Retailers Band Together in Buy Safe America Coalition to Fight Online Organized Retail Crime

Large retailers have banded together in the Buy Safe America Coalition to push for law reform against online retail crime.  Buying products online is often a necessity these days, but knowing whether it is legitimate can be hard to determine.  And, legitimate brand owners have to continuously monitor for unauthorized sales, counterfeit goods, stolen property re-sales, and the like, that ultimately hurt their bottom line in both sales and tarnish their brands. With insufficient legislation to address these issues, large retailers are seeking change. 

The Reason for the Buy Safe America Initiative

Although online marketplaces have been growing in populatity for a long time, the switch to online sales has become necessary, if not detrimental, for many retailers adjusting to the consumer reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.  However, unscrupulous sellers can hide behind generic online seller names selling counterfeit goods of inferior quality, goods that lack the original product warranty, and unsafe products that can harm conumers. These sellers can quickly resurface as new seller storefronts should too many complaints get them banned from a sales platform. Platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Wayfair, and Overstock.com all have some requirements in their terms of use and seller agreements to help with these issues, yet online organized retail crime continues to increase with what appears to be insufficient protection for consumers.   

Therefore, on August 14, 2020, the Buy Safe America Coalition was launched by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) in conjunction with numerous other retail industry groups such as, for example, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA), the Toy Association, the Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association, and others. The coalition aims to create real change in legislation to help with online seller crime.  

How Does the Coalition Intend to Make a Difference with Online Retail Crime? 

The proponents of the Buy Safe America Coalition all have similar interests in supporting intellectual property rights, consumer protection, and online buying security.  The coalition consists of retail industry leaders and manufacturers, organizations for consumer protection, law enforcement, and intellectual property professionals all seeking for legislative reform. 

As a united front the coalition seeks to address the various issues each group faces alone in fighting against a whack-a-mole type situation that exists due to loopholes that corrupt online sellers can use to evade answering for retail crime. For example, many online sellers are not required to provide verifiable information and allowing for repeat infringers to re-appear on new online platforms or under new seller storefronts. Additionally, privacy laws meant to secure personal privacy can often work to help wrong-doers from evading legal ramifications.  

The primary goal for the Buy Safe America initiative is implementation of proper laws to help address consumer safety by requiring online marketplaces to implement protocols and regulations for the protection of consumers, and additionally, finding a proper manner of holding marketplaces accountable for not taking adequate action. 

Key Takeaways 

In a effort to stifle online organized retail crime, the Buy Safe America Coalition aims for legislative reform that will:

• protect consumers;

• support legitimate sellers through transparency; and

• hold online marketplaces accountable for taking adequate action to both protect consumers and support legitimate sellers.

See our post Importance of Intellectual Property Rights: Increasing Market Share Through Stopping Knockoffs and Infringements for a comprehensive discussion of implementing effective IP-enforcement programs.

For more insights on Anti-Counterfeiting, see our Anti-Counterfeiting & Enforcement Overview and Retail Industry Legal Solutions pages.

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