When a Deal is Too Good: Is the Seller's Quality a Lie?

Post-sorting for ‘Price: low to high, are we concerned about the seller of the products on E-commerce websites? Let’s roll over the authenticity of the products we are buying from the giant e-commerce leader.


INTRODUCTION:
 

Although retailers like US Giant Walmart owned Flipkart and Amazon state that they do follow several processes to authenticate the veracity of the sellers they are listing on their platforms, we have come across the news headlined “Amazon, Flipkart found to have violated Indian
quality control rules during warehouse raids” very recently.

On 19th of March this year, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) conducted a raid on the warehouses of these giants in the Tiruvallur district of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to find out that firms had violated rules by storing, selling and exhibiting products that did not
carry the BIS standard mark. This BIS raid was followed by similar scrutiny searches on 27th March 2025 by state-run product certification agency in New Delhi on the warehouses of e-commerce giants Amazon and Flipkart again, seizing items that did not meet quality control standards.  

These questionable qualities of the substandard products are most likely to be delivered to us during the flashy sales like Big Billion Days on Flipkart, Great Indian Festivals on Amazon and End of Reason Sale on Myntra.  

Studies prove that during the festive season, nearly 54 per cent of consumers in India have been the victim of "too good to be true" scams, while 43 per cent have admitted having jumped onto such deals as soon as they see it.


Another very shrewd way in which such dubious producers would trap you is by giving a very unbelievably low price’ deals on substandard products so that you do not even take a snap of minute to make the purchase only to miss onto a very crucial information that you cannot cancel/return that product once you have placed and paid for the order/received the order hence precluding the chances of you getting your money back in any circumstance. 

Quantitative data (in the above pie chart) of this incident happening in our country displays that we are indeed focused on just “grabbing the deal” without bothering to actually “knowing the deal”. 

DATA AND ANALYTICS:  

According to a study by citizen engagement platform, Local Circles, one out of every five products sold on e-commerce platforms in India are counterfeit. Over 30,000 people were asked whether they had received a fake product from an online purchase in the last six months. Of those, 20 percent said yes, while a small percentage clarified they wouldn't know if they'd received a fake product for which they paid a gig. 

When asked which e-commerce site they've encountered shipping the most knockoffs, 37 percent pointed to Snapdeal, the highest amongst all the portals. In second place, was Flipkart with 22%, followed by Paytm Mall with 21%, and Amazon with 20%.  

 

India's Counterfeit Conundrum: A Hidden Epidemic  

A startling revelation from a joint survey by the Authentication Solution Providers Association (ASPA) and CRISIL indicates that nearly 25-30% of all products sold in India are counterfeit or spurious. 

The survey, covering 12 major cities, found that apparel leads with 31%, followed by FMCG at 28%, and automotive at 25%. Other affected sectors include pharmaceuticals (20%), consumer durables (17%), and agrochemicals (16%). Alarmingly, 27% of consumers were unaware they purchased counterfeit items, while 31% knowingly bought spurious goods. 



Case 1: Flashy Packaging, Ugly Truth 

“How Fake Cosmetics Harm Consumers” 

From luxury lipsticks to everyday skincare, counterfeit cosmetics are flooding the Indian market often sold at tempting discounts online. Behind the glossy packaging and heavy discounts, fake cosmetics are flooding the Indian market often laced with harmful chemicals that put consumer health at serious risk. 

Quick Facts Box: 

Who?: Counterfeit sellers on e-commerce & offline retail 

What?:  Fake cosmetics imitating popular brands 

Why Dangerous? : Contain toxic metals (like mercury), adulterated ingredients 

Impact:  Skin rashes, allergies, long-term health risks for unsuspecting buyers 

In cosmetics, counterfeiting incidents rose ~20% between 2018 and 2020; many fake beauty products have dangerous compositions or diluted ingredients.  


Case 2: Stars That Lie 

“How Fake Reviews Trick Online Shoppers” 

From hijacked product pages to review farms, counterfeiters have learned to game the star-rating system leaving buyers to trust numbers that don’t tell the real story. 

Quick Facts Box: 

Who?: Sellers using fake review farms & hijacked listings 

What?: Product pages swapped while retaining old 5-star reviews 

How?: Burst patterns of positive reviews, suppression of genuine negatives 

Impact: Consumers buy fake goods thinking they’re well-reviewed and safe 

On the feedback front, 60% of Indian shoppers say their negative reviews were never published at least once in the last year. 

 

CONCLUSION:  

Beginning to question the authenticity of the iPhone you bought during the sale? Well, you should. The reality is that during flashy discount seasons, counterfeiters and dubious sellers often find the perfect opportunity to sell substandard or fake products. That shiny deal may look irresistible but sometimes what you receive can be a cleverly packaged knockoff. 

What’s more important here is to do a bit of research before you click actually make a purchase. Don’t just go by the discount percentage splashed across the page; take a moment to check the credibility of the platform as well as the seller. A seller’s past performance, return history, and customer ratings can reveal a lot more than the product description itself. 

Also, be mindful of the reviews posted by genuine customers. Look for detailed reviews with photos and verified purchase tags these are more trustworthy than one-line feedback. If multiple buyers report issues with authenticity, quality, or packaging, that’s a red flag you can’t afford to ignore. 

Concluding, a minor price difference is sometimes the price of authenticity. Paying a little more for a product sold by a reputed or “fulfilled” seller can ensure that you actually get the original item you wanted and that every penny you spent is worth it. In the long run, the assurance of authenticity outweighs the thrill of a temporary bargain.  

Remember although the principle of caveat emptor is apparently eradicated now, we are witnessing a market overpowered by consumerism and its seeping adverse effects. 


REFERENCES:  


https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/ecommerce-platforms-struggle-with-fake-reviews-as-consumer-trust-erodes-125071601534_1.html?utm 

mailto:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391640248_Counterfeit_Cosmetics_in_India_Consumer_Risks_and_Legal_Responses?utm 

https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/science-tech/54-indian-consumers-fall-for-too-good-to-be-true-scams-during-festive-season-report?utm_source=chatgpt.com#google_vignette 

https://www.indiatvnews.com/technology/news/flipkart-big-billion-days-sale-customers-call-iphone-16-deal-a-fraud-2025-09-27-1010297?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

https://www.business-standard.com/companies/news/consumer-forum-fines-flipkart-rs-10-000-for-refusing-to-return-fake-product-124112600698_1.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-seizes-products-amazon-flipkart-warehouses-crackdown-intensifies-2025-03-27/?utm 

https://www.reuters.com/technology/amazon-flipkart-found-have-violated-indian-quality-control-rules-during-2025-03-20/?utm 

https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/one-in-five-products-sold-online-in-india-are-fake-as-per-shopping-experience-of-30-000-people-356083.html?utm 

https://www.aspaglobal.com/aspa-and-CRISIL-Report?utm


Blog by Sneha Anand & Shreya Prakash, M.Com Students





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