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How do we still have issues with counterfeit products in 2017? There should be electronic records with audit trails for every shipment into the US. This ordeal

How do we still have issues with counterfeit products in 2017? There should be electronic records with audit trails for every shipment into the US. This ordeal is probably going to bankrupt several small businesses.

tyingq 9y ago
I'm not sure that helps much. You have the audit trail, find an issue. You inform China, and...nothing happens. Factory changes its name for the next shipment.
acangiano 9y ago
Blockchain could help solve this problem.
forgotpw1123 9y ago
Because Amazon makes too much money off it to do anything about it. They could easily track everything... but they obviously don't.
x0x0 9y ago
Because amazon hasn't been sued enough to care yet.
s0rce 9y ago
This problem specifically could be easily solved by not allowing any random seller to sell the same item on Amazon without the purchases having any idea.
- simonh 9y ago
  I'm not sure what you mean. They do track everything, otherwise they couldn't match up your payment for the product with the vendor it actually came from in order to pay them. The question is what else are Amazon willing to do with that information, which turns out to be very little or nothing because as soon as Amazon gets humans involved in the transaction making actual decisions, their costs shoot up.
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    > I'm not sure what you mean. They do track everything, otherwise they couldn't match up your payment for the product with the vendor it actually came from in order to pay them. They don't, though. All the same-SKU items go into a big box at the warehouse. When you order from a particular seller, they pick one out of that box and send it to you. There's a good chance the specific one they picked out didn't come from that seller's inventory, but another's. https://www.wsj.com/articles/on-amazon-pooled-merchandise-opens-door-to-knockoffs-1399852852 https://www.wsj.com/articles/on-amazon-pooled-merchandise-op...
  - s0rce 9y ago
    I'm not sure what Amazon does (looks like they don't actually track) but from the consumer side you basically get a random item. Say you order a specific product, like a Macbook charger, Amazon sends you one from any number of vendors and you most likely get a counterfeit one and you have no idea who the product came from. Look at the reviews for a product like this you can often see a bimodal distribution of people who got a legit item and people who got junk.
nebabyte 9y ago
Because at every point between here and there people are more concerned with cutting costs than what "should exist".
Cthulhu_ 9y ago
In NL / Europe, Amazon would be shut down for selling counterfeit products. Or well, they would if it was e.g. brand name stuff. For this kind of thing, not sure. A recall and a fine for selling unsafe products probably.

tyingq 9y ago

I'm not sure that helps much. You have the audit trail, find an issue. You inform China, and...nothing happens. Factory changes its name for the next shipment.

acangiano 9y ago

Blockchain could help solve this problem.

forgotpw1123 9y ago

Because Amazon makes too much money off it to do anything about it. They could easily track everything... but they obviously don't.

x0x0 9y ago

Because amazon hasn't been sued enough to care yet.

s0rce 9y ago

This problem specifically could be easily solved by not allowing any random seller to sell the same item on Amazon without the purchases having any idea.

simonh 9y ago
I'm not sure what you mean. They do track everything, otherwise they couldn't match up your payment for the product with the vendor it actually came from in order to pay them. The question is what else are Amazon willing to do with that information, which turns out to be very little or nothing because as soon as Amazon gets humans involved in the transaction making actual decisions, their costs shoot up.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  > I'm not sure what you mean. They do track everything, otherwise they couldn't match up your payment for the product with the vendor it actually came from in order to pay them. They don't, though. All the same-SKU items go into a big box at the warehouse. When you order from a particular seller, they pick one out of that box and send it to you. There's a good chance the specific one they picked out didn't come from that seller's inventory, but another's. https://www.wsj.com/articles/on-amazon-pooled-merchandise-opens-door-to-knockoffs-1399852852 https://www.wsj.com/articles/on-amazon-pooled-merchandise-op...
- s0rce 9y ago
  I'm not sure what Amazon does (looks like they don't actually track) but from the consumer side you basically get a random item. Say you order a specific product, like a Macbook charger, Amazon sends you one from any number of vendors and you most likely get a counterfeit one and you have no idea who the product came from. Look at the reviews for a product like this you can often see a bimodal distribution of people who got a legit item and people who got junk.

nebabyte 9y ago

Because at every point between here and there people are more concerned with cutting costs than what "should exist".

Cthulhu_ 9y ago

In NL / Europe, Amazon would be shut down for selling counterfeit products. Or well, they would if it was e.g. brand name stuff. For this kind of thing, not sure. A recall and a fine for selling unsafe products probably.