How Are Counterfeit Listings on Legitimate Auction?
Online auction sites give shoppers the experience of an online “virtual” flea market because there is a wide variety of merchandise available, including new as well as old products for sale. But beware; oh trusting shopper, for the online auction business carries forth tremendous risk!
Online Shoppers: Be Wary of Counterfeits
Here is some advice that online shoppers need to know:
- Genuine products will not have an especially low price, so be extremely wary of goods with a price that is actually too good to be true. If the price is too low to merit the actual quality of the product, this should be a red flag that you are about to buy a counterfeit product.
- Every online shopper should only make online purchases from known reputable dealers. If you come across auction sites that offer products without boxes, warranty documentation or packaging details, look for another supplier. They are obviously selling counterfeit products.
- Finally, if you notice cheap or damaged packaging or labeling or misspelling in the products, then it is time to report the matter and take action against the site from which you purchased the product.
Dealing with Auction Sites
Although shutting down legitimate auction sites is not easy even if they do have counterfeit listings on their sites, it is not an impossible task. There are still a variety of ways in which to deal with auction sites who are selling illegal products.
- One way is to use the programs provided by auction sites that direct them to take legal action that can be exercised by manufacturers.
- Popular auction sites like eBay have programs that protect manufacturers’ rights. For instance, eBay has a program called VERO where manufacturers can instigate auction shutdowns.
- Manufacturers can send cease and desist letters to put illegal sites on notice. This is a rather effective step and can definitely keep shoppers informed about such auction sites.
- Shutting down the supplier of illegal products at the manufacturing level can curb their ability to distribute the product to sellers. This requires manufacturers to monitor online activities closely.
- Consumer participation by seller feedback is a contributing factor to shutting down sites of counterfeit products. This is where your customers can help you deal with counterfeit detection by providing you with valuable feedback.
- Providing the auction site with historical data of the sellers’ activities can go a long way toward having the illegal listing removed. This is where manufacturers can get back to those counterfeit sellers and also ensure that auction sites are aware of these counterfeit sellers.
- Providing the federal prosecutor teams with valid information on illegal activity can help tackle counterfeits better. In this process, the criteria lists may seem rather detailed in nature, but manufacturers can be guaranteed to receive favorable results.
Hopefully the above mentioned tips will be of assistance to both customers and manufacturers alike. Happy shopping!
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