Live shopping auctions can be entertaining, exciting, and a great way for legitimate sellers to connect with customers. But consumers deserve to know exactly what they are bidding on before they spend their money.

As live perfume auctions have grown, so have concerns about counterfeit fragrances, misleading product presentation, unclear disclosure of imitation or “inspired-by” fragrances, and auction tactics that may leave buyers believing they are purchasing something very different from what they actually receive.

This petition is not asking to eliminate live auctions.

We are asking to better regulate them.

When bidding happens quickly, consumers often have only seconds to make a purchasing decision. A countdown clock, fast-moving chat, repeated claims about value, and pressure to “lock in” can make it difficult for buyers to stop and research a product before bidding.

That makes transparency especially important.

A fragrance that resembles a luxury product should never be presented in a way that could reasonably cause bidders to mistake it for the luxury product. An imitation, alternative, “inspired-by,” or dupe fragrance should be clearly identified as such before bidding begins—not left for consumers to figure out after they have already paid.

Likewise, consumers should have reasonable confidence that products represented as authentic designer or niche fragrances are actually authentic.

We are asking to strengthen protections for live-auction buyers by:

Requiring clear, visible and verbal disclosure when a fragrance is an imitation, dupe, “inspired-by,” alternative, or otherwise not the original branded fragrance a buyer could reasonably mistake it for.
Strengthening seller verification and authenticity requirements for sellers offering designer, luxury, and other frequently counterfeited fragrances through live auctions.
Requiring sellers to accurately identify the brand and product being auctioned and prohibiting presentation designed to obscure, confuse, or misrepresent a product’s identity.
Prohibiting misleading comparisons to retail prices or manufacturer suggested retail prices when those comparisons do not apply to the actual product being auctioned.
Increasing enforcement against counterfeit merchandise and sellers who repeatedly violate authenticity or product-description policies.
Creating stronger accountability for live hosts and sellers who use deceptive statements or omit material information that consumers need to make an informed bidding decision.
Improving buyer dispute and refund procedures when a customer receives a product that may be counterfeit, materially different from its live-auction description, or damaged during shipment.
Preserving live-auction recordings and relevant product information for an appropriate period so that buyers and TikTok can review what was actually represented during a disputed transaction.
Making it easier for viewers to report suspected counterfeit merchandise or deceptive auction practices directly from a LIVE without disrupting their viewing experience.
Providing meaningful consequences for repeat violations rather than allowing problematic practices to simply continue through another LIVE, host, or seller account.
This protects legitimate sellers, too.

Stronger enforcement is not an attack on reputable live-auction businesses.

In fact, legitimate sellers are harmed when counterfeit products and deceptive practices are allowed to flourish alongside them. Every bad experience makes consumers more suspicious of the entire live-auction marketplace.

Honest sellers should not have to compete with sellers who can offer impossible prices because their merchandise is counterfeit, misrepresented, or not what bidders believe they are buying.

Buyers have responsibilities—but so do sellers and platforms.

Consumers should research products, understand what they are bidding on, and avoid spending beyond their means.

But “buyer beware” should not become an excuse for deceptive selling.

A consumer’s responsibility to make informed purchasing decisions does not eliminate a seller’s responsibility to accurately represent merchandise or a marketplace’s responsibility to enforce its own rules.

Live auctions move fast.

Consumer protection needs to move just as fast.

We are asking to implement stronger transparency, authentication, enforcement, reporting, and buyer-protection standards for live auctions—particularly in categories such as fragrance where counterfeit and look-alike products can be difficult for consumers to identify through a screen.

The goal is simple:

Let the bidding be competitive.
Let the entertainment be fun.
Let legitimate sellers thrive.
But make sure consumers know exactly what they’re bidding on.

If you believe live-auction shoppers deserve transparency, authenticity, and meaningful protection from counterfeit and deceptive sales practices, please sign and share this petition.