Do I need an account to report something?

No, and you do not need to leave an email either. Anonymous reports are worked the same way as named ones; the only difference is that we cannot tell you what we decided.

How fast will you act?

Lantern is worked by one person, so here is the honest version. Filing a report emails that person straight away, and the queue is read every day. Counterfeit, illegal-product and scam reports are opened first and acted on the day they are read. Copyright and trademark notices are acknowledged when they arrive and decided within a few business days. Everything else is worked in order of arrival. The windows listed on this page are what we aim for rather than a guarantee, and a report that has run past its window is still open, not lost.

Was the listing checked before it was published?

Not by a person. An automated check refuses replica vocabulary, protected marks and out-of-scope categories at the form, and everything past that goes live as filed. A moderator reads it afterwards, usually within five working days, and a page nobody has read yet says so on it. That is why reports matter more here than on a site with an approval queue: for the first few days, readers are the only people who have looked at a page.

What if you disagree with my report?

We write back and say why, provided you left an address. Descriptive use of a word that happens to be a trademark, a price that has simply moved, and a listing that is merely similar to another product are the three most common reasons a report is closed without action.

Will the seller know it was me?

No. We never pass a reporter's identity to a seller or a marketplace. A rights-holder notice is different: acting on it may require identifying the complainant to the marketplace, and we will tell you before that happens.

Can I report a purchasing agent rather than a product?

Use this form and pick “something else”. Agent conduct reports go to the same desk and feed the reliability scores on the agent comparison pages.

What happens to a product that gets removed?

The page returns a 404 and the listing is added to a blocklist so it cannot be resubmitted. Products that are merely dead rather than against policy stay up, marked unavailable, because the reviews and photos remain useful.

Report a product

This index stays honest because people tell us when something is wrong. Submissions publish the moment a member files them and a moderator reads them in the days after, so nothing is stopped in advance: a report is often how a bad listing gets found at all. Sellers also change what they ship, shops close and prices drift. Reporting takes a minute and it is the fastest route to a fix.

No product attached. The quickest way to report something specific is the flag on its product page, which brings the listing with it. Otherwise, paste the link into the details field below.

File a report

No product attached. Paste the Lantern page or the marketplace listing in the details so we can find it.

What is wrong?

Counterfeit or replicaPriorityThe listing is a copy of another company's product, or the seller grades it like one.Copyright infringementThe listing reproduces artwork, photography, a print or a design you hold the rights to.Trademark infringementA brand name, logo or protected mark you own appears on the product or in how it is described.Illegal or unsafe productPriorityWeapons, controlled substances, wildlife products, or anything that cannot legally be imported.Scam or malicious linkPriorityThe link goes somewhere it should not, asks for payment off-platform, or the seller does not ship.Broken or dead linkThe listing 404s, the shop has closed, or the item is permanently out of stock.Incorrect informationWrong price, wrong weight, wrong materials, wrong category, or a description that does not match the listing.Spam or self-promotionA seller submitting their own catalogue, duplicate listings, or reviews that are not from real buyers.Something elseAnything that does not fit above. Tell us in your own words and we will route it.

What did you see?0 chars

Which part of the page is wrong, what the listing actually says, and anything we can verify ourselves. A report we can check from what you wrote is settled in one pass; one we cannot goes back and forth first.

Your emailoptional

Only used to tell you what we decided. Reports without an address are still acted on. Anonymous reports are not second class.

We read every report. We do not always agree with them, and we will tell you when we do not. No account needed, and an email address is optional.

Copyright and trademark notices

These follow a different path from ordinary moderation, because the consequences of getting them wrong run in both directions.

Lantern sells and fulfils nothing, and hosts only what the community submits: product pages, reviews and photos about public marketplace listings, published as filed and reviewed afterwards, with links out to purchasing agents. That means two separate things can happen when you file a notice: we can remove the product page and any hosted material from our side, and we can pass the listing to the marketplace that hosts it. The first is within our control. The second depends on Taobao, Tmall or 1688 and their own processes, which we cannot put a clock on.

A notice we can act on identifies four things: the work or mark you own, where it appears on Lantern, why the use is not authorised, and how to reach you. A good-faith statement is part of the form for exactly this reason: a notice is a legal assertion, not a preference.

We distinguish descriptive use from passing off. A listing that says “fits the 2019 model” is using a mark descriptively and will usually stay. A listing that puts your logo on a product, or copies your print, is removed. If your notice is declined you will get the reasoning, and you can respond to it.

Sellers whose listings are removed on a rights notice are recorded. Repeat notices against the same shop remove the shop from the index entirely rather than one product at a time.

What a valid notice contains

Identification of the work or mark, the Lantern URL, the basis of your claim, your contact details, a good-faith statement and confirmation the information is accurate.

Timing

A notice is acknowledged when it arrives and you are told what was decided. The product page is taken out of the index while a credible notice is assessed rather than after. Decisions take a few business days, and a complicated one takes longer: we say so rather than going quiet.

If you are the seller

You can contest a removal. Tell us which notice you are responding to and why the use is authorised or descriptive; we will re-review and reinstate if you are right.

Abuse of the process

Notices filed to remove a competitor's legitimate listing are treated as abuse. We keep the record and stop acting on notices from that source.

Questions

What people ask before filing

Do I need an account to report something?: No, and you do not need to leave an email either. Anonymous reports are worked the same way as named ones; the only difference is that we cannot tell you what we decided.
How fast will you act?: Lantern is worked by one person, so here is the honest version. Filing a report emails that person straight away, and the queue is read every day. Counterfeit, illegal-product and scam reports are opened first and acted on the day they are read. Copyright and trademark notices are acknowledged when they arrive and decided within a few business days. Everything else is worked in order of arrival. The windows listed on this page are what we aim for rather than a guarantee, and a report that has run past its window is still open, not lost.
Was the listing checked before it was published?: Not by a person. An automated check refuses replica vocabulary, protected marks and out-of-scope categories at the form, and everything past that goes live as filed. A moderator reads it afterwards, usually within five working days, and a page nobody has read yet says so on it. That is why reports matter more here than on a site with an approval queue: for the first few days, readers are the only people who have looked at a page.
What if you disagree with my report?: We write back and say why, provided you left an address. Descriptive use of a word that happens to be a trademark, a price that has simply moved, and a listing that is merely similar to another product are the three most common reasons a report is closed without action.
Will the seller know it was me?: No. We never pass a reporter's identity to a seller or a marketplace. A rights-holder notice is different: acting on it may require identifying the complainant to the marketplace, and we will tell you before that happens.
Can I report a purchasing agent rather than a product?: Use this form and pick “something else”. Agent conduct reports go to the same desk and feed the reliability scores on the agent comparison pages.
What happens to a product that gets removed?: The page returns a 404 and the listing is added to a blocklist so it cannot be resubmitted. Products that are merely dead rather than against policy stay up, marked unavailable, because the reviews and photos remain useful.

Target windows

Counterfeit or replica1-2 days
Copyright infringement3-5 business days
Trademark infringement3-5 business days
Illegal or unsafe product1-2 days
Scam or malicious link1-2 days
Broken or dead link2-4 days
Incorrect informationabout a week
Spam or self-promotion2-4 days
Something elseabout a week

What we aim for, measured from when the report arrives. One person reads this queue, so a report filed overnight is read the next morning, and counterfeit, illegal-product and scam reports are opened ahead of the rest. Chinese public holidays slow the marketplace side of a removal, not our side of it.

Reporting is not the only fix

Price looks wrong? Check the price history on the product page first. Sellers move prices weekly and the chart usually explains it.
Photos do not match? Add your own. A QC or worn shot corrects the record faster than a report, and it stays useful for everyone after you.
Sizing is off? Leave a review with your measurements. Sizing is a facet in our rating breakdown precisely so it can be corrected by buyers.

QC photos Submit a find Compare agents

Where reports change the numbers

Confirmed reports feed the quality score on every product page and the reliability score on every agent page. That is the whole loop: what you tell us shows up in what the next person is shown first.