Amazon is known for selling popular and high-quality products, such as Apple, Samsung, and other well-known brands. However, some customers have come across listings of these products that are actually fake.
Therefore, customers may be curious as to how strict Amazon’s policy is regarding fake products. If you’d like to find out, keep reading this article to learn what I gathered on this topic!
Amazon’s Fake Product Policy
Amazon’s policy for counterfeit goods states that all products sold by Amazon sellers must be authentic. If a seller does not abide by that policy, they may lose their selling privileges, have their funds withheld, have all their inventory in the Amazon warehouses disposed of, and/or deactivate their seller accounts.
If you’d like to learn more about Amazon’s policy for fake products, how to report a fake listing on Amazon, what to do with fake purchases, and more, keep reading for more facts, tips, and information!
Does Amazon Allow Sellers To List Fake Products?
Amazon sellers are required to agree to the Anti-Counterfeiting Policy stated in Amazon Seller Central, which states that any product that is considered to be counterfeit is prohibited from being sold on Amazon.
Therefore, any listed products discovered to be counterfeits will be removed from the seller’s page, resulting in suspension of selling privileges, disposal of their goods in Amazon’s warehouse, and the possibility of further legal actions.
Amazon sellers who are unsure what types of products qualify as counterfeit can consult the following list:
- Bootlegs
- Fakes
- Pirated copies of products and/or content
- Products that have been illegally replicated, reproduced, or manufactured
- Products that infringe upon another person’s intellectual property rights
What Can I Do If My Amazon Purchase is a Fake?
If customers find that the product they purchased from Amazon is fake, they can contact Amazon customer service and request a full refund for the product.
Amazon guarantees a refund for any product that arrives differently than it’s advertised.
Therefore, customers who have received a counterfeit item that was advertised as being legitimate will automatically be offered a refund.
Customers can obtain a refund by filing an A to Z Guarantee, which is a recommended course of action if they are unable to obtain a refund from the seller directly.
In addition to being refunded, customers can take further action by contacting the brand the Amazon seller is posing as, which will enable the brand to track down the seller and shut down their operations.
Finally, customers are recommended to contact their credit card company and request a chargeback if they are not approved for a refund.
How Do I Spot Fake Products on Amazon?
If customers are unsure about whether or not a product on Amazon is fake, they can keep an eye out for key details.
Some indicators of a fake product include the following:
- Low-quality product images
- Confusing or misspelled language in the product title and description
- Negative customer reviews
- Fake customer reviews
In addition to searching for the above indicators, customers are recommended to search through the other products that the seller has listed to see if they are of similar quality.
However, if customers spot any red flags and believe the product to be fake, they are recommended to avoid making a purchase and search for their desired item from another seller or on a different website.
Will Amazon Offer a Refund for a Fake Product?
Amazon will generally offer a refund for fake products if they arrive differently than they were advertised in their look and/or function. Customers have up to 90 days to request a refund by filing an A to Z Guarantee against the seller.
Customers should note that Amazon may not be able to refund the purchase of a fake product in all circumstances.
However, customers are still urged to report the fake product in order for Amazon to remove it from the website.
Also, if customers are unsuccessful in obtaining a refund from Amazon, they may be able to request a chargeback from their credit card company.
How Do I Report a Fake Product to Amazon?
In order to report a fake product to Amazon, customers can call their customer service number and explain the necessary details to a customer service representative.
Also, if customers have purchased a fake product, they can report the item purchased by doing the following:
- Log in to your Amazon account and go to the Your Orders page.
- Scroll through and locate the order containing the counterfeit item.
- Select “Problem with your order,” choose “inaccurate product description,” and type any necessary comments into the provided text box about the counterfeit item.
- Afterward, select “Request return,” and Amazon will review the request.
In most cases, Amazon will refund their customers for a counterfeit product. However, customers should note that Amazon may not be able to provide a refund in all cases.
Nevertheless, it’s still recommended that the product be reported to Amazon in order to have the product page removed from the website.
To find out more about shopping at Amazon, you can also read our posts on whether or not Amazon reviews are fake, buying diamonds on Amazon, and buying perfume & cologne on Amazon.
