040 and notably help with marketing and advertising on the site. 00:01:51.040 --> 00:01:56.240 But to participate in the Brand Registry, a seller has to have a registered trademark 00:01:56.240 --> 00:02:01.560 as one of Amazon's goals in having a Brand Registry is to cut down on counterfeit goods. 00:02:01.560 --> 00:02:04.920 And it's usually very easy to get a trademark approved 00:02:04.920 --> 00:02:09.400 that's a nonsense word or just a string of random letters 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:13.220 as it's unlikely that some other company is already using that trademark. 00:02:13.220 --> 00:02:17.600 This way they can avoid the arduous process of getting a trademark approved 00:02:17.600 --> 00:02:20.960 that's too similar to a different company's existing brand 00:02:20.960 --> 00:02:25.520 based on a word that makes sense. In fact, the US Patent and Trademark Office 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.160 has complained of being flooded with more of these trademark applications 00:02:29.160 --> 00:02:32.640 than they can actually handle. And even though one of the main reasons 00:02:32.640 --> 00:02:38.320 companies typically register a trademark is so that they can build a strong identifiable brand 00:02:38.320 --> 00:02:41.600 that one can pronounce, that isn't really necessary 00:02:41.600 --> 00:02:45.760 for many product categories on Amazon. Sure, if you're looking for a stand mixer, 00:02:45.760 --> 00:02:48.760 you might think KitchenAid or you might trust Yeti 00:02:48.760 --> 00:02:52.320 if you're looking for an insulated bottle. But if you just need a pair of scissors, 00:02:52.320 --> 00:02:56.720 a garden hose or a bowl for your dog, these aren't items where a dominant brand 00:02:56.720 --> 00:03:01.600 has mind share with the public. Instead, good reviews will get the product pushed 00:03:01.600 --> 00:03:06.000 to the top of the Amazon results, which is what will drive sales far more 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:09.960 than memorable branding. But even though buying from one of these brands 00:03:09.960 --> 00:03:15.240 might seem like a good idea to save money, please make sure you check to see that there are reviews 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:20.360 that sound like they're from real people. Amazon hasn't had a very good track record 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:23.720 of cracking down on fake reviews or ensuring that these products 00:03:23.760 --> 00:03:27.000 are properly labeled and meet US safety standards. 00:03:27.000 --> 00:03:30.640 Though Amazon claims that this is something they continue to work on. 00:03:30.640 --> 00:03:33.880 So try not to get sucked in just by a cool design 00:03:33.880 --> 00:03:40.600 and a good price, although I will say, the allure of this loomie loo unicorn fanny pack, 00:03:40.600 --> 00:03:43.640 it's hard to resist. Hey, thanks for watching that whole video, guys. 00:03:43.640 --> 00:03:47.080 Like it if you liked it, dislike it if you disliked it. Check out our other videos, 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:50.600 comment below with video suggestions, and don't forget to subscribe and follow, 00:03:50.600 --> 00:03:54.520 especially if you've got a wacky name that it's hard to pronounce. 00:03:54.520 --> 00:03:56.000 I wanna see those.