Product counterfeits have existed for as long as brands have existed. Today we can find counterfeits of practically any product: clothing, watches, smartphones, bags, tools, food products, fake phone numbers, etc. Most of them usually come from Asian countries, since the controls of these products are less strict in Western countries, although this is an aspect that has been hardened over the years.
The sale of online products and eCommerce has not been left out of the sale of product counterfeits. The proliferation of websites and applications for sale between individuals and the emergence of AliExpress, the Alibaba marketplace, where factories, mostly Chinese, sell directly to individuals, has opened channels that manufacturers and distributors of counterfeit products are taking advantage of. In many cases, it is the original brands themselves that collaborate to detect such counterfeits, but the large volume of products and the possibility that anyone can be a seller on AliExpress makes controlling counterfeits not an easy task.
Product counterfeits are a very big business that moves billions of euros every year around the world. Part of that money represents great losses for the original brands, as well as being a hoax for users who buy without being aware that they are acquiring a counterfeit. To this must be added that counterfeit products almost never meet minimum quality standards and, depending on the product, can even be harmful to health. Therefore, it is worth knowing some clues to know if a product on AliExpress, or any other online sales channel, is original or not.
Identify the seller
One of the first steps that we have to carry out if we want to know if a product is original or if it is a fake is to identify the seller. Sellers of counterfeit products often have a wide range of products for sale.
You should check how long the seller has been on AliExpress and how they interact with buyers. A continuous flow of positive comments is usually a good sign, but you also have to be vigilant because there are networks in which sellers send the product for free to certain users in exchange for good comments.
Contrast the product photos
Typically, the most popular counterfeits involve branded clothing, sneakers, or electronics. It is convenient to look for photos of the original product and compare with the photos shown by the seller in order to find any difference that makes us doubt its originality.
In many cases this practice is complicated, since the sellers of counterfeit products use the original photos of the brand, but then they send a product that is far from the characteristics that its original version may have.
Be wary of bargains
An original product is worth what it is worth and finding certain products, for example, new Nike brand shoes for a price not exceeding 30 euros is a clear sign that we are facing a fake. The Asian factories that are responsible for producing the counterfeits do so in very large runs, knowing that most of the merchandise will be confiscated at customs.
Nor do we have to lower our guard if we find products with 20% or 30% compared to the usual price. Many counterfeit sellers use this tactic because they know that it leads to less mistrust from potential buyers.
Check the serial number
In many brand devices we can check their authenticity by entering the serial number on the official website of the brand. In the case of not being shown in the photos that the seller of the product has, you can always contact him to ask for it or take a look at the comments of other buyers to see if you find the answer you are looking for in them.
If you have doubts about the originality of the product that has been sent to you, you can open a dispute by providing all possible evidence that shows that it is a fake product. In some cases we can find products that are a copy and not a fake. This is the case of this OLEVS watch that we can find by putting Rolex in the AliExpress search engine.
The store has disappeared
If you have bought a branded product and later realized that the store has disappeared, it is most likely that AliExpress has detected an anomaly and has automatically closed the store for selling replicas or counterfeits of that product.
Many counterfeit sellers are dedicated to quickly opening and closing stores on AliExpress in order to remain undetected. In these cases, no matter how hard we try to contact the seller, our messages will not reach them.