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New Amazon Counterfeit Removal Program


Ed Mack

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I can see competitors buying products and making claims that they received bootleg/counterfeit goods in order to get others kicked off Amazon if they get aggressive about this.  I really hope that isn't the case, but I know of other sellers that have had to deal with this in the past.

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Guest TabbyBoy

eBay should do this, but it'll reduce the fees that they get their greedy mitts on. I agree, competitors will try any dirty trick these days to get the upper hand. These online marketplaces should simply take down listings when reported as fake. It's so obvious that 90%+ can be spotted a mile off.

FFS LEGO... just put a sodding hologram on your boxes! How hard can it be? You charge enough!

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2 hours ago, zskid00 said:

I can see competitors buying products and making claims that they received bootleg/counterfeit goods in order to get others kicked off Amazon if they get aggressive about this.  I really hope that isn't the case, but I know of other sellers that have had to deal with this in the past.

Although, if you have a long history of selling on the platform with good feedback, and good metrics, I don't see how you can't counter those sort of scammers.

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5 hours ago, fossilrock said:

Although, if you have a long history of selling on the platform with good feedback, and good metrics, I don't see how you can't counter those sort of scammers.

It is impossible to provide the proper documentation to amazon regarding the authenticity of lego. End of story. If they push the issue, you're skrewed.

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I like the idea and would like Amazon to do the following in partnership with manufacturers to ensure authenticity

  • random inspection of FBA products that are already in Amazon's warehouse (Amazon to reimburse any un-sellable products due to opened packaging)
  • secret shopper style for FBM products like what Apple did already

I hope the brand registry does not create an environment where the brand owners have absolute control and barred all 3PS from Amazon.

1 hour ago, Migration said:

It is impossible to provide the proper documentation to amazon regarding the authenticity of lego. End of story. If they push the issue, you're skrewed.

That's where Amazon require you to provide a letter from the manufacturer/distributor authorized to re-sell their products and/or multiple approved invoices to prove you are a legitimate business and buying them from legitimate sources and buying them in bulk (I guess Amazon does not like accepting Walmart receipts either ?)

Edited by tacsniper
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I like the idea and would like Amazon to do the following in partnership with manufacturers to ensure authenticity
  • random inspection of FBA products that are already in Amazon's warehouse (Amazon to reimburse any un-sellable products due to opened packaging)
  • secret shopper style for FBM products like what Apple did already
I hope the brand registry does not create an environment where the brand owners have absolute control and barred all 3PS from Amazon.
That's where Amazon require you to provide a letter from the manufacturer/distributor authorized to re-sell their products and/or multiple approved invoices to prove you are a legitimate business and buying them from legitimate sources and buying them in bulk (I guess Amazon does not like accepting Walmart receipts either )

How does one obtain said letter when selling Lego? To my knowledge, you can't.
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7 hours ago, tacsniper said:

 

That's where Amazon require you to provide a letter from the manufacturer/distributor authorized to re-sell their products and/or multiple approved invoices to prove you are a legitimate business and buying them from legitimate sources and buying them in bulk (I guess Amazon does not like accepting Walmart receipts either 1f609.png)

What manufacturers and distributors are all these authorized third-party sellers supposedly buying from?

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1 hour ago, Jackson said:

What manufacturers and distributors are all these authorized third-party sellers supposedly buying from?

LEGO direct? In the UK, I don't think they have any distributors. No middlemen = more profit?

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5 hours ago, Migration said:


How does one obtain said letter when selling Lego? To my knowledge, you can't.

True.  Most Mom and Pop resellers that have permission to sell LEGO and buy direct only sell in a brick and mortar toy store.  Why would you need a letter for that?   The chances of LEGO giving a regular online reseller are remote...as in no chance in Hell.  LOL

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15 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

True.  Most Mom and Pop resellers that have permission to sell LEGO and buy direct only sell in a brick and mortar toy store.  Why would you need a letter for that?   The chances of LEGO giving a regular online reseller are remote...as in no chance in Hell.  LOL

I agree, why would LEGO sell to small fry if they're already doing very well with Amazon, TRU, Smyths, etc? LEGO could end our game in a heartbeat if they wanted to, but we are an important part of their market - perhaps we outnumber end users - who knows?. Amazon may well be stricter, but I think eBay put their fees first and don't really care who sells what. Even an online or paper receipt can be easily doctored so I doubt these will hold up if push comes to shove. I can't help thinking that bogus bricks will be the eventual winners.

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30 minutes ago, TabbyBoy said:

I agree, why would LEGO sell to small fry if they're already doing very well with Amazon, TRU, Smyths, etc? LEGO could end our game in a heartbeat if they wanted to, but we are an important part of their market - perhaps we outnumber end users - who knows?. Amazon may well be stricter, but I think eBay put their fees first and don't really care who sells what. Even an online or paper receipt can be easily doctored so I doubt these will hold up if push comes to shove. I can't help thinking that bogus bricks will be the eventual winners.

As mentioned previously, the one person this will hurt the most will be the small, legit reseller of LEGO sets.  Amazon could tire of all the complaints and decide only to sell directly from LEGO itself.  

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I don't think they will do that. As the article states, 50% of Amazon sales are through 3rd party sellers. I don't think they will want to discourage that revenue. Easiest way to do it is ban the Chinese 3rd party sellers. No offense, but all the counterfeit crap comes from China.

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16 minutes ago, labfreak7 said:

I don't think they will do that. As the article states, 50% of Amazon sales are through 3rd party sellers. I don't think they will want to discourage that revenue. Easiest way to do it is ban the Chinese 3rd party sellers. No offense, but all the counterfeit crap comes from China.

It would be very easy to ship that crap to US resellers, which in turn will sell on Amazon.

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6 hours ago, Ed Mack said:

True.  Most Mom and Pop resellers that have permission to sell LEGO and buy direct only sell in a brick and mortar toy store.  Why would you need a letter for that?   The chances of LEGO giving a regular online reseller are remote...as in no chance in Hell.  LOL

I believe Lego ITD also prohibits selling online as part of the license, which is why you don't see a lot of local/regional toy chains that sell Lego online.  It's a shame because ITD forces you to buy across the range, which means most mom & pop toy stores can't afford it even if they can qualify.  If they could sell the "unsellables" online, it might make it worth it for them.

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9 minutes ago, DadsAFOL said:

I believe Lego ITD also prohibits selling online as part of the license, which is why you don't see a lot of local/regional toy chains that sell Lego online.  It's a shame because ITD forces you to buy across the range, which means most mom & pop toy stores can't afford it even if they can qualify.  If they could sell the "unsellables" online, it might make it worth it for them.

easy for them to get by that though with no tracking as of now.  Gaming card companies awhile ago started putting numbers on the sealed boxes that could be tracked back to the original direct dealer purchaser when they were trying to prevent online sales below MSRP.  Remember the big scare,  some distributors and wholesalers wouldn't sell to me for a bit cause they feared it would come back to them.  Didn't last long though, got to the point where they still needed to move the product.

Very few companies it pays to be direct with though because of those same reasons, just to much crap to have to buy and very little successful products for having to do so.  Usually a few where you can hit hot streaks with them where it pays (McFarlands first years come to mind), but as a whole it is not a successful venture.

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if you think they are serious about getting rid of "counterfits" just look at todays lightning deals...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/ref=gbps_ftr_s-3_596a_page_1?gb_f_GB-SUPPLE=sortOrder:BY_SCORE,dealTypes:LIGHTNING_DEAL,enforcedCategories:165793011&pf_rd_p=af76a610-c28c-4f12-9308-ccc69eba596a&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=HSEK38GSCN01PFWDRX2H

not sure how these are picked but looks like about half of them are knockoffs of lego and other brands, many of them are blatant copies...

Edited by jay4e
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27 minutes ago, jay4e said:

if you think they are serious about getting rid of "counterfits" just look at todays lightning deals...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/goldbox/ref=gbps_ftr_s-3_596a_page_1?gb_f_GB-SUPPLE=sortOrder:BY_SCORE,dealTypes:LIGHTNING_DEAL,enforcedCategories:165793011&pf_rd_p=af76a610-c28c-4f12-9308-ccc69eba596a&pf_rd_s=slot-3&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=gb_main&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=HSEK38GSCN01PFWDRX2H

not sure how these are picked but looks like about half of them are knockoffs of lego and other brands, many of them are blatant copies...

Micro Brick-Land is not real??  At least when you type Rockefeller Center in Micro is 2nd on the list and LEGO is 6th.  Priorities...

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