Amazon Cancels Marketplace Money Back Guarantee

No guarantee for counterfeit product purchases.

November 20, 2016,  Los Angeles, CA – E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) has an enormous counterfeit problem. However, Amazon claims that when consumers are deceived and purchase a counterfeit product, Amazon’s “A-Z Guarantee” covers counterfeit purchases from third-party Amazon Marketplace sellers -- except when it doesn’t.

The Counterfeit Report, a counterfeit watchdog and consumer advocate, purchased dozens of counterfeit products from Amazon sellers including; over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, sporting goods, cell phone cases, electronics and auto parts. After confirming the products were counterfeit, the fakes were promptly reported to Amazon, the manufacturer and authorities. An Amazon “A-Z Guarantee” refund claim was also initiated against the seller.

Instead of embracing the results and moving to protect Amazon consumers from the dishonest sellers, Amazon has now notified The Counterfeit Report -- no more “A-Z Guarantee.” Amazon “will be unable to process future claims for orders placed with our third party sellers.”

Requests for clarification, and why it is so easy for The Counterfeit Report to buy counterfeit products on Amazon, but so difficult to have the listings removed remain unanswered. Instead, Amazon chose to discourage the purchases and let sellers remain. In addition to the counterfeits, some purchased products bore a registered trademark, but never even existed in the manufacturer’s product line. Thousands of the fake products remain listed on Amazon despite repeated reports to Amazon’s Director of Global Relations and Product Integrity.

Many consumers are unaware that Amazon provides three global product outlets;

• Amazon.com (Amazon as a direct retailer),
• Amazon Fulfillment (offered by a third party, but warehoused and shipped by Amazon),
• Amazon Marketplace (un-vetted sellers offer and ship products from all over the globe).

Consumers can easily miss who the actual seller of the product they receive really is; Amazon, or a third party. The Counterfeit Report has purchased counterfeit products directly from Amazon.com and Apple recently reported that 90% of the Apple products it purchased from Amazon Direct were counterfeit.  

Our advice:

Amazon listings generally use various manufacturer’s stock photos of their trademarked products, however consumers may receive substantially different, counterfeit or fake (non-existent) products.

• Avoid buying trademarked products from unauthorized sellers using Amazon Fulfillment and Marketplace. Be wary of Amazon Direct (Amazon.com).
• Buy from the manufacturer direct or their authorized retailers, pay with a credit card, and when in doubt, seek knowledgeable retailer advice and compare your item to a known authentic item.
• If a counterfeit is suspected, always retain the product; it is your only proof in any dispute process of receiving a counterfeit and obtaining a refund. If returned, sellers will simply deny it is counterfeit and sell it to another unsuspecting consumer.