Amazon's crackdown on counterfeits questioned: Treat sellers differently?

Amazon recently called for more crackdowns on counterfeit products, but sellers questioned Amazon's approach.

Amazon calls for crackdown on counterfeit products

Amazon calls on businesses and governments to work together to curb the sale of counterfeit goods to protect the rights of consumers and sellers from infringement.

Amazon said it has been fighting counterfeiting. In 2020 , Amazon launched a special department to combat counterfeiting crimes to help hold counterfeiters accountable through courts and law enforcement agencies. At the same time, by using advanced machines and professional manual procedures, Amazon has established effective measures to protect the platform from counterfeit products .

The company has also developed industry-leading tools for sellers , including Brand Registry, Project Zero, and Transparency, which sellers can use to protect their products and reduce the presence of counterfeits.

Treat sellers differently?

However, some sellers have reported that Amazon treats sellers differently in response to these measures.

Some big brand sellers, such as Adidas, Apple and even Amazon itself, can indeed enjoy Amazon's relevant protection policies. But for some small brand sellers, this is not the case.

An Amazon seller named Fred Ruckel said that he invented a cat toy called Ripple Rug and sold it on Amazon. For several months, other sellers have been copying his products and earning tens of thousands of dollars in sales. After Ruckel reported it to Amazon, Amazon deleted these counterfeit products, but new counterfeit sellers still emerge.

Fred Ruckel said that some big brands, such as Apple, will receive additional protection from Amazon. Without Apple's authorization, other sellers are prohibited from listing Apple's refurbished and second-hand products. However, sellers of small brands cannot enjoy this protection.

Juozas Kaziukenas, founder and CEO of research firm Marketplace Pulse, said that on Amazon, at least hundreds or even thousands of brands have their products given additional brand protection.

Amazon did not specify how many brands have such protections or how sellers can obtain them. Some sellers suspect that Amazon is reluctant to provide comprehensive brand protection in order to maintain market competitiveness. After all, low-priced counterfeit products can also attract consumers. For example, brands such as Nike have previously withdrawn from Amazon due to too many counterfeit products on Amazon.

Amazon says it doesn't discriminate against sellers , but sellers like Ruckel say it does.

Recently, negative news about Amazon has continued to emerge, and has even attracted the attention of the US Congress. I wonder how this matter will develop in the future.

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