Buyers Beware

If you enjoy shopping at online auction sites you may be interested in the new items the National Retail Federation has included on its consumer alert list. Many are health and beauty related, including popular diet and energy drinks and products. See why the NRF says to stay clear of buying these products from auction sites online.

According to NRF, organized retail crime groups often steal thousands of dollars of popular, consumable goods at a time with the intent to resell them for profit. In addition to the health risks caused by tainted merchandise, shoppers are left with no way to ensure they are getting the quality they paid for. NRF recommends that shoppers only buy health and beauty items from reputable sources they know and trust, such as legitimate retail stores or websites.

"Though retailers suffer billions of dollars in losses each year from organized retail crime, they are not the only group who's hurt," said Joe LaRocca, NRF senior asset protection advisor. "Most stolen merchandise is not stored properly and could expose unsuspecting shoppers or their children to a host of risks from spoiled baby formula and pain medication to inaccurate results from diabetic test strips or pregnancy tests."

Organized retail crime investigators from a variety of the nation's largest retailers have identified these items as the most popular health and beauty products stolen and resold by criminals.

• Abreva
  
• Advil
  
• Aleve
  
• Alli weight loss pills
  
• Benadryl
  
• Braun toothbrushes & replacement heads
  
• Bumble and Bumble
  
• Claritin
  
• Cover Girl cosmetics
  
• Crest Whitestrips
  
• diabetic testing strips
  
• e.p.t. pregnancy tests
  
• Gillette Fusion Razors and replacement cartridges
  
• Gillette MACH3, Venus and Sensor razors and refill cartridges
  
• Lotrimin
  
• Matrix
  
• Nicorette
  
• Oil of Olay
  
• Oral B replacement heads
  
• Pepcid AC
  
• Prilosec
  
• Primatene
  
• Pureology
  
• RoC
  
• Rogaine
  
• Similac
  
• Sudafed
  
• Schick Quattro razors and all Schick refill cartridges
  
• Sonicare replacement heads
  
• Tylenol Extra Strength
  
• Visine
  
• Zantac

For information about the dangers of using expired or improperly stored medication, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Electronic and Food Items

NRF also added specific electronics and food items to the list, including:

• High-end liquor
  
• Cigarettes
  
• Red Bull energy drinks
  
• Blu-ray movies and player
  
• Braun electric razors
  
• Dyson vacuums

See Also: NRF - Products for Shoppers to Steer Clear on Auction Sites

More:

• How Internet Auctions Work
• Tips for Online Auction Buyers