Amazon’s marketplace has a refund policy that makes shopping relatively low-risk. Its vast network of third-party sellers has made it the most prominent online retailer in the world. This can also come as a disadvantage, however. Amazon can’t check every single seller, so scam sellers inevitably slip through, selling low-quality or fake products to unsuspecting buyers.
It’s happened to many people – you look for a product on Amazon and click on a listing. The pictures and the price seem fine, so you go ahead and buy. When you actually receive the item, something is off. It has expired, has a different color or texture, or the package is damaged. You bought an item from an illegitimate reseller.
How can you protect yourself? Here are a few things to look and look out for before buying from the Amazon marketplace.
Buy Directly From The Manufacturer
If the manufacturer or the individual behind the brand is a personal acquaintance, look them up and buy directly from them. It’s easy to find people on Amazon and add them to your Friends list. On the Friends & Favorites page, use the search box in the upper left corner. The default setting of the drop-down menu is “People.” Enter their name or email address.
Buy from the producer directly than from a random reseller. You risk buying damaged, fake, or expired products.
Check feedback
The seller feedback consists of reviews of the seller’s performance. These are not reviews of his products. If you read more than one review that the product was fake or didn’t arrive, avoid buying from the seller.
Click on the product listing to find the seller feedback section. It says “sold by (seller name)” and “ships from” in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Click on the seller’s name. You can see how much positive and negative feedback the seller has gotten in percentages. In the Feedback tab, you can see comments other buyers have left.
Of course, there’s no saying the reviews will be honest. Unauthorized sellers will buy large quantities of items from themselves and leave fake reviews on their profiles from several accounts. A bulk of excellent reviews left around the same time is a typical red flag.
Look for Prime FBA shipping
A seller who offers Prime FBA shipping is a verified Amazon marketplace partner. Sellers approved by Amazon have an Amazon’s Choice badge.
Red Flags
Product reviews are the first place to start. A few reviews don’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t buy from that seller. They might not have had time to build a reputation or only launched their product recently. However, numerous poor reviews shouldn’t be ignored. Authentic reviews are marked as a “verified purchase.”
As with seller reviews, product reviews are easy to fake. 5-star reviews left within several days of each other are a warning sign. The merchant probably bought fake reviews and published them in bulk.
Amazon eliminates a seller’s privileges if they get a lot of bad reports. Illegitimate sellers sometimes have several accounts. They avoid being flagged by keeping their separate accounts active only for a short time. A recently opened account can thus be a red flag.
If a price appears too good to be true, then you might need to think twice. Be careful with significant discounts like 60% off the regular price. It’s not worth buying if there are other red flags.
