Amazon unveils self-service tool for brands to take down counterfeit listings

Merchants have long complained that Amazon’s lax policing of counterfeits has cost them sales and compromised their brands, leaving customers to figure out whether the box on their doorstep actually contains what they ordered or a shoddy replica. The retailer aims to fix that – in part by giving brands the power to flag knock-offs and fast-track their removal from its online marketplace.

Amazon on Thursday unveiled “Project Zero,” which will allow taking part brands to use a self-service tool to take down counterfeit listings. The initiative streamlines a process that required brands to make a report, then wait for Amazon to investigate and take action. The tool is currently only available by invite, but Amazon said it plans to open it up to other brands soon.

“This provides brands an unprecedented ability to directly control and remove listings from our store,” the company wrote in a press release. “This information also feeds into our automated protections so we can better catch potential counterfeit listings proactively in the future.”

It’s an unprecedented move for Amazon, which has come under fire – especially from major brands – for not taking a more active role in fighting counterfeits. Though Amazon prohibits the sale of bogus goods on its platform, the e-commerce giant has been accused of reaping the rewards of those sales while shifting blame to the third-party merchants that sell them.

Amazon’s massive third-party marketplace has long been a virtual wild west, partially due to the ease of entry. Merchants can register on Amazon with contact information, a business name and basic financial information like a bank account and credit card.

Such merchants represent a massive share of Amazon’s business; in 2017, more than half the products sold on the site came from such sellers according to a letter from chief executive Jeff Bezos, published in April. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.) As Amazon’s marketplace has been flooded with overseas merchants and manufacturers, it’s made it tougher to keep tabs on sellers peddling fake goods.