Brand Gating and Authorized Sellers

This page explains brand gating: how a brand becomes gated, how a seller proves authorization to list a gated brand, how long an authorization lasts, and what happens when a seller lists a gated brand without authorization. This page summarizes the Brand Gating Policy, which governs.

What gating means

A gated brand is a brand where the registry record requires proof before selling. A seller may list a gated brand only while holding a current, approved authorization. Without an authorization, the seller may not list the brand.

How a brand becomes gated

Gating is designated; it is not automatic.

1. The brand owner requests gating after claiming the brand. See Claiming Your Brand.
2. Or the Company designates a brand for gating because it falls in a high-risk category, such as ingestibles or topical pesticides, where a counterfeit or mishandled product can harm an animal.
3. The Company flags the registry record. From that point, the gate applies to every seller listing attempt for the brand.

Gating is a seller-side control only. It does not apply to first-party inventory: products sold by the Company as "Sold by Pawz Shop." Brand owners do not have a veto over the Company's own sourcing. This rule is stated in the Brand Gating Policy, which governs.

How a seller proves authorization

A seller proves authorization by one of two paths. Requirements must be met before the listing goes live.

Path 1: Purchase order

Provide a purchase order that meets all of the following

• Dated within the last 180 days.
• Itemized by product.
• Shows quantities consistent with the assortment the seller is listing.
• Issued by the brand owner, the manufacturer, or a distributor the brand owner has named as authorized.

A purchase order for a small quantity does not support a listing for a much larger assortment.

Path 2: Written authorization

Provide a written authorization that meets all of the following

• Names you as the seller.
• Covers the brand.
• Is signed by a person with authority to sign it.
• Is current: unexpired and not revoked.

An authorization with no renewal that has expired does not count.

Review and expiry

1. Upload your evidence with your authorization request.
2. Catalog operations review the evidence. The review decision is given within 5 business days.
3. If approved, the authorization is recorded with an expiry date. An authorization lasts no more than 12 months from approval.
4. Renew before the authorization expires. There is no grace period after expiry.

The authorization lifecycle is governed by the Brand Gating Policy and the Authorized Seller Policy, which govern.

Listing a gated brand today

Get authorization first, even before you create the listing. Enforcement is carried out through listing review. A seller who lists first and is later found in review without authorization faces suppression, and the fact that a form accepted the listing is not a defense.

Listing without authorization: what happens

Listing a gated brand without a current authorization results in suppression of the listing. Where the unauthorized listing involves counterfeit or infringing goods, the matter is treated as a counterfeit or intellectual property matter, with more serious consequences up to removal from the Platform.

If your listings were suppressed only because an authorization lapsed, and you then obtain a renewal approval, your listings are restored within 24 hours of the renewal approval. No separate appeal is needed for a lapse cured by renewal.

Brand owners also have duties. Using gating complaints to harass legitimate authorized sellers, filing complaints in bad faith, or delaying authorization renewals to pressure sellers is abuse of the brand program under the Unauthorized Seller Enforcement Policy, which governs, and may result in enforcement against the brand owner.

Appeals

You may appeal a denial or revocation of an authorization. An authenticity or sourcing appeal must include supplier invoices that meet the invoice evidence standard and, where required, brand authorization.

1. Prepare your invoices and authorization evidence.
2. Submit your appeal with the evidence attached, stating the decision you are appealing and the grounds.
3. The appeal is decided under the enforcement and appeals process for the Platform.