Amazon: Policy Says Selling Fake Items As Legitimate Is Ok

[DeusImperator]

http://www.amazon.ca/Mont-Blanc-Meisterstuck-Legrand-146-13661/dp/B00A226MMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407094047&sr=8-1&keywords=B00A226MMG

amazon.ca keeps abetting scammers and will not take any steps to address the issue perhaps because they receive 15% commission on sales legitimate or otherwise.

I have reported this to Amazon.ca attention thrice now regarding the ongoing scam. Amazon has yet to ban the seller of the item or to even remove the item in question. I had requested that Amazon inform at those who purchased the item (at least one verified purchaser) that they purchased a fake (not even a good Chinese fake at that). The amazon.ca Leadership Team member Becky S. indicated that it was not of my business. In response, I choose to cancel over $1000 in pending orders from amazon as I will not do business with an unethical, knavish entity. I have never purchased anything from eBay due to the scams being conducted at the site. I chose to make my purchases from what I considered reputable sites; Amazon was one of these.

 

Please take time to research any purchase for a big ticket item. Do not trust the seller even if you consider them a reputable business.

 

Any Mont Blanc collector will have a laugh if this was under more benign circumstances. However, those who do not know, or merely purchase these pens as status symbols may not recognize that this is not a legitimate Mont Blanc trusting Amazon's reputation instead. The actual pen being sold can be purchased for just under $10 from legitimate sellers. Mont Blanc manufactures their nibs in-house; they do not go to China to purchase a Chinese made Iridium Point Germany (IPG) nib.

 

PS
I just spoke to Amazon.com regarding Amazon.ca policy. The Leadership Team member indicated that that Amazon.ca's policy allows the selling of imitations as legitimate items as long as the trademark holder (Richemont SA) does not complain. A purchaser may dispute this on an individual basis. So much for Amazon's reputation.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Fake-items-on-Amazon/forum/Fx2S2JX41LKL663/Tx1FQS00JNGQS7K/1?asin=B000TGB4UU

[OcalaFlGuy]

Someone should send this to Richemont SA.

 

I thoroughly believe they would get Amazon's mind right Forthwith.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl-can you say all legal hellfire and brimstone raining down, sure, I Knew you could

[Oldtimer]

Now i have to check my Namiki from Amazon! Gosh¡

[Bo Bo Olson]

I'd not looked at Amazon, in I'm pretty set for pens and chase only vintage.

Is very good to know.

 

If it's too good to be true, it is.

[FarmBoy]

So my Parker 51 really is a Hero!

[Chrissy]

 

PS

I just spoke to Amazon.com regarding Amazon.ca policy. The Leadership Team member indicated that that Amazon.ca's policy allows the selling of imitations as legitimate items as long as the trademark holder (Richemont SA) does not complain.

 

Perhaps if they know about it, they might complain?

[Runnin_Ute]

Haven't purchased from Amazon, but only a couple of mine were purchased brand new amyway. Both were bought from Levenger. Two others from Goulet. None high end.

[jar]

Or did they say that they cannot police legitimacy without the authentic maker notifying them?

[DeusImperator]

The fact is that this is not a true fake. It look like nothing in the Mont Blanc line apart from the Whitecap trademark on the pen cap. I did not purchase it as it is an out and out fake. My concern is that someone who might not be knowledgeable purchasing the item believing it to be a legitimate. It is unconscionable for Amazon to continue to allow their own customer's to be defrauded. Let me put it this way: Suppose Bill Gates is walking along and a pickpocket lightened Bill Gates' pocket by $1 and Bill Gates never realizes that he was missing $1; is the pickpocket still a thief who owes Bill Gates $1? I would answer this Yes. Amazon as an abettor (willfully and knowingly now) does owe at least one customer, or perhaps two, a refund.

 

This is not even about the trademark holders or patent holders complaining. This is about justice - the act of acting justly with those you deal with: your merchants, customers and yourself. By yourself, I mean Amazon themselves - their (Amazon's) reputation and thereby their shareholders. It appears, these days, that almost every entity apologizes, states the policy and then blames the policy for what transpires. The front line persons answering phones, nor the supervisory staff or even the managerial staff can be reasonably expected to have any say regarding policy which is repeatedly blamed for all ills. The actual decision makers regarding policies are many a time the legal department which is insulated from the ordinary contact with the plebeians. The only way to make contact is to sue them in court. Every time I have sued I have heard back quickly from the defendant's legal department or lawyer who will quickly work out a deal in my favor or pay me off to go away. Is the real answer to sue someone just so that you can talk to someone with some clout to make things right? Why not do what is right in the first instance?

Edited August 3, 2014 by DeusImperator

[DeusImperator]

Or did they say that they cannot police legitimacy without the authentic maker notifying them?

No, the second member of the supervisory staff I spoke to accepted that the MB 146 was indeed not a legitimate MB 146 and so did the third - it is a prima facie fake, there was not argument with that. But it is their policy not to remove without the trademark owner complaining that the item is a fake. Most companies cannot and do not peruse the internet looking for fakes. Doing so will necessarily increase the cost of their product. However, here Amazon is doing so knowingly and therefore morally culpable for any loss incurred by parties to the transaction(s).

[Freddy]

Captivating readin'....

 

Fred

Jim Brown's memory has been impacted by thousands of hits to the head..Josh Evans..owner of Leland's Auction House....

Say good night....

Good nite....

[OcalaFlGuy]

Or did they say that they cannot police legitimacy without the authentic maker notifying them?

 

If it says Montblanc in the listing and/or on the item and it isn't, that's a counterfeit product. Selling such is a crime in most every state I'm aware of.

 

That makes Amazon complicit IF they are provided with good evidence the items they're selling are fake.

 

Someone at Amazon is being Really Stupid. They need to and I suspect will, get their (bleep) spanked.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

[pajaro]

 

If it says Montblanc in the listing and/or on the item and it isn't, that's a counterfeit product. Selling such is a crime in most every state I'm aware of.

 

That makes Amazon complicit IF they are provided with good evidence the items they're selling are fake.

 

Someone at Amazon is being Really Stupid. They need to and I suspect will, get their (bleep) spanked.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

That latter is a real vision . . .

[Icywolfe]

http://www.amazon.com/Montblanc-Meisterstuck-LeGrand-Medium-Fountain/dp/B0004HG3BE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407122630&sr=8-1&keywords=Mont+Blanc+Meisterstuck+Legrand+146-13661

 

It's on the main (US) site as well.

[Keyless Works]

If Costco can sell grey market items it doesn't seem that crazy that Amazon would sell fakes.

[DeusImperator]

 

If it says Montblanc in the listing and/or on the item and it isn't, that's a counterfeit product. Selling such is a crime in most every state I'm aware of.

That makes Amazon complicit IF they are provided with good evidence the items they're selling are fake.

Someone at Amazon is being Really Stupid. They need to and I suspect will, get their (bleep) spanked.

 

Bruce in Ocala, Fl

 

This was done. As I had indicated earlier, I went through each detail concerning the item shown here http://www.amazon.ca/Mont-Blanc-Meisterstuck-Legrand-146-13661/dp/B00A226MMG/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1407126974&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=Mont+Blanc+146

I had the second and third Leadership Team members agree that it was an out and out fake. It looks nothing like a Mont Blanc to begin with - IPG nib, slip on cap, uses an ink converter, etc etc - details I walked them through. There is nothing "Mont Blanc" about this pen with the exception of the Whitecap.

 

The issue here is that Amazon wishes to hide behind the "we can be only absolutely, 100% sure that it is a fake only if the real company complains; until then anything goes" mindset.

[de_pen_dent]

So should Amazon personally verify the authenticity of each and every item they sell? Or should they pull products merely b/c someone complained (without any proof whether the allegations are true or not)? Or should they launch a full CSI-style investigation every time someone cries out "fake" for one of the millions of products that they sell?

 

It is easy to say "unethical" at the drop of a hat, but it helps to think through the practicality of things a little more. For a company providing a sales platform for millions of products from thousands of vendors, preventing the sale of fakes is not as easy as the OP makes it out to be.

[KBeezie]

If Amazon is based in the US, I would think it would be illegal to knowingly allow the sale of counterfeit goods.

 

Do they not have a legal department?

 

If there are fake Montblancs, notify Montblanc, their lawyers will get on them.

Edited August 4, 2014 by KBeezie

[I like mango cheesecake]

I feel sorry for the guy who wrote the positive review on Amazon after buying the pen.

[Chrissy]

Someone should send this to Richemont SA.

Done