Amazon Says No A-Z Guarantee Refund For Counterfeit Goods

A-Z Safe Buying Guarantee denied for confirmed counterfeit items

March 5, 2019, Los Angeles, CA – Amazon makes a bold claim that its A-Z Guarantee "protects you when you purchase items sold and fulfilled by a third-party seller -- but, it's not true. Amazon inexplicably refused the refund for counterfeit products delivered to The Counterfeit Report, an award winning consumer advocate and counterfeit watchdog.

What makes this particularly appalling is that The Counterfeit Report is the authorized agent for the brand owner who manufactures the real $495.00 auto diagnostic interface and software that is being counterfeited. After months of Amazon's inaction on counterfeit notices sent for dozens of fakes found on its websites, counterfeit test purchases were made from Amazon third-party sellers. The items received were counterfeit, but Amazon refused the refund claim;

The A-Z Guarantee program offers consumer protection against the flood of counterfeits, scams and fraud on Amazon, but has morphed into cryptic instructions, language barriers and missing web links. If users are successful in negotiating the gauntlet, Amazon can refuse the refund without explanation. Inquiries sent to two Global Brand Relations managers assigned The Counterfeit Report, and also to Jeff Bezos' executive relations team, went unanswered.

Timing couldn't be worse for the e-commerce giant, who just last week offered its self-congratulatory announcement touting the success brand owners have in removing online fakes with its new "Project Zero" program. What Amazon failed to mention was the program is “currently an invite only program” with a waiting list, and only about 15 brands are participating out of 100,000+ brands fighting fakes on Amazon.

The reality is that counterfeit notifications to Amazon can languish for weeks, be ignored, or flat out denied. Products that are counterfeit on one Amazon website may be allowed to remain on any of Amazon’s 13 other websites, even though the complaints submitted include all Amazon websites. The products are likely shipped from China without any recourse against the sellers, while Amazon takes a transaction fee for each fake item sold. 

Amazon recently warned investors of one of the biggest problems facing its online marketplace is counterfeit products. In actuality, Amazon has some explaining to do regarding their business practices, which beg an answer to the question; “Is Amazon America's Biggest Consumer Fraud?”