Amazon and eBay - The Perfect Marketplace for Counterfeits

Websites profit, consumers are deceived, and manufacturers are damaged.

August 10, 2017 - Los Angeles, CA – Amazon and eBay are proving to be ideal platforms to enable and facilitate distribution of some $1.7 trillion in global counterfeit goods, expected to grow to $2.8 trillion by 2022. Counterfeiting is profitable, difficult to track and widely unpunished. These benefits are drawing an avalanche of counterfeit listings from both U.S. and global sellers on e-commerce websites.

Selling counterfeits is illegal and prohibited on Amazon and eBay. However, despite repeated infringement notifications, the sellers and items often remain, consumers are easily deceived, and manufacturers are being harmed in a big way with little recourse. The problem is that anybody, anywhere, can sell just about anything on Amazon and eBay, including counterfeit products that may be dangerous or deadly.

• Counterfeit sales can be a lucrative revenue source for the e-commerce giants, as transaction fees are charged for each sale of fake goods.
• Alarmingly, after being notified by the rights holders, Amazon and eBay do not tell deceived buyers that they may have received a counterfeit item, even if it’s dangerous or potentially deadly, like OTC drugs, auto suspension parts or exploding Apple® USB chargers. Of course, buyers then would be entitled to a refund.
• There may be no indication in eBay and Amazon seller profiles of a counterfeit sales history, despite some sellers having over 100 counterfeit listings removed by The Counterfeit Report®, an industry watchdog and consumer advocate. eBay publicly admitted to Business Insider as true, allegations of deleting negative feedback and removing counterfeit comments and warnings.
• The U.S. Postal Service loses millions delivering counterfeits from China under reduced “terminal fee” postage agreements.

The Counterfeit Report identified over 3 million counterfeit items on eBay and removed over 1.9 million. eBay reported that over 600,000 counterfeit items had already sold to eBay consumers. eBay doesn’t notify the buyers they received a fake. The Counterfeit Report also purchased and received over 2,300 products from eBay sellers. All were counterfeit.

Amazon received formal infringement notices for 30,127 infringing items from The Counterfeit Report, authorized by the trademark holders. Amazon often claimed infringing listings were removed when they were not, and was caught altering infringing content to allow the counterfeits to remain. The Counterfeit Report also conducted dozens of name-brand test purchases from Amazon Marketplace sellers, but never received an authentic item. “In Amazon's quest to be the low-cost provider of everything on the planet, the website has morphed into the world's largest flea market — a chaotic, somewhat lawless, bazaar with unlimited inventory” says a recent CNBC report.

Would you suspect these obvious fake products purchased on eBay or Amazon? None of the items are offered in the manufacturer’s authentic product. Some could be dangerous or deadly.

(Photo: The Counterfeit Report® - left to right)

1. It's a simple scam, take a low capacity memory card costing a few cents and reprint it with a higher capacity label and a globally recognized trademark. These tiny microSD® computer memory cards are used in cell phones, cameras and laptops.  Authentic microSD® cards bear the microSD trademark, owned by SD-3C, LLC and licensed to authentic, conforming products. Memory on counterfeits is usually not the capacity of what is published on the card, and the fake items may fail. When that happens, you are likely to lose your data, images, or damage your equipment. The Counterfeit Report has removed over 9.4 million counterfeit microSD items from e-commerce websites, including eBay and Amazon, yet the easily identifiable fakes continue to be listed.
2. FDA registered Dr. Numb® over-the-counter ("OTC") 5% Lidocaine topical pharmaceutical is not manufactured in a 10gr. size, or with an obvious spelling error. Unsuspecting consumers receive a non-FDA registered fake product which may contain tetracaine, a local anesthetic. Misuse, or an overdose of tetracaine, can cause birth defects and fatal side effects. The Counterfeit Report has removed 4,721 counterfeit Dr. Numb products from eBay, 2,097 have been sold to consumers. The items remain on eBay despite warnings to eBay's executive staff and general counsel.
3. Novartis Lamisil® (terbinafine) is a FDA registered over-the-counter ("OTC") anti-fungal antibiotic. Lamisil is used to treat infections caused by fungus. This liquid form is not a product offered in the Novartis Lamisil product line. Its ingredients are unknown. The maker of the counterfeit sold on Amazon and eBay was criminally charged after an investigation by The Counterfeit Report and manufacturer.
4. The CIA does not issues badges to its employees - the item is fake. Federal law prohibits use of the words "Central Intelligence Agency," the initials "CIA," and the seal of the Central Intelligence Agency. Federal, state and local laws regulate the sale, purchase, possession and display of badges, as of course does common sense. eBay and Amazon policy also specifically prohibits most police badges and items. This fake CIA badge, as well as counterfeit FBI, Secret Service, LAPD and other law enforcement badges and ID are common on eBay and Amazon. The items are available to terrorists, child predators and other criminals. 3,700 counterfeit badges have been reported to eBay and Amazon, and over 50 easily purchased by The Counterfeit Report. The items remain.
5. Drew Tech's MongoosePro interface cable is relied on by vehicle technicians and dealers to program vehicle computers including braking, emission and safety equipment functionality. Counterfeit Mongoose® products may severely damage a vehicle, and install malware on the user's computer. The Counterfeit Report found 1.9 million counterfeits on e-commerce websites, 464 counterfeit items have been sold on eBay. The authentic product is not made in purple - an obvious fake.
6. The authentic Skunk2® performance shift knob is only available in a matte grey titanium finish, however The Counterfeit Report found over 3,500 easily identifiable red, neo-chrome, blue, green, gold and chrome Skunk2 fakes listed on eBay - 1,889 sold. The fakes continue to be listed.
7. Vans® does not make iPhone® 6 & 7 cases – an obvious fake, but they are common on eBay and Amazon. The Counterfeit Report found over 45,000 counterfeits on eBay - 2,300 had been sold. An additional 644 fake items were found on Amazon, who does not report sales. Counterfeit product sales are used to support terrorists, organized crime and other criminals.
8. Group-A Autosports Rear Lower Suspension Control Arms are direct replacements for a vehicles original suspension parts. You are risking your life, and the lives of others, using untested and unproven counterfeit auto suspension parts. Counterfeit parts may catastrophically fail at a critical time causing injury or death. The authentic product is not made in green - an obvious fake. The Counterfeit Report found 783 counterfeits on eBay, 150 sold to consumers who may be unknowingly driving on a dangerous suspension part.

If Amazon and eBay want to maintain any consumer trust, they need to cleanse dishonest and fraudulent sellers and close counterfeit loopholes. Web platforms that facilitate criminal activity and benefit from the proceeds of dishonest actions which impact jobs, consumer safety and public trust create a public perception of deception and impunity. However, reputation damage is only a small part of the problem: counterfeiting costs U.S. manufacturers over $250 billion, and U.S. workers over 750,000 jobs.