Amazon Warns - Buying from Amazon Marketplace Will Be “At Your Own Risk”

Amazon says no guarantee after counterfeit product purchases.

December 30, 2014,  Los Angeles, CA – The giant e-commerce websites, including Amazon (AMZN), have an enormous counterfeit product problem. Consumers are easily duped by online counterfeit product purchases, but Amazon claims their “A-Z Guarantee” covers counterfeit purchases from third-party sellers -- except when it doesn’t.

Amazon^® notified The Counterfeit Report^®, a popular consumer website, that purchases from Amazon Marketplace will be “placed at your own risk”.  

As part of a nine-month investigation, The Counterfeit Report purchased dozens of counterfeit products from Amazon sellers including; over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, sporting goods, cell phone cases, flashlights, 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 notified The Counterfeit Report -- no more “A-Z Guarantee”;

“Due to the high percentage of claims filed, we will be unable to process future claims for orders placed with our third party sellers.”

** Orders from these sellers will be placed at your own risk**

Amazon did not respond to 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. Instead, Amazon chose to discourage the purchases and let the listings remain. Some of the purchased products even bore a manufacturer’s trademarked brand name, but never existed in the manufacturer’s product line. These fake products also remained listed on Amazon despite repeated reports to Amazon’s security team.

Many consumers are unaware that Amazon provides three global product outlets; Amazon (as a direct retailer), Amazon Fulfillment (offered by a third party, but shipped by Amazon) and Amazon Marketplace (seller direct new and used products).  Problematic commingling of counterfeit and authentic Amazon product inventory has been reported, and consumers can easily miss who the actual seller of the product they receive really is, Amazon or a third party.

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. Buy from the manufacturer direct or authorized retailers, pay with a credit card, and when in doubt, 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.