If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon, chances are good that you’ve ran into counterfeit goods before. If Bloomberg’s reports hold true though, that may soon be a thing of the past as Amazon is about to launch a new initiative the would prevent the sales of counterfeit goods on the website.
According to the report, Amazon will soon be organizing teams in the U.S. and Europe that will work with major brands to establish a registry of recognized sellers. Sources say that the new teams will seek out brands to register their items into Amazon’s database, even approaching companies that do not sell their products via the online website. Once registered, Amazon would require any marketplace merchant that sells those items to prove they have permission from the brand to sell them online. This system has been partially implemented this year as merchants who wished to sell products from brands like Adidas, Hasbro and Samsung are hit with hefty fees.
While the idea is good in theory, Amazon’s execution of the idea remains to be seen. Right now, it seems that Amazon is being rather heavy handed in its approach to clamping down on counterfeit goods. If Amazon comes off as too zealous in its patrolling of counterfeit goods, it may turn off some of the website’s marketplace merchants from using the service.