How to avoid buying fake products on 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.”

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. 

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.

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.

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.” 

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. 

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.