Amazon’s marketplace is filled with just about every item imaginable, from home goods to tech, groceries, and more. But one of its downfalls is the struggle to keep tabs on the millions of sellers lurking around the online giant’s storefront. A new report out this week details changes Amazon is making to help curb these counterfeit listings and protect consumers along the way. Head below for additional information and a few best practice tips from 9to5Toys to help keep yourself safe from questionable third-party sellers at Amazon.
Amazon moves to curb counterfeit items
A new report from CNBC this week details how Amazon is looking to cut back on the amount of counterfeit items found on its online storefronts. Previously, Amazon would go through a somewhat unfruitful process of trying to track down and stop knock-offs. But now, according to CNBC, Amazon will move to crack down further by giving more data to the authorities and pursue legal action.
Amongst Amazon’s most famous counterfeit problems was a steady stream of knock-off Apple products. After Apple opened an official shop at Amazon in recent years, those issues have mostly been put to rest. Amazon has looked to remedy other concerns of this nature by creating more official partnerships with brands, which have resulted in a mixed bag of effectiveness over the years.
CNBC further details how Amazon plans on acting such instances of in the future:
According to the source, Amazon will report a merchant’s name, company name, product and contact information to authorities, after it confirms a business was selling fakes, closes the seller’s account, and the account holder does not make a successful appeal via Amazon’s typical processes.
How effective this new approach will be is yet to be seen, but any moves by Amazon to protect shoppers is a good thing in our eyes. This is undoubtedly a topic worth keeping an eye on throughout 2020 and beyond.
Tips to protect yourself while shopping at Amazon
We work hard here at 9to5Toys to bring you not only the best deals online, but to go a step further and ensure that those products are sold by trustworthy retailers. The equation is relatively simple at Amazon, if you know what to look for. In general, it’s best to make sure that your items are “shipped and sold” by Amazon, a designation you’ll find just below the price on most listings.
In some instances, items are sold directly from the manufacturer, but still shipped by Amazon. A great example is Anker, which runs its own Amazon storefront, but offers Prime delivery with fulfillment by Amazon. Generally, these products come direct from the manufacturer and run lower risks of counterfeit issues.
However, it’s most important to keep an eye out for sellers with low ratings and poor feedback. Especially those that are not using Amazon fulfillment program. You can access individual seller ratings by clicking on their names, just below the buy now button on most Amazon listings. Our threshold here at 9to5Toys is a 95% lifetime approval rating with thousands of reviews. Anything below that would be considered a risk.
Counterfeit products are a real concern at Amazon, and that’s why we do our best to only share top-grade deals here at 9to5Toys. Following these best practices are just a few ways to keep yourself protected while shopping online.
Source: CNBC
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