Amazon is being sued by a popular retailer over internet celebrity dupes

It’s no secret that the U.S. retail industry has been through some rough patches, leading many companies, especially those in the fashion industry, to report declining revenue and a downbeat outlook.

Americans have changed their mindset by spending more cautiously and making more conscious decisions, opting for what gives them better value for their money.

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There are nearly 262,000 videos on TikTok with the hashtag #Dupe, where people promote products that aim to mimic other more expensive items at a fraction of the cost.

Additionally, there are over 5 million TikTok videos with the #Amazon hashtag, many of which include titles like “Skims dupe” or “Lululemon dupe,” alluding to products people have found on Amazon that are incredibly cheap similar to other brands.

While it’s a great gimmick for those who love a good deal, this trend has driven customers away from actual brands and instead influenced them to buy from mass producers who make a living by stealing brands’ styles and selling similar products.

The Aerie section inside an American Eagle Outfitters store in New York, US, on Wednesday

Bloomberg/Getty Images

Amazon is under fire with counterfeiting charges

TikTok users weren’t the first to discover the scam industry running free on Amazon’s marketplace.

The tech giant has had several run-ins with brands that claim to have found counterfeit items replicating their own products, prompting Amazon to face several lawsuits.

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In 2016, German shoe brand Birkenstock (BIRK) announced that it would remove all of its products from the Amazon shopping platform due to the number of third-party Amazon sellers trying to sell similar shoes. As of 2017, all Birkenstock products have been removed from the Amazon Marketplace.

In the same year, Mercedes-Benz Group (DDAIF) formerly known as Daimler AG, filed a lawsuit against Amazon for allowing its third-party sellers to sell near-identical but inferior versions of Mercedes-Benz wheels.

Amazon is cracking down on counterfeiting, but its efforts seem weak

In 2019, Amazon (AMZN) launched a team that would be dedicated solely to helping brands protect their trademarks by pursuing criminal actions against third-party sellers who knowingly sell counterfeit products on their marketplace.

In 2020, Maison Valentino and Amazon filed a joint lawsuit against a third-party Amazon seller for selling counterfeit versions of Valentino Garavani Rockstud shoes, which violates Amazon’s policies and Valentino’s intellectual property rights.

“The vast majority of sellers in our store are honest entrepreneurs, but we don’t hesitate to take aggressive measures to protect our customers, our brands, and our store from counterfeiters,” said Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s VP, Customer Trust and Partner Support.

American Eagle is filing a lawsuit against Amazon for “cheating” shoppers

Wednesday, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) filed a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Amazon, claiming the tech giant infringed on its Aerie trademark.

Aerie is a sub-brand owned by American Eagle that focuses on intimate apparel, loungewear and activewear.

In the lawsuit, American Eagle accuses Amazon of intentionally deceiving its customers by using branding from the Aerie clothing line in Google search results, which then directs shoppers to sponsored ads and shopping links that lead them to the scam or to fake products that are extremely similar. -who are looking for the brand, but lack quality and are sold at a lower price.

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Although Aerie products are not sold on Amazon’s shopping platform, the brand’s gift cards can be purchased.

Dupes are not Amazon-branded products, but rather are products sold by several third-party Amazon sellers.

In addition, American Eagle claims it gave Amazon a warning early last month before filing the lawsuit, asking them to stop redirecting shoppers to the Aerie knockoffs.

The Street asked American Eagle for comment on the lawsuit, but they said, “AEO does not comment on any pending litigation.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to The Street’s request for comment.

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