Online marketplace launches in UK

Online shoppers using internet marketplaces are falling for fake goods

Leading European online marketplace PriceMinister has launched in the UK, promising an anti-counterfeit guarantee and money back to buyers who are not satisfied with their purchase.

PriceMinister, which is the second-busiest online marketplace in France, seeks to differentiate itself in a crowded market by providing customer protection against the growing problem of counterfeit goods being sold on these sites.

The firm's Annual European Anti-Counterfeit report, which was released to coincide with the UK launch, found that the sale of counterfeit goods increased by 45 per cent in the past year to an estimated value of £800m. Eighty per cent of these items were sold on the internet.

The report also found a rise in the amount of counterfeited high-tech products of 170 per cent. Apple, Microsoft and Nokia were among the top five for brands with the most fake products available online last year, said PriceMinister.

“Counterfeiting is spreading across the internet," said Benoit Tabaka, legal and public affairs director of the PriceMinister Group.

"More and more goods are affected every year but 2008 shows alarming figures, it’s no longer just clothes or luxury goods. It’s our job, as owners of this busy marketplace, to protect consumers and brands.”