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> "Customers may have purchased counterfeit versions of legitimate products," an Amazon spokesperson said when asked about the issue. Does this have to do with

> "Customers may have purchased counterfeit versions of legitimate products," an Amazon spokesperson said when asked about the issue. Does this have to do with Amazon's practice of commingling goods from various sources together? I imagine in some warehouse, a big box of Panjwani's legit goods all mixed together with some not-so-good-goods.

MrRadar 9y ago
This is exactly why I purchased my eclipse glasses directly from the manufacturer (American Paper Optical) even though shipping from them was very expensive (relative to the cost of the glasses). Even if I'd bought a reputable brand directly from Amazon (instead of a reseller) I had no trust that I wouldn't get a counterfeit commingled from an untrustworthy reseller inside Amazon's warehouse.
- randycupertino 9y ago
  This is so frustrating to me. I want to buy makeup from amazon but there is no way to verify you're not getting fake products.
  - cm2187 9y ago
    I can't find a link so not 100% sure it is a true story but I was told (from a normally reliable source) of a L'Oréal factory in Russia many years ago which was producing shampoo. Unknown to L'Oréal was the fact that at night the factory would run producing counterfeit shampoo with inferior products. L'Oreal found out when they started getting customer complaints from people losing their hair, and I think pulled from Russia.
  - quickthrower2 9y ago
    Wasn't a problem in the 80's
amirmc 9y ago
I didn't know Amazon did this. It'll make me think twice next time I purchase certain items. After a quick search I found this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200243180 https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=... Even though inventory tracked using the manufacturer barcode is commingled within the network, the source of the inventory is tracked by our fulfillment systems and is taken into consideration if inventory problems arise. Given the article, it seems they're not completely sure what was sent where. It would seem that using the manufacturer barcodes in Amazon's network opens you up to an unexpected risk.
- wlesieutre 9y ago
  Never buy an Apple USB charger from Amazon, 90% of them are fake. https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/13343682/fake-apple-chargers-amazon-lawsuit https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/13343682/fake-apple-char...
  - voodooranger 9y ago
    Never buy any Apple product from Amazon. I've been burned several times. Didn't realize it until I had already bought several products.
    - sleepychu 9y ago
      I've been pretty pleased with my MacBook air, for big ticket items like iPod/iPhone/Macbook do you think there's significant risk of counterfeit?
      - jowsie 9y ago
        You're more likely to get a brick or clay than you are an actual counterfeit.
        LoSboccacc 9y ago
        Funny you got donwoted the exact last time amazon inventory practices were under scrutiny here at hn there was plenty stories of people getting empty boxes and ipad cardboard cutouts edit: dug out that discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13924546 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13924546 but there are plenty similar.
loteck 9y ago
The wording of the statement tells you the entire problem. "The customer purchased a counterfeit item!" Actually, no. The customer purchased an authentic item but Amazon shipped the customer a counterfeit item. Guess whose responsibility that is?
adrianmonk 9y ago
Curious if this commingling applies to third party seller (Amazon seller accounts) only or if it also includes items marked as "ships and sold by Amazon" at time of purchase. I could see Amazon having enough volume of the items they sell directly that they have less need to do this commingling, and of course they have some incentive to preserve their own image.
ecommerceguy 9y ago
Yes, commingling can be, and often is, a source of fake goods hiding in a legit ASIN. I have never and would never commingle. Remember Amazon workers checking in goods are not checking for authenticity. I purchased my glasses off the website in the comments directly below bc this is one thing I did not trust Amazon on. Also, I'll play devil's advocate, but this is one area where eBay actually wins over Amazon as each listing is tied to 1 particular seller and viewing seller history on eBay is rather easy compared to Amazon. It would be nice to know from a listing if a product is eligible for commingling and whether the item I'm buying is commingled or stickered. I would pay more to not purchase commingled items from Amazon. I do feel sorry for the legit sellers bc they are going to lose ALOT of money, many through no fault of their own. I haven't been on my private groups in a while but I'm sure I "know" a few of the sellers.

MrRadar 9y ago

This is exactly why I purchased my eclipse glasses directly from the manufacturer (American Paper Optical) even though shipping from them was very expensive (relative to the cost of the glasses). Even if I'd bought a reputable brand directly from Amazon (instead of a reseller) I had no trust that I wouldn't get a counterfeit commingled from an untrustworthy reseller inside Amazon's warehouse.

randycupertino 9y ago
This is so frustrating to me. I want to buy makeup from amazon but there is no way to verify you're not getting fake products.
- cm2187 9y ago
  I can't find a link so not 100% sure it is a true story but I was told (from a normally reliable source) of a L'Oréal factory in Russia many years ago which was producing shampoo. Unknown to L'Oréal was the fact that at night the factory would run producing counterfeit shampoo with inferior products. L'Oreal found out when they started getting customer complaints from people losing their hair, and I think pulled from Russia.
- quickthrower2 9y ago
  Wasn't a problem in the 80's

amirmc 9y ago

I didn't know Amazon did this. It'll make me think twice next time I purchase certain items. After a quick search I found this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200243180 https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=... Even though inventory tracked using the manufacturer barcode is commingled within the network, the source of the inventory is tracked by our fulfillment systems and is taken into consideration if inventory problems arise. Given the article, it seems they're not completely sure what was sent where. It would seem that using the manufacturer barcodes in Amazon's network opens you up to an unexpected risk.

wlesieutre 9y ago
Never buy an Apple USB charger from Amazon, 90% of them are fake. https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/13343682/fake-apple-chargers-amazon-lawsuit https://www.theverge.com/2016/10/20/13343682/fake-apple-char...
- voodooranger 9y ago
  Never buy any Apple product from Amazon. I've been burned several times. Didn't realize it until I had already bought several products.
  - sleepychu 9y ago
    I've been pretty pleased with my MacBook air, for big ticket items like iPod/iPhone/Macbook do you think there's significant risk of counterfeit?
    - jowsie 9y ago
      You're more likely to get a brick or clay than you are an actual counterfeit.
      - LoSboccacc 9y ago
        Funny you got donwoted the exact last time amazon inventory practices were under scrutiny here at hn there was plenty stories of people getting empty boxes and ipad cardboard cutouts edit: dug out that discussion https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13924546 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13924546 but there are plenty similar.

loteck 9y ago

The wording of the statement tells you the entire problem. "The customer purchased a counterfeit item!" Actually, no. The customer purchased an authentic item but Amazon shipped the customer a counterfeit item. Guess whose responsibility that is?

adrianmonk 9y ago

Curious if this commingling applies to third party seller (Amazon seller accounts) only or if it also includes items marked as "ships and sold by Amazon" at time of purchase. I could see Amazon having enough volume of the items they sell directly that they have less need to do this commingling, and of course they have some incentive to preserve their own image.

ecommerceguy 9y ago

Yes, commingling can be, and often is, a source of fake goods hiding in a legit ASIN. I have never and would never commingle. Remember Amazon workers checking in goods are not checking for authenticity. I purchased my glasses off the website in the comments directly below bc this is one thing I did not trust Amazon on. Also, I'll play devil's advocate, but this is one area where eBay actually wins over Amazon as each listing is tied to 1 particular seller and viewing seller history on eBay is rather easy compared to Amazon. It would be nice to know from a listing if a product is eligible for commingling and whether the item I'm buying is commingled or stickered. I would pay more to not purchase commingled items from Amazon. I do feel sorry for the legit sellers bc they are going to lose ALOT of money, many through no fault of their own. I haven't been on my private groups in a while but I'm sure I "know" a few of the sellers.