8 ms·

I no longer trust Amazons reviews. They're so obviously loaded with fake reviews. I try to be smart about it and sort by most recent. I've been burned on a few

I no longer trust Amazons reviews. They're so obviously loaded with fake reviews. I try to be smart about it and sort by most recent. I've been burned on a few products recently as well. I met a shady guy recently, who has personally paid for tons of take reviews on kindle books. After hearing how easy it is from him, I really lost trust.

jonstokes 10y ago
It's not just the reviews that are fake. I recently tried to buy a plush Baymax doll for my daughter, and there were so many people complaining about getting bad Chinese knockoffs from the sellers, that I gave up. They not only have lost control of their reviews, they've lost control of the vendors. Their whole storefront operation is circling the bowl, and I say this as a longtime Prime subscriber.
- Spooky23 10y ago
  Ditto here. Amazon is almost as bad as circa 2004 EBay these days. Its impossible to find genuine products in many categories. Ordered a specific tool a few months ago, and a knockoff came in the mail via "epacket" from China. My assumption for most products these days is that if Amazon is cheaper than a retailer, it's grey market. IMO, they did a Walmart -- at some point the mission shifted from serving the customer to total domination at any cost.
  - bitJericho 10y ago
    I don't think so. Anything I buy shipped from and sold by amazon I know will be legit. I don't buy anything third party if I know I cant verify it's authentic. EBay is much worse in this regard as there is nobody I can trust to have properly sourced their inventory.
    - rahimnathwani 10y ago
      https://consumerist.com/2014/05/12/does-amazons-inventory-commingling-help-fake-products-fly-under-the-radar/ https://consumerist.com/2014/05/12/does-amazons-inventory-co...
    - GurnB 10y ago
      Buying from Amazon is NOT a guarantee of authenticity. Popular items such as PlayStation controllers & Beats Headphones have a bad reputation for being knock offs.
      - chrisper 10y ago
        Yes it is. If it is shipped and SOLD by Amazon Inc., it is pretty much legit. There is, however, also just shipped by Amazon, which is basically selling through third party, but Amazon handles shipping.
        GurnB 10y ago
        I understand the difference between SOLD by Amazon, and Amazon doing fulfillment. Products SOLD by Amazon are still not 100% guaranteed legit. That being said, I have not had any problem returning/getting credit for knockoff (or questionable) product.
        chrisper 10y ago
        Only way that can happen, I think, is when someone did a bait and switch with a return.
        GurnB 10y ago
        That is certainly one way. If Amazon is getting product from multiple suppliers, they can easily taint their inventory with a single bad vendor. Then there is always the human element. Amazon has a reputation as a somewhat 'crummy' employer. Warehouse workers, when pressed to meet order/put-away quotas, tend to put inventory in pick locations based on the product type, NOT where the warehouse management system directs them to. (This of course causes all kinds of stock level issues not to mention accounting issues for those third-party suppliers that Amazon is acting as a sell-through for) I do not believe that Amazon is intentionally buying knock-off products with the intent to scam customers but just based on their physical size & the variety of products that pass through their facilities, it is going to happen. Back in the late 90's, early 2000's before Amazon was as big as they are now, I worked in the commercial music distribution arm of Sony/BMG. We were the ONLY people that were manufacturing (In our own facilities) CD's for bands on our music labels and yet bootleg copies of CD's were going out Amazon's doors to customers. How? Amazon doesn't keep an abundance of stock on hand. If they run to low, they would buy product for One Stops (at a higher price than we sold to them) because the One Stops could get several thousand CD's in a few hours while an order from our warehouse might take 36 hours to get there. It was a stop gap for them to not go Out Of Stock. Those One Stops should only have been getting their product directly from us also, but no one watched their inventory as closely, and they would at times buy product from unofficial manufacturers. Those One Stops were trying to scam people. (Mostly Mom and Pop CD retailers) Again, I have not had any problem returning product to Amazon.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - Spooky23 10y ago
      They comingle many commodities that are fulfilled by Amazon. As long as the packing is good, you're at risk.
- rwmj 10y ago
  Trying to buy things like batteries or SD cards is just an invitation for fakes. The only possibly way I might buy one is if it is sold by and fulfilled by Amazon.
  - FireBeyond 10y ago
    Not even. Many have commented that "fulfilled by" means very little nowadays, too. The product / SKU is just thrown together. Amazon doesn't care about selling you the specific item the vendor sent them, just 'that item'. I bought a Macbook Pro charger from Amazon, sold by Amazon. I got a clearly counterfeit charger that came in, I kid you not, two Ziplock bags (one for the cord, one for the unit).
    - MichaelGG 10y ago
      Sold by and fulfilled by? I'd imagine if Amazon sold it, not just fulfilled it, they'd be very interested in knowing that and looking into it. Unless Amazon's really totally given up... (I dropped prime when they blacklisted competitors' products: Chromecast and Apple TV.)
      - deleted 10y ago
        [deleted]
    - garrettgrimsley 10y ago
      They can come directly from Apple like that. We get our chargers straight from Apple's Carlisle, Pennsylvania warehouse and they come in a zip-lock bag. It could still be counterfeit, but just because it comes in a plastic bag does not mean that it is.
      - FireBeyond 10y ago
        In this case the text on the wall wart didn't match the text on the one I got with my MBP, so I'd consider it unlikely to be genuine.
- GrumpyYoungMan 10y ago
  Generally, I only buy from Amazon when: 1) Amazon itself is the seller 2) The manufacturer is the seller 3) It's a sufficiently uncommon item that the odds of getting a counterfeit is low Following these rules, I generally haven't had any problems with Amazon purchases.
  - mod 10y ago
    Following no rules at all, except sometimes "must be Prime item," I've bought maybe 200 items from amazon in the past year and I don't really recall having a problem with any of them. I'm sure I've had something that wasn't what I had hoped, but I truly don't remember. On the other hand, I can think of dozens of things that were great. Electronics, tools, consumables, toys. Not to mention, Amazon pretty much always will refund you. You guys sound a little worked up over next-to nothing, honestly.
randyrand 10y ago
I like that most recently idea. I'm going to use that.
sliverstorm 10y ago
Doesn't matter terribly much, everything trends to 4.5 stars anyway. I have come to trust that if an item has tens of thousands of reviews, few 1-star reviews, and some useful critique/criticism in the reviews, that while it may not be the best [vacuum|pot|canoe] I'll probably do just fine with it. Much like with Android vs iOS, there are real differences but both have a very high quality level and the non-professional vacuum user is really fine with either choice. If I really, really, really care about the exact details (e.g. digital cameras, computers) I'll go elsewhere, simply because storefront reviews are never a good source of side-by-side tests & sophisticated, in-depth analysis.
- ck2 10y ago
  Always read the 3-star reviews. Those are usually people who have given some thought to the good and bad about a product.
  - sanoli 10y ago
    This is what I do also. I go for the 3-star. If I read a 3-star that seems legit and indicates the person really evaluated the product, I even look at their other reviews, as their 4 and 5 star reviews might be useful.
- jameslk 10y ago
  > If I really, really, really care about the exact details (e.g. digital cameras, computers) I'll go elsewhere, simply because storefront reviews are never a good source of side-by-side tests & sophisticated, in-depth analysis. Honest question: where do you go instead? YouTube? Review blogs? What makes you trust those reviews more than the in-depth reviews you find on storefronts?
  - sliverstorm 10y ago
    All over, actually. I trawl forums, review blogs, & news articles. The more the better. "Professional" reviewers in particular fill a gap- some of them have had their hands on just about every <vacuum> ever made, so they can provide something frequently lacking on storefront reviews, an opinion well informed by experience with many alternatives. I also like sites like DxOMark, which provide raw test data that you can review yourself. The main theme though is just, many sources. Any one person can be bought, but not the whole internet.

jonstokes 10y ago

It's not just the reviews that are fake. I recently tried to buy a plush Baymax doll for my daughter, and there were so many people complaining about getting bad Chinese knockoffs from the sellers, that I gave up. They not only have lost control of their reviews, they've lost control of the vendors. Their whole storefront operation is circling the bowl, and I say this as a longtime Prime subscriber.

Spooky23 10y ago
Ditto here. Amazon is almost as bad as circa 2004 EBay these days. Its impossible to find genuine products in many categories. Ordered a specific tool a few months ago, and a knockoff came in the mail via "epacket" from China. My assumption for most products these days is that if Amazon is cheaper than a retailer, it's grey market. IMO, they did a Walmart -- at some point the mission shifted from serving the customer to total domination at any cost.
- bitJericho 10y ago
  I don't think so. Anything I buy shipped from and sold by amazon I know will be legit. I don't buy anything third party if I know I cant verify it's authentic. EBay is much worse in this regard as there is nobody I can trust to have properly sourced their inventory.
  - rahimnathwani 10y ago
    https://consumerist.com/2014/05/12/does-amazons-inventory-commingling-help-fake-products-fly-under-the-radar/ https://consumerist.com/2014/05/12/does-amazons-inventory-co...
  - GurnB 10y ago
    Buying from Amazon is NOT a guarantee of authenticity. Popular items such as PlayStation controllers & Beats Headphones have a bad reputation for being knock offs.
    - chrisper 10y ago
      Yes it is. If it is shipped and SOLD by Amazon Inc., it is pretty much legit. There is, however, also just shipped by Amazon, which is basically selling through third party, but Amazon handles shipping.
      - GurnB 10y ago
        I understand the difference between SOLD by Amazon, and Amazon doing fulfillment. Products SOLD by Amazon are still not 100% guaranteed legit. That being said, I have not had any problem returning/getting credit for knockoff (or questionable) product.
        chrisper 10y ago
        Only way that can happen, I think, is when someone did a bait and switch with a return.
        GurnB 10y ago
        That is certainly one way. If Amazon is getting product from multiple suppliers, they can easily taint their inventory with a single bad vendor. Then there is always the human element. Amazon has a reputation as a somewhat 'crummy' employer. Warehouse workers, when pressed to meet order/put-away quotas, tend to put inventory in pick locations based on the product type, NOT where the warehouse management system directs them to. (This of course causes all kinds of stock level issues not to mention accounting issues for those third-party suppliers that Amazon is acting as a sell-through for) I do not believe that Amazon is intentionally buying knock-off products with the intent to scam customers but just based on their physical size & the variety of products that pass through their facilities, it is going to happen. Back in the late 90's, early 2000's before Amazon was as big as they are now, I worked in the commercial music distribution arm of Sony/BMG. We were the ONLY people that were manufacturing (In our own facilities) CD's for bands on our music labels and yet bootleg copies of CD's were going out Amazon's doors to customers. How? Amazon doesn't keep an abundance of stock on hand. If they run to low, they would buy product for One Stops (at a higher price than we sold to them) because the One Stops could get several thousand CD's in a few hours while an order from our warehouse might take 36 hours to get there. It was a stop gap for them to not go Out Of Stock. Those One Stops should only have been getting their product directly from us also, but no one watched their inventory as closely, and they would at times buy product from unofficial manufacturers. Those One Stops were trying to scam people. (Mostly Mom and Pop CD retailers) Again, I have not had any problem returning product to Amazon.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - Spooky23 10y ago
    They comingle many commodities that are fulfilled by Amazon. As long as the packing is good, you're at risk.
rwmj 10y ago
Trying to buy things like batteries or SD cards is just an invitation for fakes. The only possibly way I might buy one is if it is sold by and fulfilled by Amazon.
- FireBeyond 10y ago
  Not even. Many have commented that "fulfilled by" means very little nowadays, too. The product / SKU is just thrown together. Amazon doesn't care about selling you the specific item the vendor sent them, just 'that item'. I bought a Macbook Pro charger from Amazon, sold by Amazon. I got a clearly counterfeit charger that came in, I kid you not, two Ziplock bags (one for the cord, one for the unit).
  - MichaelGG 10y ago
    Sold by and fulfilled by? I'd imagine if Amazon sold it, not just fulfilled it, they'd be very interested in knowing that and looking into it. Unless Amazon's really totally given up... (I dropped prime when they blacklisted competitors' products: Chromecast and Apple TV.)
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
  - garrettgrimsley 10y ago
    They can come directly from Apple like that. We get our chargers straight from Apple's Carlisle, Pennsylvania warehouse and they come in a zip-lock bag. It could still be counterfeit, but just because it comes in a plastic bag does not mean that it is.
    - FireBeyond 10y ago
      In this case the text on the wall wart didn't match the text on the one I got with my MBP, so I'd consider it unlikely to be genuine.
GrumpyYoungMan 10y ago
Generally, I only buy from Amazon when: 1) Amazon itself is the seller 2) The manufacturer is the seller 3) It's a sufficiently uncommon item that the odds of getting a counterfeit is low Following these rules, I generally haven't had any problems with Amazon purchases.
- mod 10y ago
  Following no rules at all, except sometimes "must be Prime item," I've bought maybe 200 items from amazon in the past year and I don't really recall having a problem with any of them. I'm sure I've had something that wasn't what I had hoped, but I truly don't remember. On the other hand, I can think of dozens of things that were great. Electronics, tools, consumables, toys. Not to mention, Amazon pretty much always will refund you. You guys sound a little worked up over next-to nothing, honestly.

randyrand 10y ago

I like that most recently idea. I'm going to use that.

sliverstorm 10y ago

Doesn't matter terribly much, everything trends to 4.5 stars anyway. I have come to trust that if an item has tens of thousands of reviews, few 1-star reviews, and some useful critique/criticism in the reviews, that while it may not be the best [vacuum|pot|canoe] I'll probably do just fine with it. Much like with Android vs iOS, there are real differences but both have a very high quality level and the non-professional vacuum user is really fine with either choice. If I really, really, really care about the exact details (e.g. digital cameras, computers) I'll go elsewhere, simply because storefront reviews are never a good source of side-by-side tests & sophisticated, in-depth analysis.

ck2 10y ago
Always read the 3-star reviews. Those are usually people who have given some thought to the good and bad about a product.
- sanoli 10y ago
  This is what I do also. I go for the 3-star. If I read a 3-star that seems legit and indicates the person really evaluated the product, I even look at their other reviews, as their 4 and 5 star reviews might be useful.
jameslk 10y ago
> If I really, really, really care about the exact details (e.g. digital cameras, computers) I'll go elsewhere, simply because storefront reviews are never a good source of side-by-side tests & sophisticated, in-depth analysis. Honest question: where do you go instead? YouTube? Review blogs? What makes you trust those reviews more than the in-depth reviews you find on storefronts?
- sliverstorm 10y ago
  All over, actually. I trawl forums, review blogs, & news articles. The more the better. "Professional" reviewers in particular fill a gap- some of them have had their hands on just about every <vacuum> ever made, so they can provide something frequently lacking on storefront reviews, an opinion well informed by experience with many alternatives. I also like sites like DxOMark, which provide raw test data that you can review yourself. The main theme though is just, many sources. Any one person can be bought, but not the whole internet.