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How Amazon Sellers Can Keep Things Real When They're Surrounded by Fakes and Counterfeits Learn how to fight the Amazon fraudsters.

By Joe Keohane

This story appears in the April 2017 issue of Entrepreneur. Subscribe »

Jasper Rietman

Q: I sell reflective wearables online and do good business on Amazon. But I'm constantly seeing new competitors -- all cheap knockoffs that, suspiciously, quickly collect tons of positive reviews. What's going on, and can I stop it? -- Tim G.

A: "Amazon" is a good name for Jeff Bezos' company. It's a sprawling site characterized by relentless change, furious competition and incredible diversity. It's also, as many sellers have discovered, a jungle.

Tim, you're getting it on two sides here, so let's start with the review problem. Reviews are critical for a seller. They put customers' minds at ease, drive sales and push products up in the search rankings, but they are hard to accumulate because only a tiny percentage of buyers leave them. Which means, this being the internet, reviews must be immediately corrupted.

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