Cybermonday is a boon for online retailers — both legitimate and those selling fake versions of popular, high-end brands. Think clothing, the legendary fake handbags and watches and new categories like mobile electronics.
Bargain hunters and holiday shoppers are bad guys' favorite targets and have little or no recourse when shoddy or fake merchandise arrives. Here's how to protect yourself from the online grinches trying to steal your holiday.
MarkMonitor, whose business is helping companies protect their brands online, conducted a study on popular search terms for holiday gifts and found roughly 17 percent of those terms led to sites offering suspected counterfeit and pirated goods.
By adding a term like "cheap" or "discount" in front of a product name or category, the number dramatically increased – almost 50 percent of paid search ads for those phrases linked to suspicious sites.
The company estimates online sales of counterfeits top $200 billion annually, which a large part of those sales taking place during the holiday rush.
Note that we're talking both regular search results and paid search advertising. Just because the ad is paid-for doesn't mean you can trust it. And the crooks are getting smarter in other ways, too.
Watch for fake mobile technology — a real growth area for criminals. That iPad or iPod you purchase may look real, but not be able to connect to iTunes or the App Store. Even the Apple logo is not evidence of authenticity. There are plenty of bogus laptops, cameras and other toys available online.
Here are some warning signs of pirated goods being sold online:
Prices that are too good to be true are always a tip-off. There are plenty of sites selling fake high-end purses at 10-20% of full retail but some counterfeiters are getting smarter and selling their goods at 40-60% of full retail – in other words, the type of discount that you might see at a big holiday blow-out sale. It's important to check out the site as carefully as the description of the purse.
When examining a site to determine whether it is legit, look at the "About" or "Company" page. Counterfeiters lavish a lot of care on the product pages,iwcwatches0 full lines of this brand you can find at our store, picking up descriptions and photos from legitimate sources, but they sometimes skimp on the company pages. Does the "About" or "Company" page seem professional – well-written copy, no spelling or grammatical mistakes, clear and up-to-date info? Does the site provide a physical address or phone number? Check the number and see how professional the customer service reps are when answering your questions.
What about shipping and return policies? Privacy policies? Legitimate sites will take the time to craft well thought out policies that follow best practices and spell out the particulars clearly. Not only will you be able to make a fully-informed decision on the total cost of the purchase, but you'll get important clues on the legitimacy of the site – and the goods.
Is there an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link on the site? Again,burnfat offer a wide selection of Replica Watches of all popular Replica Watches brands including Replica Bell & Ross Watches, this is an area where many sites peddling fakes will skimp. Some of them, though, will specify that they are selling ‘replica' goods or ‘homage' goods, a sure sign of fakes. Such a hidden clause can protect the site from prosecution, allowing the perpetrators to claim they warned customers of their dodgy business practices.
Many fake items show up on eBay and other auction sites, where they may appear to be sold as single items by individuals.
Some small retailers may not even know they are selling fakes — or may look the other way when a "distributor" sells items for resale and dramatically low prices.
Watched for "refurbished" goods being sold as new. Refurbs may be a good deal, I've bought lots of Sony products that way at good prices, but beware.
Are warranties, tech support and repair service available? If not, there is reason to be concerned.Ed Hardy Caps Buy On Sale and pradahandbag with high quality,
Social networks, Twitter and Craigslist are other places where customers run into counterfeit merchandise. Just because the seller seems to be an individual doesn't mean the item isn't fake.
There is only one way to protect yourself from fakes — and it isn't by paying full price. Rather, know your reseller. Do business only with established companies that have a track record of happy customers.ripcurl fittedcaps newyorkyankees ladodgers buffalonewyork. Ask your friends about their own purchases if you aren't familiar with a category. You may pay more,Welcome to Find The Bestedhardysunglasseswholesale. but your chances of getting what you really want this holiday — whether to give or receive — will be significantly improved.
"Let the buyer beware" is even more true during the holidays, so be careful.
Bargain hunters and holiday shoppers are bad guys' favorite targets and have little or no recourse when shoddy or fake merchandise arrives. Here's how to protect yourself from the online grinches trying to steal your holiday.
MarkMonitor, whose business is helping companies protect their brands online, conducted a study on popular search terms for holiday gifts and found roughly 17 percent of those terms led to sites offering suspected counterfeit and pirated goods.
By adding a term like "cheap" or "discount" in front of a product name or category, the number dramatically increased – almost 50 percent of paid search ads for those phrases linked to suspicious sites.
The company estimates online sales of counterfeits top $200 billion annually, which a large part of those sales taking place during the holiday rush.
Note that we're talking both regular search results and paid search advertising. Just because the ad is paid-for doesn't mean you can trust it. And the crooks are getting smarter in other ways, too.
Watch for fake mobile technology — a real growth area for criminals. That iPad or iPod you purchase may look real, but not be able to connect to iTunes or the App Store. Even the Apple logo is not evidence of authenticity. There are plenty of bogus laptops, cameras and other toys available online.
Here are some warning signs of pirated goods being sold online:
Prices that are too good to be true are always a tip-off. There are plenty of sites selling fake high-end purses at 10-20% of full retail but some counterfeiters are getting smarter and selling their goods at 40-60% of full retail – in other words, the type of discount that you might see at a big holiday blow-out sale. It's important to check out the site as carefully as the description of the purse.
When examining a site to determine whether it is legit, look at the "About" or "Company" page. Counterfeiters lavish a lot of care on the product pages,iwcwatches0 full lines of this brand you can find at our store, picking up descriptions and photos from legitimate sources, but they sometimes skimp on the company pages. Does the "About" or "Company" page seem professional – well-written copy, no spelling or grammatical mistakes, clear and up-to-date info? Does the site provide a physical address or phone number? Check the number and see how professional the customer service reps are when answering your questions.
What about shipping and return policies? Privacy policies? Legitimate sites will take the time to craft well thought out policies that follow best practices and spell out the particulars clearly. Not only will you be able to make a fully-informed decision on the total cost of the purchase, but you'll get important clues on the legitimacy of the site – and the goods.
Is there an FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link on the site? Again,burnfat offer a wide selection of Replica Watches of all popular Replica Watches brands including Replica Bell & Ross Watches, this is an area where many sites peddling fakes will skimp. Some of them, though, will specify that they are selling ‘replica' goods or ‘homage' goods, a sure sign of fakes. Such a hidden clause can protect the site from prosecution, allowing the perpetrators to claim they warned customers of their dodgy business practices.
Many fake items show up on eBay and other auction sites, where they may appear to be sold as single items by individuals.
Some small retailers may not even know they are selling fakes — or may look the other way when a "distributor" sells items for resale and dramatically low prices.
Watched for "refurbished" goods being sold as new. Refurbs may be a good deal, I've bought lots of Sony products that way at good prices, but beware.
Are warranties, tech support and repair service available? If not, there is reason to be concerned.Ed Hardy Caps Buy On Sale and pradahandbag with high quality,
Social networks, Twitter and Craigslist are other places where customers run into counterfeit merchandise. Just because the seller seems to be an individual doesn't mean the item isn't fake.
There is only one way to protect yourself from fakes — and it isn't by paying full price. Rather, know your reseller. Do business only with established companies that have a track record of happy customers.ripcurl fittedcaps newyorkyankees ladodgers buffalonewyork. Ask your friends about their own purchases if you aren't familiar with a category. You may pay more,Welcome to Find The Bestedhardysunglasseswholesale. but your chances of getting what you really want this holiday — whether to give or receive — will be significantly improved.
"Let the buyer beware" is even more true during the holidays, so be careful.
没有评论:
发表评论