Does Walmart Online Sell Fake Products

Since 2009, Walmart Marketplace has allowed the huge box store to provide millions of shopping options to online customers. Yous can become an awesome deal, only there’southward even so a high chance yous can get a imitation production based on the December study from The Counterfeit Report that notes Walmart, among other retailers with third-party sellers, are “flooded with counterfeit, replica and fraudulent products.”
That’s why Slickdeals is breaking downward everything yous need to know most before you lot shop to help y’all have the best experience possible with Walmart 3rd-party sellers.

What Is the Walmart Marketplace?

Walmart Market place allows 3rd-party sellers to sell items aslope Walmart’s first-political party listings, much like Amazon or eBay. Becoming a third-political party seller on Walmart is equally simple equally condign a seller on Newegg and Wish.
The do good to purchasing from a third-party seller is that they may offer pricing that is competitive with Walmart’southward listed price. And if an detail goes out of stock from the big retailer, a third-party seller can step in to fulfill the listing.

Are Walmart Third-Party Sellers Legit?

Just like whatsoever online market place, Walmart’s Marketplace is full of legitimate and excellent tertiary-political party sellers, equally well equally some bad apples. While Walmart does have anti-counterfeit measures in place, it is still possible to get false products as we mentioned earlier.
Make sure to practise your enquiry and use your common sense with our tips below!

Tips on Avoiding Walmart Marketplace Scams

1. Don’t Fall Victim to Cost-Gouging

This is one of the biggest things to look out for with third-party sellers. Many times when an detail sells out at the retail price, third-party sellers are quick to listing their items for double, if non triple the price. This price gouging tin exist hard to spot, particularly since we have just come from a yr of supply shortages where prices everywhere seem inflated.

• Solution:Before ownership from a tertiary-party seller on Walmart, do a quick web search of the particular you lot want. Is it cheaper at some other shop or on Amazon?

If a product is no longer being produced, notice out if this is a permanent move from the company or if the specific production is being marketed nether a different wait or proper noun. You lot don’t want to discover yourself paying extra for an older model just because it appears to be out of stock elsewhere.

• Solution:Even for retired items that are hard to find, it’southward still best to shop around for the best price. Amazon’southward third-political party sellers or eBay may offer improve deals, and all 3 platforms offering well-nigh the aforementioned level of buyer protection.

three. Beware of Fake Reviews

Equally a savvy shopper, you might’ve run beyond a great deal on a product but noticed something fishy about the seller’s reviews. They either all sound similar in their diction and colloquial, or there’s a ton of 5-stars in a specific/short timeframe. This can usually mean the third-political party seller paid for fake reviews to bolster their products.

• Solution: Use Fakespot, an online tool where you can copy and paste the link of the Walmart Marketplace production to determine the legitimacy of the reviews. It won’t be 100% accurate, but it’ll requite you a score to assistance you make a determination.

A reputable seller will have a wide range of reviews to base your judgment on. Take the time to read negative reviews and boilerplate-star-rated reviews to get a better thought of whether they’re an untrustworthy seller or if buyers are just unhappy in general with products or return policies.

Sometimes, a new tertiary-political party seller will notify you that your product will make it several weeks later than what yous’d unremarkably await from an online purchase. This may be because it gives the seller time to get their payments released from Walmart without running into future complaints about fake or missing items.

• Solution: If a third-party seller originates from your country but still notes that it’ll take over a calendar month to go y’all your in-stock item, it raises a red flag. So, await elsewhere for the items you demand with the normal shipping times.

5. Opt for the Pro Seller Condition

Walmart marks seller accounts Pro Seller status if the tertiary-party seller provides the following:

• Quality service
• Consistent delivery times
• Free in-store or online returns

Ideally, look for sellers with this mark beside their name to get the best possible experience. Avoid new seller accounts or those without reviews.

6. Inspect Counterfeit Items

While Walmart has pledged to fight against the overwhelming moving ridge of counterfeit appurtenances, the fact remains that there are yet faux items out there. That’s why y’all need to audit your products to ensure you haven’t been duped.

• Solution:
  Avoid shopping for high-end brands on Walmart’s Marketplace. Stick to more than reputable retailers or buy straight from the manufacturer.

Common apocryphal items include:

• Pop brands similar Yeti, Uggs, Apple and more
• Brand name shoes and clothes
• Skincare products tin can be easily faked and resold

Here is a bones checklist to see if your order is genuine:

1. Offset, become to the manufacturer’southward website and compare the production online with the i you got.
2. Check if there are design differences, like with the logo or packaging.
3. Read the product clarification or packaging to see if there are spelling errors.
4. Spot the product dimensions and materials to make sure it lines up with your item.
5. Annotation any big price differences.

If anything above sticks out to y’all, then outset your render procedure as presently as possible to get your difficult-earned money back.

Help! My Walmart Market place Seller is Not Responsive to My Messages

Walmart requires sellers to reply to customer emails within 24 hours, just many of the negative reviews we saw for bad sellers complained nearly the lack of communication and unanswered emails.
If you’ve tried to become in contact with your seller but have been met with silence,
contact customer service at 1-800-925-6278 (i-800-WALMART).

• According to their help folio, Walmart tracks and keeps emails between their sellers and customers, and reviews them to resolve whatsoever potential disputes.

Can You Return Walmart Marketplace Items?

All sellers do have a minimum return window they will need to follow:

• This minimum window is 14 days for electronics and luxury items, and xxx days for other items.
  • Marketplace items that are considered hazardous materials have special rules for returns.

Not every Walmart third-party seller abides by the same return policy, though. When you click on “additional sellers” from a Walmart listing, you can see the dissimilar sellers and price points. From at that place, you can also find out a third-party seller’southward return policy. You want to annotation the following questions:

• Can I return this to a physical Walmart store?
• How long is my return window?
• Will I have to pay a restocking fee?

According to Walmart’south help articles, Walmart has a Marketplace Promise in place to protect customers from shady sellers.
As the buyer, you are protected in the following situations:

• Delivery Delays: If iii or more than days have passed since the estimated delivery date
• Wrong Items:If your item was not the right i and the seller denies a return request.
• Delayed Refund:If your detail was returned with trackable shipping and you take not received your refund within 48 hours
• Actress Shipping Costs:Deductions were taken for the price of return shipping fees and the return was at the mistake of the seller.

Lesser Line: Is Buying from Walmart Third-Political party Sellers Right for Y’all?

Shopping with Walmart’south third-party sellers is protected, and as long every bit you follow our tips, you should accept a good ownership feel. Spend a few extra minutes checking out a seller’s profile before committing to the cheapest third-party toll. For many of the items we researched, Walmart did not have the cheapest third-party price, and it is only as piece of cake to shop Amazon and eBay’s third-party sellers.
And a final discussion for the wise, if you wouldn’t normally buy a particular brand or luxury item at Walmart, then perhaps don’t buy it through Walmart’s Marketplace either.

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Don’t miss our guide on how to save money at Walmart. And if yous’re looking for the all-time discount on a product, be sure to set a Deal Alert. Nosotros’ll permit yous know whenever a new deal hits the stores.
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