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Watch out for fakes on Amazon!

Fans are reporting a rising number of "fakes" of our puzzles on Amazon that look like they are selling our puzzles but are not.   We're trying to get Amazon to take...

Fans are reporting a rising number of "fakes" of our puzzles on Amazon that look like they are selling our puzzles but are not.  

We're trying to get Amazon to take them down, but so far no-luck with that, so we need to warn you.   

Here, we'll show a few examples and point out some differences so you can make sure you know what you're looking at.

Here is one fake purporting to be an Artifact Puzzle. This is another fake - note both of these are using Kevin Sloan's art without a license but we unfortunately haven't been able to get these listings removed. 

FAKE: 

FAKE: 

REAL THING: This is what the title for an Artifact Puzzle should look like:

The #1 thing to look out for is the "by Artifact Puzzles" which tells you that we are the seller. And our puzzles usually have a decent number of reviews (unless they are new).

Our titles almost always follow the format with Artifact or Ecru Puzzles followed by the artist and name of the art featured, then end with Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle.

Tips to spot fakes on amazon:

  • Being sold by a company  not Artifact Puzzles.
  • The shipping cost is also a tip-off. Since Amazon handles our fulfillment for all our puzzles bought on Amazon.com, we will never have weird, high shipping costs like these.
  • We also set our prices to round dollar numbers.
  • They also lack reviews, and their titles don't follow our format.
  • We generally don't mis-spell words like "elephant" in our listings and don't include click baity terms like "Fun Game" or "Intellectual Development" in the title itself.
  • Our key details are also fairly standardized and you should be able to tell that they're ours as they'll look like this:

Our product descriptions are pretty standardized: we just give a piece count, approximate dimensions, and note that the puzzles are laser-cut and wooden and made in America. 

The product descriptions for fakes usually have some English problems or use language in a non-American style. 

Also, our product images generally consist of the art for the puzzle as the main image (which these fakes do imitate) but the other images are usually just 0-2 additional close-ups of the image, 1-3 photos of some individual pieces, and usually a photo of the box the puzzle comes in. We don't include lots of text or human models in our images.

In addition to the fakes we linked above, we've seen a few more from companies with names like the four-letter ones in those examples or "He Nan Hong Zhu Dian Zi Shang Wu You Xian Gong Si" - they might copy our product name or information more exactly, but they can't copy our seller name, so make sure you check that it says Artifact Puzzles.

We don't want our customers to think they're getting our high quality product and end up with something like this, which was what person who accidentally bought fakes received: 

If you have any other tips to help us or other customers deal with fakes, let us know in the comments.

Meanwhile, we're working on finding a lawyer who can help us convince Amazon to take these down - let us know if you can recommend someone. 

 

11 comments on Watch out for fakes on Amazon!
  • Elaine Lea-Chou
    Elaine Lea-ChouMay 26, 2020

    The 2nd example in the original blog post has finally been taken down. Several of us have either posted reviews (which mysteriously disappear) or reported it to Amazon (which I did) – looks like it finally worked, well at least for one of the fakes.

  • Tonia f
    Tonia fMay 19, 2020

    Here is another fake puzzle that showed up on Amazon under a search for Artifact Puzzles. The sold by indicates Artifact Puzzles LLC. https://www.amazon.com/Artifact-Puzzles-Dennis-Cercles-Carres/dp/B009Y0ONB4/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1274NQTSKFQZI&dchild=1&keywords=artifact+puzzles+-+wooden+jigsaw+puzzles&qid=1589932659&refinements=p_89%3AArtifact+Puzzles&rnid=2528832011&sprefix=artifact%2Caps%2C165&sr=8-1

  • Sandy S
    Sandy SMay 19, 2020

    Thank you for sharing all the issues with the “fake” puzzle. I was a victim of this and I will take action with Amazon. This is an isolated situation. Everything else I’ve bought on Amazon were received.

  • Sue
    SueMay 14, 2020

    Just terrible!!! I would prefer to buy direct from you anyway. I just LOVE your product. I could kick myself a million times over that I missed out on purchasing Two Cats that was up briefly the other day. Now I just have to wait…and wait…and wait. Hope it’s not too long of a wait. Love you guys at Artifacts Puzzles!!!!

  • Dana
    DanaMay 13, 2020

    In reply to Tonya F, concerning refund from fraudulent company

    I also purchased Old Friend from the company you named. I used the contact seller route on Amazon. I let the company know that I received information that the puzzle I had been led to believe was an Artifact brand puzzle was actually a scam, and I would like to cancel the order, which I hadn’t received after 1 month. And further, that if I didn’t receive said refund, my next step was to contact Amazon on the matter.
    It took a few days, but I received a response from the company, that I was being issued a full refund, which came through Amazon, and that I could keep the puzzle when it arrived.
    IF it arrives, I think.
    You might try that route. Good luck
    Dana

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