Business
How to avoid buying fakes on Walmart, Amazon and other online marketplaces
As more consumers prioritize convenience and value over brand loyalty, experts say they’re turning to online marketplaces more than ever to buy the things they need, raising the risk they could inadvertently purchase a fake product.
While fake goods have exchanged hands in informal markets since ancient times, the growth of online marketplaces has contributed to the rise in counterfeits because of how easy online shopping and selling have become. A CNBC investigation of Walmart‘s marketplace published Friday uncovered dozens of third-party sellers who had stolen the identity of another business, and some of them were offering fake health and beauty products.
After CNBC shared its reporting with Walmart, the company began tightening its vetting process for some products and sellers and said it has a “zero-tolerance policy for prohibited or noncompliant products.”
Serene Lee | SOPA Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Between 2020 and 2024, e-commerce as a percentage of overall U.S. retail sales reached record highs, and goods seized for intellectual property violations more than doubled during that general time period, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
When shopping on online marketplaces, consumers need to be “very careful” to avoid inadvertently purchasing fakes, said Megan Carpenter, the dean and professor of intellectual property law at the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce School of Law.
“You’re purchasing from sellers, distributors, manufacturers that are all over the world with the push of a button,” said Carpenter, who previously practiced intellectual property law. “Sometimes you hear the phrase, ‘buy cheap, buy twice,’ but there are also big safety and danger issues” that come from purchasing fakes online, she said.
Counterfeit products have been endemic to third-party marketplaces for as long as they have existed, but it is difficult to quantify just how common they are. While longtime marketplace operators have made numerous policy changes over the years to crack down on fakes, the nature of the platforms makes it difficult to eradicate counterfeits altogether. Amazon said it has taken steps to address fakes on its platform, and is “proud of the progress” it has made in preventing counterfeits. Walmart added in its statement to CNBC that customers who are not satisfied with an item can return it for a full refund.
To ensure consumers are getting the real thing, here are a few guidelines experts said people should follow when shopping on online marketplaces.
Research the seller
Plenty of brands sell their products directly to consumers through online marketplaces. If the company that makes the item is the one that’s also selling it, experts said that’s always a consumer’s best bet when shopping on online platforms.
If the seller offering the item is not the brand, consumers should research the business to make sure it is legitimate.
In the past, the name or business information of a third-party seller offering a product wasn’t always clear. But the Inform Consumers Act, a law that took effect in 2023, now requires platforms to publish that information for certain sellers.
When shopping on marketplaces like Walmart and Amazon, consumers can see the name of the seller offering the product on the right-hand side of the page. When they click the business name, they can typically see more information, such as its address, phone number and some information about what it does.
The seller’s page will offer a host of clues to consumers. Shoppers can typically see where the business is based, go over its catalog of items and read the reviews it has received. If other shoppers have left reviews saying the business sold fake products, that’s a good sign that consumers should find another seller or other place to purchase the goods.
Shoppers should also check the address of the business. For example, if the seller is offering beauty products and the address either doesn’t exist or goes back to a car repair shop, that’s a red flag.
The name of the business matters, too, said Kari Kammel, the director of the Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection at Michigan State University.
“For example, if you’re buying toys online, and the seller is called, you know, cheap kitchen utensils shop, there’s a discrepancy there, right?” she said. “So it can be a red flag.”
If it’s not immediately obvious if the brand is selling the item, a quick Google search will typically reveal whether the marketplace seller is an authorized distributor of the product. Many brands publish information about resellers on their websites.
When shopping for health and beauty items, the kinds of products that go in or on someone’s body, consumers should only buy directly from the brand or one of its authorized distributors to make sure they are getting genuine products, experts said.
“With any of these counterfeits, you’re gambling, right? You may get one that doesn’t cause any harm, but maybe it just won’t last as long, if you’re lucky,” said Kammel. “On the flip side, you may get something that just totally fails in what would be a normal quality or safety inspection from a legitimate company, and can cause serious harm.”
Plenty of the stuff sold on online marketplaces is considered first party, meaning the platform owns and distributes the products themselves on a wholesale basis. If consumers see “sold and shipped by Amazon” or “sold and shipped by Walmart” they can feel comfortable purchasing the item, regardless of the category, experts said.
Question the price
When shopping on online marketplaces, consumers should keep in mind the old adage: “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.”
If a shopper sees a luxury beauty cream that’s being sold at a 91% discount from its typical retail price, as CNBC found during its investigation into Walmart’s marketplace, that’s a major red flag that the item could be counterfeit.
“One of the strongest hooks to get people to buy these counterfeit products, of course, is price,” said Saleem Alhabash, the associate director of research at Michigan State’s Center for Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection. “Making it sound like it’s too good of a deal to pass along.”
Sometimes, the products that third-party sellers are offering are discounted because they were purchased from liquidators or during a promotion directly from a retailer or brand. In those cases, the price reduction will usually be more modest and the item’s cost will be closer to the typical selling price, experts said.
Still, counterfeiters are getting more savvy and are using market data to price their products, Alhabash said. Sometimes, fake goods can be priced nearly identically to the typical selling cost, he said.
Packaging
When consumers buy from third-party sellers on online marketplaces and still aren’t sure if they’ve purchased a legitimate item, the product’s packaging can also offer clues once it arrives.
“Take a second to just look at it and see if it looks right,” said Kammel. “If they get it, and it’s a product they’ve used before and they still have the old packaging of the product, just do a quick side by side.”
A misspelling on a bottle of counterfeit Immuno 150 supplements purchased from Walmart.com.
CNBC
Sometimes, packaging could look different because the manufacturer changed it. In other cases, red flags like typos on the box could indicate the product is counterfeit. If the brand hasn’t changed the packaging, check to see if the design and size of the packaging is the same as what’s sold in stores.
When in doubt, consumers can always call the brand to make sure.
What to do if you buy a fake product
If a shopper buys something they believe is fake, they should stop using it immediately and report it to the platform they purchased it from, said Kammel. Here are a few other steps Kammel said shoppers should take:
- If you’re having a physical reaction to the product, seek medical attention to avoid further harm.
- Try reporting it to a government office for investigation, such as the state attorney general or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
- Document the seller’s information, including their name, business address and phone number.
- Log other evidence, including the transaction receipt, the link to the listing, and pictures of the packaging and the product.
- Consider reporting it to the brand to let them know what happened.
Last Updated:
Indian equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, are expected to open higher on Tuesday, tracking strong global cues.
Indian equity markets
Benchmark equity indices staged a strong rebound on Tuesday, closing higher on the back of solid gains in IT and auto stocks.
The BSE Sensex recovered 747 points from the day’s low of 83,124.03 to settle at 83,871.32, up 335.97 points or 0.40 per cent. Similarly, the Nifty50 climbed 120.6 points, or 0.47 per cent, to end at 25,694.95 after bouncing back 245.7 points from its intraday low of 25,449.25.
On the BSE, Bharat Electronics (BEL), Adani Ports and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) emerged as the top gainers, while Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and Tata Motors PV were among the biggest drags.
Across the NSE, IndiGo, BEL and M&M led the gainers’ pack, whereas Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv and ONGC were the top losers.
Broader markets ended mixed — the Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.50 per cent, while the Smallcap index slipped 0.21 per cent.
Sectorally, Nifty IT and Auto were the best performers, advancing 1.20 per cent and 1.07 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, Nifty PSU Bank was the only notable laggard, slipping 0.39 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Financial Services fell 0.7%, and Nifty PSU Bank declined 0.5%, dragging the overall market sentiment.
Global Cues
Global sentiment improved after US President Donald Trump said his administration is working on “a very different deal” with India compared with past negotiations. “They don’t love me, but they will love us again. We are getting a fair deal — just a fair deal,” Trump said on Monday.
Across Asia, markets advanced following Wall Street’s strong overnight rally. Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.56%, South Korea’s KOSPI rose 2.24%, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.4%.
In the U.S., equities surged on Monday, led by AI-heavyweights Nvidia and Palantir, as optimism grew over progress toward ending the record U.S. government shutdown. The S&P 500 climbed 1.54%, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.27%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.81%.
Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a…Read More
Aparna Deb is a Subeditor and writes for the business vertical of News18.com. She has a nose for news that matters. She is inquisitive and curious about things. Among other things, financial markets, economy, a… Read More
November 11, 2025, 09:13 IST
Read More
The UK’s jobless rate has hit its highest level outside the pandemic era for nearly a decade as experts said the further evidence of a weakened labour market made a year-end interest rate cut more likely.
Official figures showed the rate of unemployment surged to 5% in the three months to September, up from 4.8% in the three months to August.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that, with the skewed levels seen during the Covid-19 years stripped out, this was the highest seen since August 2016.
The ONS said average regular wage growth also pulled back again, to 4.6% in the three months to September, down from 4.7% in the previous three months.
Experts said the weaker-than-expected figures reinforced the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates next month.
Martin Beck, chief economist at WPI Strategy, said: “With pay growth slowing further, the data strengthen the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates next month.”
He warned that the “prospect of new tax rises in the upcoming Budget poses further risks to employment, particularly if the Chancellor again looks to raise taxes on businesses”.
Mr Beck added: “But this time, Rachel Reeves is more likely to target earners rather than employers.”
The pound slipped back, down 0.4% to 1.313 US dollars and 0.4% lower at 1.135 euros, as financial markets increasingly bet on a year-end rate cut.
The ONS said earnings are still outstripping inflation, although by a smaller margin, with real wages 0.8% higher after taking Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation into account, down from 0.9% in the previous three months.
In further evidence of a tough jobs market, the ONS estimated the number of workers on UK payrolls fell by 32,000 during October to 30.3 million, following an upwardly revised 32,000 drop the previous month, although the numbers are subject to further revisions.
This was the largest two-month drop since late 2020, economists said.
ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “Taken together these figures point to a weakening labour market.
“The number of people on payroll is falling, with revised tax data now showing falls in most of the last 12 months.”
There was one bright spot in the data, with vacancies rising for the first time in more than three years – estimated to be up by 2,000, or 0.2%, to 723,000 in the three months to October.
Mr Beck said the sharp drop in payrolls data pointed to caution among businesses ahead of the November 26 Budget.
“Signs of renewed weakness in the UK labour market suggest the real economy is starting to feel the chill of Budget tax uncertainty,” he said.
Investec Economics said the jobs data and easing in wage growth – both of which are being watched carefully by the Bank of England – made a December cut in rates from 4% to 3.75% more likely.
“What will be key however to the December debate, and the path for rates looking further forward, are the two CPI reports, and of course the details of the Budget, which we will receive before the December 18 rate announcement,” said Investec economist Ellie Henderson.
James White, at EY Item Club, said the figures, and slowing in private sector pay growth to 4.2% in the three months to September, removes “one potential roadblock to a pre-Christmas rate cut”, and also boosts the chances of “further rate cuts in 2026”.
New Delhi: Chartered Accountant Abhishek Walia believes investments increase in value over time. Walia asserts that the only way to create wealth quickly is “staying long enough to let compounding do its job.”
Walia, the founder of Zactor, pointed out on LinkedIn that most people think luxury cars and fancy holidays drain their money. He said that our short-term mindset and not fancy spendings actually drain our money. “You think expensive cars and holidays drain your money? No. Your short-term mindset does,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
According to Walia, the majority of people lose money because they expect instant results, panic sell and delay SIPs. “We want quick returns. We panic-sell when markets dip. We delay SIPs because “this month is tight.” And then we wonder why wealth never compounds,” he wrote.
Through an example, Walia shared how a simple delay in investment can make a massive difference. “Let’s put numbers on it. If you invest Rs 10,000/month for 20 years at 12%, you will have Rs 92 lakh. But if you start 5 years late, you will end up with Rs 47.5 lakh. That delay those few “I will start next months” just cost you Rs 45 lakh,” he wrote.
According to Walia, not making decisions is the “most expensive thing you will ever do.”
Walia said that true success in investing comes from patience. If you invest for a long enough period of time, compound interest will gradually increase your wealth, he said. “Patience is the new alpha. Because the only shortcut in wealth creation is staying long enough to let compounding do its job,” Walia wrote.
US’ HanesBrands Q3 operating profit rises 14% despite 1% dip in sales
Turkiye’s industrial production up 2.9% YoY, down 2.2% MoM in Sep 2025
Sensex Ends 336 Points Higher, Nifty Above 25,700; IT Shares Shine
-
Politics1 week agoPolitical violence kills almost 300 since Hasina’s fall: rights group
-
Sports1 week agoPakistani runners make their mark at Istanbul Marathon
-
Entertainment1 week agoPresident Zardari to attend Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha
-
Tech1 week agoLive TV Isn’t Dead. These Are the Best Live TV Streaming Services
-
Politics1 week agoIran vows to rebuild nuclear sites ‘stronger than before’
-
Entertainment1 week agoGeorge Clooney on “Jay Kelly,” fame and family
-
Sports1 week agoDyche fumes at Man Utd goal, calls for VAR change
-
Fashion1 week agoCoach reconnects with Bank & Vogue for upcycled bags using corduroy