Counterfeit Products and How to Avoid Them When Sourcing

Counterfeit trading of different products is very much common and is a worldwide issue. Counterfeit merchandise is every where in the world from harmful medicine which can kill a person to a simple wear out to give you a temporary stylish look. In 2006 about 14,000 ships having the counterfeit products were seized. The record of shipment sizing for the year 2008 is very much higher as compare to the year 2006.

In these days it is very much difficult to find out the original brands and original quality products so you need to be very careful while shopping any product. It is very disappointing but a reality that investors have seized a large number of different counterfeit products like medical test kits providing totally wrong results; toothpaste and other beauty product with different harmful chemicals; sawdust, electric cords and dried grass with UL marks; cell phone batteries which can blast.

The online counterfeit product selling is also very widespread as many different online drug stores claim to origin from Canada but actually they do not belong to Canada they are from any other country. “Lipitor" and "Celebrex" pillsdrug stores are selling the products having different ingredients which are very much risky. No doubt there can be drastic effects of using such types of medicines. But the question is how we can avoid from such counterfeit products especially health related products which can easily spoil your life.

It is a fact that there is no perfect way to judge the original products but “U.S. Department of Commerce” and “U.S. Chamber of Commerce” issued some valuable tips to handle such problems.

Always carefully check the protective material, labels tags and contents. The packing and labels some how can be helpful to reveal the product. Always pay attention if the seal is broken or missed, warranty expired and odd packing of product. If you are purchasing electrical or mechanical equipment always go to the reliable sellers and check the product serial number along with manufacturer databases. If you purchase a medicine from a new salesperson and the color, taste, effect, packing and shape is not matching with the last used medicine immediately consult your pharmacist before the use of that medicine. You can also get information by contact on the address and phone number which is mentioned on the product but in case of counterfeit product can be misleading.

Always prefer to buy from the authorized dealers. It is not difficult to find out the authorized deal of any product some time the companies give a list of their authorized dealers along with the product advertisement. If you are still uncertain about the product then ask the sellers which is the main source of the goods. Trustworthy and reliable vendors always follow the established rules for merchandising.

Before you source any product always watch for the sales tax charges. A low price fake product is due to the sale tax missing. Counterfeit product suppliers do not pay the sales taxes ultimately the cost will be low. You should inquire about the product if the price is lower from the actual price.

Always check the US Patent and Trademark database to research the product you are sourcing. A common way to fraud is to for a manufacture to sell a product that they have agree to manufacture exclusively for another party.

Another technique to interpret the quality product is to seek the quality assurance in the secondary market. Though, the uneven packing, content indiscretion, lack of cautions can be very helpful to detect a counterfeit product. If you buy from a secondary market supplier’s quality assurance can be helpful to keep away from counterfeit products. Trustworthy and honest sellers always have comprehensive checking and technicians which can very easily find out any counterfeit product.

A good consumer can be valuable to remove all the fake and counterfeit products from the market because if he will report then a brand owner can take any action against any fake product. Same is the case with online products, if you receive any spam you must inform to the owner of the website. If you feel that your purchased product is counterfeit you must immediately report to the brand owner for this purpose you can search online. Many different website can be helpful to provide the relevant information about any product.

Be careful while sourcing abroad because many different products which are unable to find in your own country can be counterfeit products there. It will be difficult for you to find out the original product. When you are sourcing any product abroad always prefer the well-known and reputable companies having high security and legitimacy addresses.

Teach you children how to find an original and legal product from a reliable source. Try to realize them the importance of a branded and legal product and what the harmful effects of using a counterfeit product are.

If you know about any counterfeit product tell to your family and friends and insist them to avoid from these products. You can very easily communicate about any counterfeit product to your friends and family by talking about this problem. Try to teach them how they can find reliable, affordable, legitimacy and quality products easily.

Do not purchase if you are feeling uncomfortable with the product circumstances like, packing, price, warranty, lack of sale receipt, venue and the contents including in it. The most important is if the supplier is unable to answer you properly about the product source and unable to satisfy you. Simply use your common sense and walk away if you are unsatisfied.

If you follow these few tips you can possibly prevent your self from counterfeit products. Still there are a lot of counterfeit product issues which are needed to be resolve for the safety of human being.

Sourcing and Manufacturing Products in China

China is the major hub for business sourcing. Worldwide countries turn to China to obtain the lowest prices on manufactured products of all types including: apparel, medical equipment, electronics, building materials, software, computers, chemicals and much more. While products are cheap in China, lately China has been singled out for selling unsafe goods to the world, a criticism that experts say does not reflect the vast majority of goods being produced in the country. Recent news would say otherwise. Mattel, the world's largest toymaker announced a third recall of millions of toys due to possible excessive amounts of lead and other potential dangers. Major home builders are forced to defend massive lawsuits tied to tainted drywall installed in thousands of home inn the South East United States. Needless to say if you are planning to manufacture products in China this is certainly an important consideration. What causes this negligence? Greed, carelessness and relentless pressure to push prices ever lower are at the core of the problem. Things are improving greatly now that China is the spotlight of a slew of manufacturing issues. On the positive side recently Starbucks the world's biggest coffee chain, said they plan to source coffee from China for the first time as the mainland is expected to become its biggest overseas market. Also European plane maker Airbus said it wants to source more parts from China as much as $400 million by 2015, compared with $60 million in 2007. Going forward if you do plan to manufacture products in China it’s important to do your homework. Check the background of the company you plan to outsource to and always have a favorable contract in place and a backup supplier on hand.