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E-commerce has been a growing trend the last few years. As consumers become more educated on the internet, they are more confident of purchasing online. Clothes and fashion accessories are popular items that us consumers tend to shop online. The only drawback of purchasing online is the worries one may have on buying counterfeit items without realizing it. Naturally, this is applicable only if the items are not bought from the brand main website. However, with domains name being free for all online, counterfeit sellers can sell their goods using a domain name similar to that of the clothes and fashion accessories brand real website domain name. This can cause lots of confusion to us consumer.
A few pointers for us to follow when shopping online are:
Buy Cash on Delivery Goods.
Shopping online provides savings to us as the cost are usually lower than compared to the shops. However, buying in the shops can give us a sense of security as we can view the goods that we are buying before paying. However, if the website you are buying from are operating locally, check with them to see if they offer cash on delivery. This allows you to check the goods you are purchasing before making the payment.
Check With The Brand You Are Purchasing From.
For items brand which do not have an online shop of their own, you can either check their site for a list of authorized reseller or simply email them the domain you are buying from to inquire if the goods they are selling is counterfeit. For example if your are looking to buy seiko watches, you can email Seiko directly to counter check with them on the watch site you are going to purchase from. In all likelihood, the brand would not allow counterfeit site to surface and would take legal action against such sites.
Google Search
Google does do a bit of clamping down on counterfeit goods. So search for Google advertiser. Note down the sites and go back a month or so later. If their advertisement is taken down, chances are the site sells counterfeit items.…