Gray Market & Counterfeit Threat Protection:
Enforce with Confidence. Safeguard Your Brand.
Gray market sellers and counterfeiters don’t just drain revenue. They undermine the trust you’ve built with partners, customers, and your market.
Howell & Associates helps you trace the threat to its source, shut it down fast, and keep it from coming back.
What’s Really at Risk?
Every day counterfeit and gray market goods enter the supply chain, your brand loses more than just revenue.
You risk:
Poor customer reviews and returns from substandard or expired products
Warranty claims and legal exposure for goods you never sold
Frustrated partners and a fractured channel strategy
These aren’t isolated incidents. We’ve seen global brands uncover entire counterfeit networks, or discover products being sold in regions they never approved. These aren’t one-off issues. They’re systemic problems that require decisive action.
Our Four-Stage Threat Elimination Framework
Most marketplace responses stop at takedowns.
Ours goes further. We help you uncover what’s really happening, shut down the threat at its source, and build a stronger system that keeps bad actors out.
This method doesn’t just clean up today’s problem, it prevents tomorrow’s. It’s how brands move from scattered reaction to sustainable channel control.
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Stage 1: Detect Suspicious Activity
Spot patterns that signal fraud, diversion, or counterfeit activity.
We work with your team and technology partners to surface products and listings that don’t belong in the channel.
We help you:
Identify unauthorized listings, product variants, and pricing anomalies
Detect counterfeits through product inconsistencies or unauthorized versions
Flag volume-based or region-specific sales that raise red flags -
Stage 2: Investigate the Origin
Expose the channel gaps that counterfeiters and diverters rely on.
We trace the source of gray market inventory and counterfeit production. That means getting upstream to where the leak, or the fraud, begins.
We help you:
Map product flow and distribution overlap
Identify noncompliant partners, diverters, and copycats
Gather evidence to support direct action or legal escalation -
Stage 3: Enforce with Confidence
Take clear action that sends the right signal to violators and partners.
Once we have the evidence, we move fast. Enforcement is based on facts, not guesses. This gives your team the confidence to act decisively.
We help you:
Draft and issue takedown demands and cease-and-desist letters
Escalate persistent offenders to platforms or legal channels
Document the entire chain of evidence for internal and external stakeholders -
Stage 4: Fortify the Channel
Create a resilient, sustainable channel strategy that keeps threats from resurfacing.
Even after bad actors are removed, threats remain. We help you build a stronger channel defense to prevent future exposure.
We help you:
Strengthen distribution controls and authorized seller programs
Design policies and partner agreements that close known gaps
Monitor for re-entry or new threats over time
Results You Can See
"Working with Howell & Associates, we recovered more than $750K in margin we’d lost to gray market - in just six months. But honestly, the bigger win was finally feeling in control of our channel again."
- VP, Brand Protection,
Global Consumer Electronics Company
We don’t guess. We investigate.
Too many firms flag violations without explaining how they happened. We dig deeper to find the source and stop the cycle.
We’re built to anticipate their next move.
Our team has experience in supply chain integrity, online enforcement, and retail channel strategy. We know the gray market playbook. And we stay ahead of it.
We don’t just clean up. We protect.
Eliminating the threat is just the first step. We help you build policies, programs, and procedures to keep them out for good.
We turn chaos into control.
Whether you’re flooded with fake listings or struggling with subtle diversions, we bring clarity and control to your channel strategy..
Why Brands Choose
Howell & Associates
Eliminated high-volume counterfeit networks, removing thousands of fake listings and restoring buyer confidence across key marketplaces
Reduced gray market inventory by more than 70 percent, shrinking unauthorized access and rebalancing price control across channels
Recovered brand trust with authorized partners, creating stronger alignment on pricing, availability, and policy enforcement
Built long-term protection strategies for global markets, helping clients prevent re-entry and stay ahead of evolving threats
Our clients have:
Our clients include:
Your Brand Protection Stack
We work across the full lifecycle of brand control. Whether you’re cleaning up unauthorized sellers, enforcing MAP, or preventing gray market diversion before it starts, our approach is built to scale with you. Click to learn more:
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Channel Strategy & Risk Consulting
Design stronger systems that prevent problems before they start
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MAP Policy Development & Enforcement
Build an enforceable policy that works in the real world
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Marketplace Monitoring & Enforcement
Turn your data into action with real follow-through
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Reseller Investigation & Channel Enforcement
Find out who’s behind the violations, and shut it down
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Gray Market & Counterfeit Protection
Protect your brand as you grow. Keep threats from coming back.
Whether you’re chasing down counterfeit listings or struggling with gray market supply, we can help you find the source and shut it down for good. Our approach is built to deliver quick wins and long-term protection. So your team can stop fighting fires and start focusing on growth.
Ready to Eliminate Gray Market Threats?
Join our list of brands that have recovered millions in lost margin and rebuilt trust across their channel.