4 Ways You Can Spot Counterfeit Items on Amazon

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Amazon has rigorous policies concerning the selling of counterfeit products on its site, and is very keen for customers to report Amazon infringement. And yet, day after day, fraudsters continue to dupe buyers into purchasing things from them on Amazon.

One big reason it’s still happening is that buyers have a false sense of security that Amazon protects them from these fake products, when in fact, there’s genuine danger lurking in its selling pages. 

Of course, being ‘only’ a middleman allows Amazon to shirk its responsibilities on this one to a certain degree. Which means the onus falls on you, the buyer, to protect yourself. 

So how can you spot a counterfeit item on Amazon? Here are the four tell-tale signs you might be heading for buyer’s remorse.

1. The Price Is Too Good to Be True

Okay, so this is a cliche, but that does not been it’s not a great point. If something looks too good to be true, then it probably is; it’s as simple as that. If you have found a Louis Vuitton bag on Amazon for $50, and you think that it’s an astonishing price, you are due for a major disappointment when that ‘Louis Vuitton’ bag arrives on your doorstep.

2. Research the Prices Elsewhere

If you have absolutely no idea how much the genuine article should cost, do your research. The most straightforward way to find out is to go to the company’s website and check. Or even check on Amazon itself for similar items. If you find substantial differences in price, then the cheap products are most likely fake.

3. Check Who Is Selling the Product

If you see an item you’d like to buy on Amazon, check the listing to find out who the seller is. If the seller of the item is not the same as the manufacturer, you need to ask yourself, why? If you know the item’s manufacturer, check to see if it is listed in Amazon’s sellers.  If it is, you then need to ask why that manufacturer would be allowing other companies to sell their own products – at a discount – on Amazon. The most likely answer is, that it wouldn’t. 

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4. Check Out the Reviews

The reviews on Amazon are there for a reason; to help you decide whether the item you want to buy is worth buying and whether the seller is trustworthy. So make the most of this vital resource. But beware; these reviews need to be taken with a pinch of salt. Companies selling dodgy products know how valuable a good review is, and so will pay people to write glowing reviews for them. If there are a lot of 5-star reviews next to even more 3-star or lower reviews, that is a pretty good sign that something is up.

Summary

To summarise, if you know what to look for, it isn’t usually that hard to spot a fake product. Think about the price and if it seems to be too low, research what the correct amount should be. Check who is selling the product and read the reviews. These things sound obvious, but nine times out of ten, the clues that something isn’t as good as it looks, are right there on the page.

This is a collaborative post.