How can you tell if you're buying a fake product on Amazon?

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PhiladelphiaX

macrumors member
If you're trying to find good deals on used brand name products -- how can you be certain that you're buying a real product? Like for example, phone cases, screen protectors, for your phone -- in this case, Incase (no pun intended haha).

Does Amazon allow sellers to use the names of real manufacturers to sell fake or look-alike products? If so, how can anyone be sure that they're purchasing the real thing?

Usually, I look at several things before buying something on Amazon.

1.) How many number of ratings that seller has (the more the better)

2.) The average rating (the higher the better)

3.) The customer reviews/comments


But I've read in some of the comments of the product that I'm interested in purchasing, that it is a "cheap imitation" of the real thing. How are people allowed to get away with this on Amazon?
 
I think sometimes ratings get aggregated (i.e. even if different sellers sell the same item, they are get combined into one rating/ad.).

If you've bought things off of amazon before, sometimes it lists Amazon as the seller, and when they sell out, if you go back to the same page using the same link, it will list a third party seller. That means the ratings are tied to the product names/IDs, and not the sellers.

Most people wouldn't even know. Some of the knockoffs are REALLY good and include virtually identical packaging, and even certificates.

I bought a Speck Candyshell which was a knockoff, but damn, it was a good one. I ended up returning i because I know the real thing from the fake.

You just have to be careful.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Best bet is to just buy something sold by Amazon not a marketplace seller.
Click to expand...

I've also seen reviews of people saying what they bought through Amazon were even fakes. Maybe its just someone not realizing that they bought the item through another seller (they wanted a cheaper price) so the review isn't accurate.

I guess it depends on what you're buying but I stick to if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
 
Sold and shipped by Amazon is different from Sold by *insert 3rd party reseller here* and shipped by Amazon...
 
You can tell it's fake the day you open it hoping to find a genuine Incase case but find a Imcase one instead. :D

But it seems that buyer's comments are the best way to judge.
 
rockyroad55 said:
Best bet is to just buy something sold by Amazon not a marketplace seller.
Click to expand...
Usually what I do.

fiddlestyx said:
I've also seen reviews of people saying what they bought through Amazon were even fakes. Maybe its just someone not realizing that they bought the item through another seller (they wanted a cheaper price) so the review isn't accurate.
Click to expand...
It's definitely people that don't understand the difference.

NovemberWhiskey said:
I think sometimes ratings get aggregated (i.e. even if different sellers sell the same item, they are get combined into one rating/ad.).
Click to expand...
OP is referring to the seller's rating, not the product rating.
 
PhiladelphiaX said:
If you're trying to find good deals on used brand name products -- how can you be certain that you're buying a real product? Like for example, phone cases, screen protectors, for your phone -- in this case, Incase (no pun intended haha).

Does Amazon allow sellers to use the names of real manufacturers to sell fake or look-alike products? If so, how can anyone be sure that they're purchasing the real thing?

Usually, I look at several things before buying something on Amazon.

1.) How many number of ratings that seller has (the more the better)

2.) The average rating (the higher the better)

3.) The customer reviews/comments


But I've read in some of the comments of the product that I'm interested in purchasing, that it is a "cheap imitation" of the real thing. How are people allowed to get away with this on Amazon?
Click to expand...


What I tend to do is look at the product providers website before hand to see if they have a section on "fakes". Ive found that a lot of accessories on amazon are fake so i avoid using it to purchase my accessories. I just buy them from the direct website of the company.
 
John T said:
That's interesting. Any specific examples?
Click to expand...

When i bought my spiderpodium from breffo, i saw it on amazon, the price was very cheap to what i have seen elsewhere so i visited their website and they had a section on fakes.
 
alanrocks said:
When i bought my spiderpodium from breffo, i saw it on amazon, the price was very cheap to what i have seen elsewhere so i visited their website and they had a section on fakes.
Click to expand...

Spiderpodium from Breffo is available on line from a number of sources (including Amazon) at a variety of prices. A large number of products are sold by various retailers at prices lower than that quoted by the manufacturer. This does not mean that they are fakes!

Can you post a link to Amazon's section on fakes?
 
John T said:
Spiderpodium from Breffo is available on line from a number of sources (including Amazon) at a variety of prices. A large number of products are sold by various retailers at prices lower than that quoted by the manufacturer. This does not mean that they are fakes!

Can you post a link to Amazon's section on fakes?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Breffos website i meant sorry and looked at their fake section. I just cant see how people are charging them £4 cheaper (incl free delivery) just doesnt make sense to me.
 
you really can't

but here is some advice

1) if it ships from Asia it is probably fake
2) Read the reviews
3) See if anyone has posted user pictures
4) IF it is cheap and has free shipping take the risk

I purchased a fake OEM bumper for $2 and it was identical to the Apple Bumper I replaced. So sometimes you just get lucky.
 
I buy a LOT from Amazon and agree that you are safest buying a product sold and shipped by Amazon. It's really, REALLY important to read the review of products far enough into the listings that you get the negative ones. That's where you'll decide if the product is still something you want. It's not impossible for 5-star positive ones to be posted by people with an interest in the product's success.

I agree the shipping from Hong Kong or Shanghai or such would be suspect for fake. Not only that, but it can take FOREVER to get the package to the US - there's customs on the China end, customs in Alaska (or elsewhere in the US) at least once. And, in one situation I encountered, there was no way to trace the package, even though I paid extra to be able to do that. Never again.

I ordered an Otterbox Defender via a supplier on Amazon and it was incredibly accurate - identical in many ways. But the exterior material was not genuine Otterbox for the iPhone 5. It was the tacky, lint collecting material of the ealier models. I bit the bullet and paid full price from Otterbox, just to be sure I had the real deal.

Another thing to watch for is where a seller has only a few items available, sometimes even only one. This is a red-light warning that it's an individual selling either used items or knock-offs.
 
In my experience sometimes, the new sellers aren't bad as long as they are located here in the US. You can also email the seller from Amazon and sometimes they want to sell because they don't need it anymore
 
Amazon fulfilled orders can contain counterfeit products

fiddlestyx said:
I've also seen reviews of people saying what they bought through Amazon were even fakes. Maybe its just someone not realizing that they bought the item through another seller (they wanted a cheaper price) so the review isn't accurate.

I guess it depends on what you're buying but I stick to if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.
Click to expand...

I recently bought a pair of LG bluetooth headphones, fulfilled by Amazon. They were fake. I have contacted Amazon and they didn't take it very seriously and kinda blew me off. Although, they are giving me a refund upon returning it. I also contacted LG, they took it a little more seriously and filed a fraud report. So, just to let you know, Amazon LLC does apparently sell counterfeit products. Whether it was on purpose or not, I don't know.
 
"Fulfilled by Amazon" only means they are warehousing and shipping for the third party seller. When you purchase something "Fulfilled by Amazon" you are still buying from the third party, not Amazon, so buyer beware.

On items I'm concerned with fakes I only buy directly from Amazon or if a third party has a store there, like Spigen, I'll buy from them. With any other third party sellers, including those who participate in the "Fulfilled by Amazon" program, I assume there is a pretty good chance what they are selling is a fake an won't waste my money.
 
August West said:
"Fulfilled by Amazon" only means they are warehousing and shipping for the third party seller. When you purchase something "Fulfilled by Amazon" you are still buying from the third party, not Amazon, so buyer beware.

On items I'm concerned with fakes I only buy directly from Amazon or if a third party has a store there, like Spigen, I'll buy from them. With any other third party sellers, including those who participate in the "Fulfilled by Amazon" program, I assume there is a pretty good chance what they are selling is a fake an won't waste my money.
Click to expand...

When I read the reviews of the possible counterfeits on the product (after I had ordered, unfortunately) I called Amazon customer service to see if they had addressed the issue. The agent told me that my order was directly from Amazon LLC and that their products were tested for authenticity. This was a product supplied by Amazon. That's why I was so upset when I got the fakes.
The page I ordered from said "Ships and sold by Amazon LLC"

Here's the link to the page I purchased them from...
http://www.amazon.com/LG-Electronic...TF8&qid=1389994301&sr=1-1&keywords=lg+HBS-730
 
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If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Do not buy products which Amazon doesn't ship. In my experience it's generally ok to buy from a third party so long as Amazon is shipping it. If the third party went all the way through the trouble to ship goods to Amazon's warehouses, it's probably legit. I say "probably" though because you never know. But if a product is fulfilled by Amazon, then returns are pretty easy so the risk is low.
 
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