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I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions here. I have a lot of experience in this space. For starters, Amazon has very good policies that allow sellers to pro

I'd like to clear up a few misconceptions here. I have a lot of experience in this space. For starters, Amazon has very good policies that allow sellers to protect their IP and products. It's very easy to remove fraudulent products from your listing. The problem is that Amazon is a very complex platform to use, with a lot of rules and policies, so it seems to me that the sellers in the article, and many others, don't quite know how to protect their ASINs. I would like to think that Amazon would do a little better to inform the sellers, but since so many are just starting, or are amateurs, there probably isn't time to walk each one through. Of course, RTMFD, as they are very clear on what is and isn't allowed to be sold. For example, it is a clear and blatant violation of Amazon policy to drop-ship from overseas. eBay and Amazon aren't able to police everything. It is up to the sellers and buyers to report products that are knock-offs. As a buyer, I've closed down a few listings. As a seller, I've done the same, but mind that there is a complex war going on between sellers. Some sellers game the system by nuking your listing over fake violations, so there is a balance to all of this that is very difficult to maintain. Unfortunately, the world is full of jerks, so if it was a blind trust, we'd be in a much worse position. Anyways, please read through ALL the policies of Amazon and eBay before making assumptions about what is right and wrong. What is in this article and in many of these comments are very wrong.

austinheap 9y ago
I think you might be missing the point. Amazon didn't used to be a "buyer beware" e-commerce platform. You used to be able to trust them, where as everyone knew eBay was rife with counterfits and fraud. Amazon and eBay didn't used to be comparable, because one site (Amazon) used to have integrity in their product listings. That's no longer the case. Amazon doesn't even attempt to protect consumers the way they used to. This has cheapened their value and put the burden on consumers -- most of which are unable to decipher fraud from legitimate products. I assure you my grandma has zero clue when she's getting scammed on Amazon and that's bad for business and bad for those in our society who are vulnerable to these types of scams. Buying on Amazon shouldn't be like playing roulette.
- dizzystar 9y ago
  This was all an issue 5 years ago, and even before that. I'm not sure why people are just now noticing, but it did cause Amazon to update their policies so it's a bit harder to get started these days. I suppose it was too easy to get started at some point, but the onus has always been on the sellers to protect their product. It's just that this is a lot of work, and I don't think inexperienced sellers like you have in the article are prepared to really understand this.
  - compiler-guy 9y ago
    Amazon's policies mean nothing if they are not being enforced with sufficient rigor to deal with the problems the policy is meant to address. They haven't been, aren't now, and it doesn't look like they will be. Policies are just words without enough action to make them stick.
    - dizzystar 9y ago
      Amazon never enforced their policies in regards to counterfeit. It's always been up to the sellers to take the required actions.
astura 9y ago
>For starters, Amazon has very good policies that allow sellers to protect their IP and products. No they don't. Maybe on paper, but not in practice. >It's very easy to remove fraudulent products from your listing... the sellers in the article, and many others, don't quite know how to protect their ASINs. No its not. Big players like Birkenstock are pulling their products from Amazon due to counterfeits. If it were so easy then they would have figured it out. > it is a clear and blatant violation of Amazon policy to drop-ship from overseas I'm not sure what you think "drop ship from overseas" means, but its not a violation of Amazon's policies to do so. Here's their policy on drop shipping: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201808430 https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8... As long as you clearly indicate your products are coming directly from China and you have your shipper prepare the invoices correctly (identifying you as the seller) its not a violation of Amazon's policy. And even if it were, is has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand, because Chinese factories ship directly to Amazon's warehouses in order to sell their counterfeits FBA. Its absolute ridiculous that you say "its up to sellers and buyers to police themselves." If someone orders an item from Amazon how do they tell its a counterfeit? Do I have to, for example, do lead testing on all the toys I buy? We are talking about baby products here. You're also ignoring the brands who don't want to be in the retail business - they want to sell through merchants and distributors but not directly through Amazon. Amazon can police its listings 1000X better than it currently does. Do we really want to turn eCommerce into Russian roulette for a quick buck? It's bad for the buyer, its bad for the seller, and its bad for the manufacturer. The only winners re Chinese factories and Amazon through their fat commission.
- dizzystar 9y ago
  Your link says nothing that supports your claim. Drop shipping from China is a violation of the TOS. There's nothing more to add to that. It's a lot of work to get these listing removed. The process is have the offending product sent to you, take photos, send the photos to Amazon. You can also hire and attorney to send a cease-and-desist notice, and you can also sue (if the company is based in the US). If you are a large seller, then you have to do this for each and every product that is piggybacking on your listing. Recently, Amazon added two things: 1- To list a product, you need a UPC. 2- You can restrict others from selling your brand.

austinheap 9y ago

I think you might be missing the point. Amazon didn't used to be a "buyer beware" e-commerce platform. You used to be able to trust them, where as everyone knew eBay was rife with counterfits and fraud. Amazon and eBay didn't used to be comparable, because one site (Amazon) used to have integrity in their product listings. That's no longer the case. Amazon doesn't even attempt to protect consumers the way they used to. This has cheapened their value and put the burden on consumers -- most of which are unable to decipher fraud from legitimate products. I assure you my grandma has zero clue when she's getting scammed on Amazon and that's bad for business and bad for those in our society who are vulnerable to these types of scams. Buying on Amazon shouldn't be like playing roulette.

dizzystar 9y ago
This was all an issue 5 years ago, and even before that. I'm not sure why people are just now noticing, but it did cause Amazon to update their policies so it's a bit harder to get started these days. I suppose it was too easy to get started at some point, but the onus has always been on the sellers to protect their product. It's just that this is a lot of work, and I don't think inexperienced sellers like you have in the article are prepared to really understand this.
- compiler-guy 9y ago
  Amazon's policies mean nothing if they are not being enforced with sufficient rigor to deal with the problems the policy is meant to address. They haven't been, aren't now, and it doesn't look like they will be. Policies are just words without enough action to make them stick.
  - dizzystar 9y ago
    Amazon never enforced their policies in regards to counterfeit. It's always been up to the sellers to take the required actions.

astura 9y ago

>For starters, Amazon has very good policies that allow sellers to protect their IP and products. No they don't. Maybe on paper, but not in practice. >It's very easy to remove fraudulent products from your listing... the sellers in the article, and many others, don't quite know how to protect their ASINs. No its not. Big players like Birkenstock are pulling their products from Amazon due to counterfeits. If it were so easy then they would have figured it out. > it is a clear and blatant violation of Amazon policy to drop-ship from overseas I'm not sure what you think "drop ship from overseas" means, but its not a violation of Amazon's policies to do so. Here's their policy on drop shipping: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8&nodeId=201808430 https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?ie=UTF8... As long as you clearly indicate your products are coming directly from China and you have your shipper prepare the invoices correctly (identifying you as the seller) its not a violation of Amazon's policy. And even if it were, is has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand, because Chinese factories ship directly to Amazon's warehouses in order to sell their counterfeits FBA. Its absolute ridiculous that you say "its up to sellers and buyers to police themselves." If someone orders an item from Amazon how do they tell its a counterfeit? Do I have to, for example, do lead testing on all the toys I buy? We are talking about baby products here. You're also ignoring the brands who don't want to be in the retail business - they want to sell through merchants and distributors but not directly through Amazon. Amazon can police its listings 1000X better than it currently does. Do we really want to turn eCommerce into Russian roulette for a quick buck? It's bad for the buyer, its bad for the seller, and its bad for the manufacturer. The only winners re Chinese factories and Amazon through their fat commission.

dizzystar 9y ago
Your link says nothing that supports your claim. Drop shipping from China is a violation of the TOS. There's nothing more to add to that. It's a lot of work to get these listing removed. The process is have the offending product sent to you, take photos, send the photos to Amazon. You can also hire and attorney to send a cease-and-desist notice, and you can also sue (if the company is based in the US). If you are a large seller, then you have to do this for each and every product that is piggybacking on your listing. Recently, Amazon added two things: 1- To list a product, you need a UPC. 2- You can restrict others from selling your brand.