Amazon Prime Day Shoppers Will Face Counterfeits, Fraud, and Scams

Amazon's Prime program is no protection against fake, fraudulent, and dangerous products..

July 7, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA – Most consumers would be shocked to learn that Amazon's touted (and expensive) Amazon Prime program has no protection against counterfeit, fraudulent, and dangerous item listings. "Buyer beware" is the mantra for the July 12th and 13th event.

Amazon is a free-flowing conduit that enables third-party global sellers, and Amazon as a direct seller, to flood the consumer market with an inexhaustible supply of counterfeit, fraudulent, pirated, and replica merchandise, books, medical devices, and OTC drugs boosted by accompanying phony reviews. Consumers are easily deceived into spending good money on bad products, while Amazon takes its transaction fee for each item sold.

What are the risks of buying on Amazon?

• Almost half of Amazon's top sellers are based in China (the source of 90% of the world's counterfeits). Amazon's unvetted listings may be endorsed with the “Prime,” "Amazon's Choice," or “Fulfilled by Amazon” labels, misleading consumers into a misplaced belief of quality and authenticity. Sellers are gaming Amazon’s algorithms to get their goods listed as high in search results as possible and even bribing Amazon employees in China to help boost their items' rank (WSJ).
• The "Amazon's Choice" endorsement is a scam. The product may be fraudulent or counterfeit, and "Amazon does not manually curate products. There is no unique safety testing for the "Amazon's Choice" products. There is no unique screening for authenticity to receive that badge," testified Amazon VP Dharmesh Mehta.
• 700,000 brand-owners have signed up to fight counterfeits on Amazon, a glaring representation of the enormity of Amazon's counterfeit problem and the challenges facing brand-owners and consumers.
• Amazon is a direct retailer of counterfeit, fraudulent, and replica goods, e.g., "ships from and sold by Amazon.com." Amazon rarely notifies consumers they purchased a counterfeit or fraudulent product.
• 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, were counterfeit.
• Customers may not receive products from the seller they order from but commingled products from Amazon's closest fulfillment center. "Amazon virtually tracks different units that are identical, shipping the products closest to customers," states Amazon Consumer Trust VP Dharmesh Mehta. Sellers send their counterfeit products to Amazon’s fulfillment warehouse to lend credibility and an implied endorsement by Amazon while obscuring the actual source (often China).
• Amazon seller evaluations (feedback) and product reviews are virtually worthless. Product reviews are no indication of authenticity or quality and may not even be related to the product searched. Amazon's review system is awash in fraud, paid endorsements, and direct manipulation by Amazon. Negative reviews are removed, while sellers hire businesses to create dummy accounts, purchase products and write fictitious reviews and complaints.

Amazon is not a safe shopping choice for consumers. Even if consumers wisely avoid Amazon, they are still at risk of injury or death from other shoppers' counterfeit and fraudulent product purchases or gifts. Amazon may be just another massive corporate entity to feel a vague sense of guilt about giving your money to, but you have a choice.