With tens of billions of dollars flowing into the Canadian market every year, it is revealed that "fakes" are flooding the market

It is learned that although there are certain counterfeit problems in various markets around the world, this problem is more serious in the Canadian market. It is not only related to factors on the consumer and supply sides, but also to the relevant policies of this market.

According to foreign media citing data from Canadian manufacturers and exporters, at least US$20 billion to US$30 billion worth of counterfeit goods flow into the Canadian market and local online platforms every year, seriously disrupting the competitive environment of the market platform and consumers' shopping experience. This will also indirectly affect the business of cross-border sellers in Canada to a certain extent.

The study found that 20 of 47 items purchased from third-party sellers on platforms such as Amazon and eBay were counterfeit, including some 3MN95 masks.

According to reports, there are five main factors that lead to the serious problem of counterfeit goods in Canada. The first is related to consumer behavior. Some buyers have a consumer demand to buy counterfeit goods. The second is that some counterfeit goods are so similar to genuine products that even sales staff cannot tell them apart.

In addition, some counterfeit sellers manipulate reviews and purchase fake positive reviews to make consumers relax their vigilance when shopping online. The fourth factor is that the Canadian market mostly outsources production to overseas suppliers, who use their intellectual property to produce counterfeit goods in the same factory that manufactures the original products.

Finally, Canada’s laws regarding counterfeit goods are notoriously lax, hindering effective enforcement. In fact, the Office of the United States Trade Representative has included Canada on its list of countries that offer the weakest intellectual property (IP) protections.

Due to the rampant counterfeit goods, this may also have an adverse impact on the overseas market for domestic cross-border sellers, and they will be more likely to face brand infringement, trademark infringement, and consumer complaints.

However, the latest data shows that Canada is the ninth largest e-commerce market in the world, and Amazon is the largest e-commerce platform in this market. For cross-border sellers who are familiar with the Amazon platform, the opportunities in this market are still worth paying attention to. Opportunities always coexist with risks. Only by actively dealing with risks can we better seize market opportunities.

Editor✎ Ashley/

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