5 ms·

I've inadvertently purchased a lot of low quality junk from Amazon lately propped up by fake reviews and shady third-party dealers peddling counterfeit goods. I

by freyr 10y ago

I've inadvertently purchased a lot of low quality junk from Amazon lately propped up by fake reviews and shady third-party dealers peddling counterfeit goods. If they want to sell me vitamins and food, they need to fix their brand. Are they a supermarket that is in control what they sell, or are they a back-alley bazaar that's strictly buyer-beware?

machinagod 10y ago
I've had good success in contacting Amazon's customer service when a product is mis-represented or of poor quality. Are they blowing it these days?
djsumdog 10y ago
Apparently you should never buy sex toys on Amazon. They're mostly low quality counterfeits, most that break easily but some that are unsafe. A lot of the good manufactures refuse to sell to anyone who has an Amazon store. Most people don't talk about it cause..sex toys. giggle Amazon also has a book store in Seattle (a real physical bookstore). Both their air delivery and dash button ads look like they should be on a show like should be satire. But they're real. People are actually developing these things. Pretty soon we'll be consuming all the time. You'll never stop shopping. Amazon is pretty much the new Wal-Mart. I often go out of my way to not buy thorough them and it makes me sad that they own woot now (cause those t-shirts are awesome).
x0x0 10y ago
They're a back alley bazaar. Don't buy power electronics on amazon. Just buy them straight from monoprice and/or apple.
joesmo 10y ago
Be careful if you return too many of those shitty products, they will close your account, even if you have a Prime membership. Amazon is shady as fuck and an untrustworthy retailer. The way they treat employees is beyond atrocious. Amazon makes Walmart look ethical and honest in comparison.
- swadfghjkl 10y ago
  Your anecdote is the opposite of my experience.
  - sotojuan 10y ago
    Same. Well, just the first point. I've returned a ton of stuff from many sellers without a problem and sometimes I was not required to return the actual object (I just got money back).
  - joesmo 10y ago
    Doesn't make it false though.
- dazc 10y ago
  There have been a few documented cases but for a business with many millions of customers I don't think it's a real issue? My return rate is around average (I guess) and I've never had a problem. The last incident is where I put the wrong sim card in a phone and couldn't get it out. Just return it I was told and the refund came through as soon as I had printed the label. This is 100% the direct opposite of what would happen with any other UK retailer.
massysett 10y ago
Unfortunately now you can't even dodge this by making sure the things you buy are sold by Amazon. They deem many products to be interchangeable so they will take "Fulfilled by Amazon" stock and commingle it with stuff from third-party sellers. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200243180 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2... I use Amazon a lot but I do not trust them at all.
- brianwawok 10y ago
  I'm not sure you really understand how commingle works? If you have something with a UPC code, say the DVD Back to the Future, the latest edition... it will get put on the same shelf as other people with the same identical product, with the same identical UPC. They aren't just dumping all DVDs in a big pile and picking out a random one.. its for literally identical products. Does someone pirate DVDs and put the proper UPC on them? I guess it might happen, but how often? And if it did you tell Amazon and get a full refund and the seller is banned. I can see reasons to not trust Amazon (the fake reviews, etc), but commingling of sealed goods is not one of them.
  - x0x0 10y ago
    It happens all the time with electronics, particularly chargers. And it prevents me from buying food/toiletries from amazon, because who the hell knows who they were sourced from.
  - massysett 10y ago
    "Does someone pirate DVDs and put the proper UPC on them?" Yes. That's called counterfeiting. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/30/counterfeit-sites-dark-web-series/6374451/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/30/counterfeit-si... And by the way yes, I understand how commingling works, and Amazon says they will not do it with DVDs. I understand that Amazon says they can trace who provided the goods I receive. That protects Amazon. It does not protect me.
    - erikpukinskis 10y ago
TorKlingberg 10y ago
Yes, Amazon is good for books and electronics, but I'm getting really tired of low quality household goods. I don't even know if the reviews are fake, or if people are just uncritical and give five stars for junk.
- illegalsmile 10y ago
  I'm finding that even electronics are going downhill because of third party sellers and Amazon blurring the line between these two entities. There are lots of people that do not even understand that a review is about the product. While things like how it was shipped, packaging, speed of delivery or color are important someone giving a 5-star review to a product because it was shipped quickly does not make for a good review. Then there are all these reviews where the seller gives a reviewer a free product in exchange for a review. Maybe they received a higher quality product? Maybe they're just shills looking for free things in exchange for writing 5-star reviews on a 2-star product? In my mind Amazon's consumer experience has been going downhill over the last 2 years. Prime is not nearly what it used to be, shipping times have been slipping greatly and as you say, there are a lot of low quality goods. Even their prices anymore are questionable. I used to simply order a product knowing that even if it wasn't the lowest price out there it would ship quickly and the price would be comparable enough to choose convenience over another store. That's not the case anymore.

by freyr 10y ago

machinagod 10y ago

I've had good success in contacting Amazon's customer service when a product is mis-represented or of poor quality. Are they blowing it these days?

djsumdog 10y ago

Apparently you should never buy sex toys on Amazon. They're mostly low quality counterfeits, most that break easily but some that are unsafe. A lot of the good manufactures refuse to sell to anyone who has an Amazon store. Most people don't talk about it cause..sex toys. giggle Amazon also has a book store in Seattle (a real physical bookstore). Both their air delivery and dash button ads look like they should be on a show like should be satire. But they're real. People are actually developing these things. Pretty soon we'll be consuming all the time. You'll never stop shopping. Amazon is pretty much the new Wal-Mart. I often go out of my way to not buy thorough them and it makes me sad that they own woot now (cause those t-shirts are awesome).

x0x0 10y ago

They're a back alley bazaar. Don't buy power electronics on amazon. Just buy them straight from monoprice and/or apple.

joesmo 10y ago

Be careful if you return too many of those shitty products, they will close your account, even if you have a Prime membership. Amazon is shady as fuck and an untrustworthy retailer. The way they treat employees is beyond atrocious. Amazon makes Walmart look ethical and honest in comparison.

swadfghjkl 10y ago
Your anecdote is the opposite of my experience.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  Same. Well, just the first point. I've returned a ton of stuff from many sellers without a problem and sometimes I was not required to return the actual object (I just got money back).
- joesmo 10y ago
  Doesn't make it false though.
dazc 10y ago
There have been a few documented cases but for a business with many millions of customers I don't think it's a real issue? My return rate is around average (I guess) and I've never had a problem. The last incident is where I put the wrong sim card in a phone and couldn't get it out. Just return it I was told and the refund came through as soon as I had printed the label. This is 100% the direct opposite of what would happen with any other UK retailer.

massysett 10y ago

Unfortunately now you can't even dodge this by making sure the things you buy are sold by Amazon. They deem many products to be interchangeable so they will take "Fulfilled by Amazon" stock and commingle it with stuff from third-party sellers. http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200243180 http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=2... I use Amazon a lot but I do not trust them at all.

brianwawok 10y ago
I'm not sure you really understand how commingle works? If you have something with a UPC code, say the DVD Back to the Future, the latest edition... it will get put on the same shelf as other people with the same identical product, with the same identical UPC. They aren't just dumping all DVDs in a big pile and picking out a random one.. its for literally identical products. Does someone pirate DVDs and put the proper UPC on them? I guess it might happen, but how often? And if it did you tell Amazon and get a full refund and the seller is banned. I can see reasons to not trust Amazon (the fake reviews, etc), but commingling of sealed goods is not one of them.
- x0x0 10y ago
  It happens all the time with electronics, particularly chargers. And it prevents me from buying food/toiletries from amazon, because who the hell knows who they were sourced from.
- massysett 10y ago
  "Does someone pirate DVDs and put the proper UPC on them?" Yes. That's called counterfeiting. http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/30/counterfeit-sites-dark-web-series/6374451/ http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/04/30/counterfeit-si... And by the way yes, I understand how commingling works, and Amazon says they will not do it with DVDs. I understand that Amazon says they can trace who provided the goods I receive. That protects Amazon. It does not protect me.
  - erikpukinskis 10y ago

TorKlingberg 10y ago

Yes, Amazon is good for books and electronics, but I'm getting really tired of low quality household goods. I don't even know if the reviews are fake, or if people are just uncritical and give five stars for junk.

illegalsmile 10y ago
I'm finding that even electronics are going downhill because of third party sellers and Amazon blurring the line between these two entities. There are lots of people that do not even understand that a review is about the product. While things like how it was shipped, packaging, speed of delivery or color are important someone giving a 5-star review to a product because it was shipped quickly does not make for a good review. Then there are all these reviews where the seller gives a reviewer a free product in exchange for a review. Maybe they received a higher quality product? Maybe they're just shills looking for free things in exchange for writing 5-star reviews on a 2-star product? In my mind Amazon's consumer experience has been going downhill over the last 2 years. Prime is not nearly what it used to be, shipping times have been slipping greatly and as you say, there are a lot of low quality goods. Even their prices anymore are questionable. I used to simply order a product knowing that even if it wasn't the lowest price out there it would ship quickly and the price would be comparable enough to choose convenience over another store. That's not the case anymore.