When shopping on Amazon, eBay and Walmart, it’s hard to distinguish between good and bad sellers. Heck, even I’ve bought junk from third-party sellers … companies that use major e-commerce platforms to sell their products.
You’d think that Amazon, eBay and Walmart would vet folks selling on their sites. Nope. That’s why a new federal requirement is going into effect.
The Integrity, Notification and Fairness in Online Retail Marketplaces for Consumers (INFORM Consumers) Act is hoping to keep the lowest of the low off online platforms. But come on, do you think the scammers will say, “We better not violate that law! We need to get our crap off Amazon now.” Me neither.
Tricks of the trade
When I say “counterfeit,” what comes to mind? Fake sneakers? A knock-off designer bag? Tech is a prime target for fakes, too, and some can be surprisingly hard to spot — especially when all you have to go off are a few pictures online.
Often fakes look very similar to name products from brands like Apple. It’s not just about the fancy name, either. Counterfeits might look similar, but the quality isn’t what you’d get buying the real thing.
Not a huge deal if we’re talking about a belt. Big deal if it’s a charger that could catch fire and burn your house down or an SD card with a fraction of the storage it claims.
Fakes as far as the eye can see
You’re a savvy shopper. But say you’re looking for a tech product you don’t know much about. What one person might know is a ridiculous price could seem like a smoking deal to someone else. Scammers target people in the market for the lowest price and won’t do much research.
A new law won’t protect you
- Look at customer reviews, ratings and feedback. Use FakeSpot to detect the fake ones.
- It’s worth Googling the brand, too, to see if anything pops up. I like to add the word “review” to these searches.
- Check the packaging or images for misspellings, missing or weird logos or anything else that feels off.
- Take a closer look at the photo quality, too. If they’re blurry, generic or inconsistent, bad sign.
- Compare the specs to those you find on another site. Counterfeits often have some mistakes or changes in the details.
I was leaving a friend’s BBQ the other day. A gentleman asked if I had a moment. He told me he was on Amazon looking at laptops. A few minutes later, he was on Facebook and got an ad for that laptop $400 cheaper than Amazon’s price of $1,799.
He bought it and now, five weeks later, no laptop and no one answers his email. I hated to tell him that he got scammed. If the price is too good to be true, don’t buy it.
I wish laws to protect us from scammers would work. I wish Amazon, eBay, Walmart and the other sites would put us — customers — first and watch out for us.
✅ But as my very wise mother used to tell me, “Wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which one you’re holding.” Now, be a pal and share this article with someone so they don’t get duped.