The world of online shopping is overwhelming. You can often find yourself scrolling through thousands of items on a company's website, unsure of what's really the best of the best. So, you probably often find yourself turning to reviews to figure out what to buy, or perhaps you're social media savvy and look to influencers to see what they're loving. However, this online shopping community is not always what it seems, as some items those influencers are pushing may be knockoffs. And, as two women recently found out, you could actually get sued by Amazon for promoting counterfeit items online. Read on to find out more about this lawsuit. And for more things you should watch out for when it comes to shopping, know that This One Word May Make You Spend More Money.
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Amazon filed a lawsuit against two influencers for promoting counterfeit items.
Two influencers were just hit with a major lawsuit from Amazon.com, Inc., which the company filed on Nov. 12. Amazon has accused Kelly Fitzpatrick and Sabrina Kelly-Krejci of trying to influence their followers to buy counterfeit products unknowingly sold though Amazon. The two influencers have promoted knockoff versions of purses, bags, belts, and wallets from luxury brands like Gucci and Dior since November of last year.
And if you're planning on doing some online shopping this holiday season, watch out for The One Thing You'll Regret Buying on Black Friday.
And nearly a dozen third-party sellers were implicated, as well.
According to the lawsuit, Fitzpatrick and Kelly-Krejci weren't working alone. The two allegedly teamed up with 11 third-party sellers to "evade Amazon's anti-counterfeiting protections" and sell counterfeit products through the company's website. Amazon is looking to seek "unspecified damages" from Fitzpatrick and Kelly-Krejci through the lawsuit, as well as stop both the influencers and 11 sellers "from selling or promoting any products sold on Amazon" again, CNBC reports.
And if you are trying to score a real deal on the beloved website, check out the Secret Trick to Get Money From Amazon You Need to Know.
The influencers' site has seemingly been shut down.
The lawsuit says that Fitzpatrick and Kelly-Krejci promoted these counterfeit items on their Instagrams and TikToks, as well as their own website. They even detailed how the products were getting around Amazon's anit-counterfeit protections.
"Fitzpatrick and Kelly-Krejci posted side-by-side photos of a generic, non-branded product and a luxury counterfeit product with the text, 'Order this/Get this,'" the lawsuit explained. "'Order this' referred to the generic product falsely advertised on Amazon, and 'Get this' referred to the counterfeit luxury product … Fitzpatrick and Kelly-Krejci also posted numerous videos describing the alleged high quality of the counterfeits they promoted."
Their website, Styleeandgrace.com, now says it's "under maintenance."
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Amazon has been focused on combatting counterfeit items for the last year.
While it's prohibited to sell counterfeit items through Amazon, as this lawsuit makes clear, many sellers will go the distance to do so anyway. According to a statement, Amazon said they "invested more than $500 million to protect customers and brands from fraud, abuse, and counterfeit" in 2019 alone. And in June 2020, the company even launched a Counterfeit Crimes Unit, which is a global team responsible for investigating and bringing legal action against people promoting counterfeit items or sellers selling counterfeit items through the online retailer. And for more dicey items you may have purchased, know that If You Bought This at Walmart, Throw It Away Now.
Kali Coleman Kali Coleman is a Senior Editor at Best Life. Her primary focus is covering news, where she often keeps readers informed on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and up-to-date on the latest retail closures.Read moreFiled UnderNews • ShoppingRead This NextThis Is How Many Amazon Reviews Could Be Fake
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