Amazon's Counterfeit Policy Is A Sham

Consumers deceived, jobs destroyed by Amazon counterfeit sales.

May 15, 2018, Los Angeles, CA – Everyone knows selling counterfeits is illegal, and Amazon would like consumers to believe that it provides an honest and safe place to buy name-brand goods - and only authentic name brand goods - but that's not true. Amazon enables, facilitates and directly sells counterfeit goods.

About 50% of Amazon sales are not from Amazon, but from Amazon's 2-million third-party "Marketplace" account holders that are allowed to sell just about anything they want, including an inexhaustible supply of counterfeit merchandise. Amazon is also direct retailer of counterfeit goods; "ships from and sold by Amazon.com". Smaller manufacturers are complaining that their business is being destroyed by Amazon counterfeit sales, while consumers are left unprotected, spending good money for bad products.

Amazon's shady counterfeit practices have not escaped the attention of federal investigators. The U.S. Government Accountability Office ("GAO") recently 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.

Amazon replied to a recent ABC TV News Report which featured The Counterfeit Report and exposed Amazon's counterfeit sales practices.

Myth -- Amazon; "We take any claims that endanger that trust seriously. We strictly prohibit the sale of counterfeit products"

Fact -- Inexplicably, while Amazon may remove a counterfeit product from its U.S. website (Amazon.com), Amazon allows the same products and sellers to remain and continue selling on Amazon's other global websites (e.g. Amazon.co.uk. Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, etc.). The counterfeits may still be shipped to the U.S.   Amazon utilizes a crafty excuse to avoid removing the counterfeit listings claiming "Your trademark must be in registered status in [each country the item is sold in]," ignoring their own counterfeit policy¹. Products include items that do not exist in the authentic manufacturer's product line but bear their registered trademark and even inarguable counterfeit police badges and ID. The foreign sellers are difficult to identify and escape liability, yet Amazon still takes a transaction fee for each item sold.

Myth -- Amazon; "We encourage rights owners who have product authenticity concerns to notify us; we investigate all claims thoroughly.

Fact -- The Counterfeit Report submitted infringement notices for 35,250 counterfeit items, authorized by the trademark holders, to Amazon's 13 global websites. Four of Amazon's counterfeit notification mailboxes are undeliverable destinations. Amazon replied with thousands of template email responses, including requests in various languages or from "no-reply" mailboxes and asking for the very same information included in their response. Some counterfeit listings remained for weeks, even months despite repeat notices. Manufacturers simply don't have the time or resources to struggle with Amazon's dysfunctional system.

Myth -- Amazon; "Customers are always protected by our A-to-Z Guarantee, whether they make a purchase from Amazon or a third-party seller."

Fact -- That could be true, but only if consumers were informed by Amazon or knew they received a counterfeit product. But, Amazon does not notify consumers they received a fake, even after being notified by the right holders. Additionally, weary of The Counterfeit Report's repeated counterfeit test purchases, Amazon ended counterfeit refunds claiming; "Due to the high percentage of claims filed, we will be unable to process future claims for orders placed with our third party sellers."

Amazon enables and facilitates an enormous number of counterfeit product sales while skirting secondary liability for selling counterfeit goods². Apple® reported that 90% of Apple products it purchased directly from Amazon were counterfeit, while Birkenstock, the global footwear icon, slammed Amazon as "an accomplice" of the fraudsters. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) placed orders with Amazon and found that 44 of the 194 top CD's delivered were counterfeit. Swiss watch company Swatch (Longines, Omega and Blancpain) scrapped selling on Amazon when Amazon refused to "proactively police its site for counterfeits and unauthorized retailers."

The consequence is destroyed U.S companies and retailers, lost U.S. jobs and duped consumers. The value of counterfeit and pirated goods is forecast to grow to $2.8 trillion, and cost 5.4 million net job losses by 2022 states a 2017 International Chamber of Commerce Report.

Could you identify these counterfeit products listed 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. These fake items from Amazon do not exist in any authentic product line and are not licensed by SD-3C, LLC.
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. 2,274 of the counterfeits were found on Amazon and repeatedly purchased by The Counterfeit Report, yet notices to Amazon management for of the alarming practice have been ignored. The items remain.
4. 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 5,728 infringing items to Amazon, yet infringing items continue to be listed as well as non-FDA registered knockoffs of the critical medical device.
5. Counterfeit Apple® USB Adapters have caused two deaths, fires, injuries and equipment damage but are common on Amazon. Apple recently claimed that 90% of Apple Chargers it purchased directly from Amazon were fake.
6. Consumers wouldn't suspect AutoMeter's popular Sport Comp-II tachometer would be counterfeited, but it is. A sluggish or inaccurate tachometer may result in damage, or complete destruction of your vehicle's engine. This poor quality fake was purchased by The Counterfeit Report on Amazon for just a fraction of the authentic items price – an immediate identifier of a fake.
7. Drew Technologies' Mongoose® Pro 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 your vehicle, and install malware on your computer. The authentic product is not made in purple - an obvious fake.
8. Vans® does not make iPhone 6, 7 or 8 cases – but they are common on Amazon. Counterfeit product sales support terrorists, organized crime and other criminals.

Footnotes:

⁽¹⁾ Amazon's counterfeit policy; "The sale of counterfeit products is strictly prohibited. Prohibited products include bootlegs, fakes, or pirated copies of products or content; products that have been illegally replicated, reproduced, or manufactured; and products that infringe another party's intellectual property rights."

⁽²⁾ In a devastating blow to manufacturers and consumer protection, the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld a U.S. District Court decision by Judge Ricardo S. Martinez excusing Amazon from liability in the sale of counterfeit items on its website. (Milo & Gabby, LLC. v. Amazon.com, Inc.)