Suit Alleges Amazon Seller Is Marketing Epson Goods Without Authorization
Amazon third-party seller Stratton AV is giving the Epson brand a bad name by advertising and offering for sale various Epson products through its Hatchfields Co. online store, which lacks Epson inventory and authorization to sell the goods to consumers,…
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alleged Epson America in a false advertising and unfair competition complaint (in Pacer) Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale. Many of the Epson products marketed are “restricted SKUs,” mainly projectors, sold only through Epson authorized resellers, “which Stratton AV is not,” it said. Consumers who order Epson products through the merchant “are confused and disappointed” when the order never arrives or is canceled or when they receive a product they didn’t order, said Epson. Consumers who are charged need to go after Stratton AV or Amazon to get a refund, it said. Epson is “injured by Stratton AV’s misconduct due to the significant lost sales it suffers as a direct and proximate result thereof,” it said. Epson has contacted Stratton AV more than 20 times since June 2018, trying to curb its “improper” behavior, it said. Epson seeks an injunction, plus compensatory and punitive damages. Stratton AV operates out of Doral, Florida, said the complaint, but attempts to reach the merchant for comment Wednesday were unsuccessful. Amazon, not a defendant in the action, didn’t respond to questions.