Amazon's Anti-Counterfeit Claims Fall Flat

Inarguably fake items remain on Amazon after repeated complaints.

April 27, 2017, Los Angeles, CA – Amazon would like consumers to believe that Amazon is a safe place to buy name-brand goods, but that is not true. Amazon is enabling and allowing the sale of counterfeits. The problem is that anybody, anywhere, can sell just about anything on Amazon.

“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.

Counterfeit sales have been a lucrative and easy revenue source for the e-commerce giant, as transaction fees are charged for each sale of fake goods. 

• In addition to trademark infringement is Amazon's illusory policy claim; "The sale of counterfeit products, including any products that have been illegally replicated, reproduced, or manufactured, is strictly prohibited" - but the fact is that counterfeit and replicas can be, and are, easily listed and sold on Amazon.
• The Counterfeit Report, a consumer advocate and watchdog, sent formal infringement notices, authorized by the trademark holders, to Amazon for 21,048 infringing items offered on Amazon in just the past year. The Counterfeit Report also conducted dozens of name-brand test purchases from Amazon Fulfillment and Amazon Marketplace sellers, but never received an authentic item.
• Even after notifying Amazon of inarguable infringing listings, Amazon often did not remove the listings, although providing written responses claiming they did. Amazon's Head of Product Integrity vowed to resolve the issues for months, but it was simply lip service.
• Despite the counterfeit notifications, Amazon does not inform consumers that they may have received counterfeit product - even dangerous or potentially deadly items. Of course, consumers would then be entitled to a refund.
• Amazon seller profiles do not indicate punitive action by Amazon for counterfeit sales, and counterfeit sellers may remain and continue selling despite repeated counterfeit complaints.

Counterfeit products appear right next to authentic items conveying Amazon’s endorsement and the illusion they are from Amazon. The cutthroat competition of Amazon pricing and a very real possibility of receiving a counterfeit does not encourage a safe environment for consumers. Consumers often don't know they are being sold products from unknown global sellers, and many counterfeits are competitively priced and visually indistinguishable from their authentic counterparts.

About 2-million unvetted Amazon Marketplace account holders account for 50% of Amazon sales and can ship products which are never inspected by Amazon, including lower priced counterfeit goods, from all over the world to unsuspecting consumers. Business Wire reported Amazon's claim that Marketplace Sellers, these third-party vendors, sold more than 2-billion items worldwide.

Dangerous and potentially deadly counterfeit items are a very real problem for consumers;

• Apple recently claimed that 90% of Apple Chargers it purchased from directly from Amazon were fake. Counterfeit Apple® USB Adapters have caused one death, fires, injuries and damaged equipment.
• A Tennessee family is suing Amazon for $30 million after a counterfeit hoverboard caught fire and completely destroyed their $1 million Nashville home in 2016, injuring two of the family’s four children according to the lawsuit obtained by The Counterfeit Report.  

Counterfeit products are replicas of real products, designed to take advantage of the superior value and reputation of the real product. Amazon is proving to be an ideal platform facilitate distribution of some $1.7 trillion in global counterfeit goods - an activity that is profitable, difficult to track and widely unpunished. The benefits are drawing an avalanche of counterfeit listings from both U.S. and global sellers.

Could you identify these counterfeit products listed, or purchased on Amazon?

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

1. Tiny microSD® computer memory cards are used in cell phones, cameras and laptops.  Authentic microSD cards bear the microSD trademark which owned by SD-3C, LLC, who licenses its use to authentic, conforming products. Memory on counterfeit cards 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, and damage your equipment. None of the items shown above from Amazon are authentic. There is no such product as a 64GB microSDHC® card - an obvious fake, yet many infringing variations of the fake products remain listed.
2. U.S. based Fullips, LLC is a family owned business producing very popular beauty and cosmetic products under the registered Fullips® trademark. Unscrupulous counterfeiters will produce anything to deceive consumers and make a fast dollar, including the counterfeit Fullips product shown. Almost visually indistinguishable from the authentic product, consumers are easily deceived into purchasing a poor quality counterfeit that may contain dangerous lead and other suspect ingredients.
3. Federal, State and local laws regulate the sale, purchase, possession and display of counterfeit badges, as of course does common sense. Replica current issue U.S. Secret Service, FBI and police badges are available on Amazon to terrorists, child predators and other criminals. Notices to Amazon management of the alarming practice have been ignored and the items remain. 
4. The authentic Skunk2® performance shift knob is only available in a matte titanium (grey) finish. Authentic Skunk2 knobs were never made in colors such as red, blue, green, neo, gold, etc. Colored Skunk2 knobs are obvious fakes.
5. Composite Resources Combat Application Tourniquet® (C-A-T®) has been supplied to the U.S. Military, police, first responders, and the public worldwide for the past decade. Counterfeit versions of the C-A-T tourniquet have catastrophically failed during actual life-saving applications. The Counterfeit Report reported 1,595 infringing items to Amazon, yet infringing items continue to be listed, as well as non-FDA registered knockoffs of the critical medical device.
6. Drew Tech's MongoosePro interface cable is used by vehicle technicians and dealers to program vehicle computers including braking, emission and safety equipment. Counterfeit Mongoose® products may severely damage a vehicle, and install malware on your computer. The authentic product is not made in purple - an obvious fake.
7. Vans® does not make iPhone 6 cases – yet they are common on Amazon. Counterfeit product sales support terrorists, organized crime and other criminals.

If Amazon wants 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.