Implementing a Strong MAP Policy Against Sellers You Do Not Supply

Investigate the seller and its supply records before choosing a MAP response. Direct purchases, authorisation status and policy receipt are separate facts. None should be inferred from a storefront name alone.

Record the policy version, delivery history and relevant terms. Ask counsel which response is available, and keep unresolved details in the case record.

Check the account and policy records

For a known account, compare the captured offer with the applicable policy and previous correspondence. Use the approved notice sequence and verify what happens after each step.

For an unfamiliar seller, investigate where the stock came from. It may have passed through several businesses. Do not assume that it received no policy or that restricting one route will end its supply.

Finding the supply route is the actual job

A test purchase may provide a return address, packing slip, distributor label or serial number. Compare those clues with shipment records. If they do not establish a supplier, record that limit.

Identification supports the next decision. It does not prove that the seller has no existing stock or alternative source.

A storefront name is not an identity

One operator commonly runs several storefronts, and treating each listing as a separate seller multiplies the work while hiding the pattern. The research is unglamorous. Business registration lookups, shared phone numbers and return addresses, site and contact footprints, and cross-referencing every storefront found in your programme against the others.

Shared contact details can suggest a link between storefronts. Confirm ownership and supply separately before treating them as one company or one route.

Review the supply restriction before sending the list

Have counsel review any proposed distributor restriction before sharing an action list. The Parke, Davis decision shows why coordinated wholesaler conduct needs separate assessment from a manufacturer’s independent supply choice. Record the approved scope and who may act on it.

Keep the records current and document changes. Check listings after any approved action, including whether another supply route appears.

Sometimes the cheaper answer is to authorise them

An unfamiliar seller with a suitable operation may be a candidate for the dealer network. Apply the normal account review, document the terms and check its stock sources. Admission alone does not resolve the previous investigation.

That is a commercial decision, and it goes wrong when it is made as a reward for misbehaving. Use the same criteria you would use for any new dealer.

What price tells you about where the part came from

A low price can justify checking the unit’s source and authenticity. It does not establish either. Inspect the product and order records, and check the platform’s current fulfilment rules before attributing a unit to a supply route.

A test purchase adds evidence. If that evidence is inconclusive, keep the finding open.

The identification work, the test purchases and the Do Not Sell list all sit in our MAP monitoring and enforcement service. They matter most against sellers you do not supply.

Correction, 23 September 2026: seller status and a test purchase do not guarantee identification, policy reach or an end to supply. Restrictions need legal review.