Report Finds 25% Of Purchases "Fulfilled By Amazon" Are Counterfeit

Is Amazon America's Biggest Consumer Rip-off?

August 21, 2019, Los Angeles, CA – Amazon's e-commerce empire earns its scathing criticism. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reported that 25% of new CDs it purchased and were “Fulfilled by Amazon” in the US were counterfeit. The RIAA added, "that the rate of infringement on Amazon has increased 5-fold from a low of 2% in a similar study conducted in January 2017."

Amazon's free-flowing counterfeit conduit enables Amazon as a direct seller, and third-party global sellers, to flood the consumer market with an inexhaustible supply counterfeit, fraudulent, pirated, and replica items. Simply, consumers are deceived into spending good money for bad products while Amazon takes its transaction fee for each item sold. Amazon earned half of every U.S. retail dollar spent online, yet Amazon didn't pay any federal income taxes after topping $5.6 billion in profit in 2017 and $11.2 billion in 2018.

While Amazon is fully capable of removing counterfeit, fraudulent, replica, and unsafe products from its website, the potential for continuing sales encourages ongoing relationships between Amazon and dishonest third-party sellers. There is no incentive for Amazon to clean up its cesspool of fakes, and the lack of policing, transparency, and diligence is status quo at Amazon.

Consumers would be shocked to learn that Amazon's own reports reveal they receive an infringement notice for 1 of every 100 customer page views, and over 100,000 brands have signed in to fight counterfeits on Amazon -- a shocking revelation of the enormity of Amazon's counterfeit problem.

Amazon has exhausted its illusory media policy response,"Products offered for sale on Amazon must be authentic. The sale of counterfeit products is strictly prohibited." That claim is patently false. Both Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Amazon Corporate Counsel Annasara Purcell confirmed Amazon will not remove counterfeit products from some of its global websites unless the trademark is registered in each country the item is listed in. However, the fake items can still be shipped worldwide. That's OK with Amazon. Right holders are forced to separately police every country platform of Amazon for infringing or unauthorized product listings even after it has notified Amazon, only to find the counterfeits and sellers remain.

Amazon's shady counterfeit and business practices have dodged enforcement action, but not the attention of federal investigators.

• The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") conducted an undercover investigation of e-commerce counterfeit goods sales. The GAO reported that about 50% of the items it purchased from e-commerce websites, including Amazon (AMZN), were counterfeit.
• The Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") sent a letter to Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, telling him to knock off the counterfeit electronics. And, the recently assigned FTC oversight of Amazon indicates there's potential for future antitrust investigations.
• Peter K. Navarro, White House assistant to President Trump for trade and manufacturing policy, wrote a harsh condemnation recently in the WSJ; "when you purchase brand-name goods through online third-party marketplaces like Alibaba, Amazon, and eBay, there's a good chance you'll end up with a counterfeit."

The Counterfeit Report, an award-winning consumer advocate and counterfeit watchdog, found over 132,800 fake, fraudulent, and replica items on Amazon, removing many on behalf of infringed brand owners. Even with the assigned oversight of two Amazon Global Brand Relations Managers, an alarming pattern of deceptive practices and inaction is glaringly apparent, and complaints are ignored;

• Dangerous and potentially deadly items remained for weeks, even months, despite hundreds of repeat infringement notices. Sellers often relist, use multiple usernames, or open new accounts.
• Amazon's seller evaluations (feedback) and product reviews are virtually worthless. Negative reviews are removed by Amazon, while sellers hire businesses to create dummy accounts, purchase products, and write fictitious reviews and complaints. The Counterfeit Report's product reviews warning consumers of counterfeits have been repeatedly removed or blocked.
• Even after legal notice, Amazon continues to allow, and sell as a direct seller, dangerous and potentially deadly products that are specifically prohibited by Amazon policy.
• Many items are shipped directly from China to Amazon's Fulfilled by Amazon ("FBA") distribution centers to hide the origin of the China goods and expedite delivery to just days. The seller’s true name, physical address, and country should be required for all listings.

Still, consumers might place their confidence in Amazon's guarantee; "We stand behind the products sold on our site with our A-to-z Guarantee." That could be true, but only if consumers were informed by Amazon (or knew) they received a counterfeit product. However, Amazon doesn't notify consumers they received a fake after being notified by the brand owner. Of course, consumers would then be entitled to a refund.

America has matured its complexion blemished with corporate fraud, corruption, and scams; Enron, Tyco, Madoff, Lehman Bros., Cendant, HealthSouth, WorldCom, Theranos, and more.

Will Amazon be added to the growing list?