Can competitors see my Amazon supplier?

Short answer: if you import by ocean under your own company name, there's a good chance anyone can look up your factory, what you buy from it and how often you reorder. Not through Amazon, but through U.S. import records that are republished on sites like ImportYeti, ImportGenius and Panjiva.

How someone gets from your listing to your factory

1. They find your business name. In the U.S. store, Amazon shows a seller's business name and address on the seller profile. Trademark filings, your website footer and your packaging often show it too.
2. They search it on an import-data site. A basic company search takes seconds.
3. They read your bills of lading. Each record can show the overseas shipper and its address, the product description, carton count, weight, ports and arrival date. Line the records up and your reorder rhythm is visible too.

From there, a copycat can contact the same factory and ask for the same product. Nothing in this process involves hacking. It's public data, used the way it's designed to be used.

What's on a bill of lading

Every ocean shipment into the U.S. is declared on a vessel manifest. Under 19 CFR 103.31, manifest information is made available to the press, and data companies turn it into searchable records. A typical record looks something like this:

Illustrative example. Fictional company, supplier and shipment.

• Consignee: HARBOR LANE HOME LLC, Austin, TX
• Shipper: SAMPLE HOUSEWARES CO., LTD., Ningbo, China
• Notify party: the consignee's customs broker
• Description: silicone baking mats, 1,200 cartons
• Route: Ningbo to Long Beach, arrived March 2026

The consignee and shipper lines are what a competitor wants. The rest tells them what you buy and how much.

When you might not show up

• You ship by air or express parcel. These sites are built mainly on ocean manifests. Air shipments aren't part of the vessel manifest program.
• Someone else is the consignee. If a forwarder or sourcing agent is listed instead of you, their name shows rather than yours. But your factory may still appear as the shipper next to theirs, and many sellers are listed under their own company name even when a forwarder books the freight.
• You buy through a trading company. Then the shipper is the trading company, not the factory. That still reveals part of your sourcing.

Don't assume. Search your own company name and see what comes up.

What a confidentiality request hides

Under 19 CFR 103.31(d), an importer can ask U.S. Customs and Border Protection to keep its name and address confidential on inward vessel manifests. When it applies, the data that goes out withholds:

• Your company's name and address as importer or consignee
• Marks and numbers that would reveal your name and address
• The notify party's name and address
• Your foreign suppliers' names and addresses, if you include them in the request

What stays: the cargo description, weights, ports and dates. A record can still say "silicone baking mats, 1,200 cartons, Ningbo to Long Beach", just not who imported them or who shipped them.

One catch: if your supplier types your company or brand name into the cargo description, that text can still identify you. Ask your supplier and forwarder to keep it out.

The limits to know up front

• From approval forward only. Shipments already published stay in data-site archives. Some sites accept removal requests; see how to ask for older records to be removed.
• Ocean only. Air and truck shipments aren't covered by this program.
• Exact-match names. "Harbor Lane Home LLC", "HARBOR LANE HOME, L.L.C." and an old DBA are three different names. Each one you don't file stays public.
• Two years at a time. Confidentiality lasts two years. Renew 60–90 days before it expires, or new shipments become public again. See how to renew.
• No guarantee. CBP itself says it can't guarantee a party's identity will never be published.

A practical checklist for Amazon sellers

1. Search your company and brand names on ImportYeti, ImportGenius and Panjiva. Write down every spelling you appear under and every supplier shown.
2. Ask your customs broker or forwarder exactly how your company is entered on your shipments.
3. Ask your supplier to keep your company and brand names out of cargo descriptions and marks.
4. File one confidentiality request covering every name variant and every supplier you want withheld.
5. After your next few shipments, search again. A new record under your name usually means a variant was missed; add it and file an amended request.
6. Put your renewal date in the calendar 90 days ahead of expiry.
7. Ask the data sites to remove older records, starting with the ones that offer it.

Is it worth it for you?

If your edge is your supplier, your spec or your landed cost, keeping that out of public records is worth the effort. If you sell a commodity product that dozens of sellers already source from the same marketplace listings, hiding your supplier changes less. Either way, it helps to know what's public before you decide.

That's what our Exposure Check is for: tell us your company name and we'll send you a report of what's already public. If you then want it handled, Supplier Privacy does the research, filing, leak checks and renewals for you. More for Amazon sellers.

Sources

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection — Electronic Vessel Manifest Confidentiality
• 19 CFR 103.31 — Information on vessel manifests and summary statistical reports

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Supplier Privacy is not affiliated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.