5 ms·

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/

by 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.
    - philjohn 9y ago
      Just tried to sell 2 ipod nano's on Amazon today, I had to get approval to sell Apple branded items with an invoice or an authorisation from Apple that I'm a reseller.
- ikeboy 9y ago
  90% of ones Apple bought. They probably have a good idea of which sellers are authorized to begin with and therefore didn't buy from those.
  - wlesieutre 9y ago
    As I understand it, doesn't really matter what seller you buy from. Amazon says "The supplies all said these are the same item, so they're interchangeable" and they treat all the inventory the same regardless of who it came from. Maybe legit sellers that aren't "fulfilled by Amazon" are safer because they ship it themselves?
    - ikeboy 9y ago
      That's only for sellers that opt in to commingling. Plenty of sellers don't.
      - x0x0 9y ago
        Yeah, but you can't tell as a purchaser.
      - klausjensen 9y ago
        Are you sure it is not the other way around, that you have to opt out as a seller? Anecdotally, a friend of mine runs a company that produces a unique fitness product, never opted into any kind of co-mingling as far as I know, as they are the only supplier in the world - and suddenly found themselves with comingled fake stock.
        birdman3131 9y ago
        You have to opt in as far as I know because the full name is stickerless comingled. It has its benefits but the sellers I know refuse to touch the stuff because of the potential issues.
      - AaronNewcomer 9y ago
        This is incorrect, kind of. There are essentially 3 ways to sell on Amazon. 1. Amazon can buy your product wholesale and they sell it. The manufacturer still has a lot of control on pricing and listing and etc. But Amazon has more control. In this case Amazon uses the UPC (or equivalent) to come up with the ASIN. In this case any 3rd party seller can list the same item with the UPC and it will show up on the same listing. They can even sell it via FBA where it is labeled as prime and stocked in Amazon's warehouses and if priced cheaper then will often get the buy box. So you could have 1000 positive reviews for your product and then all of a sudden a counterfeiter ships Amazon a bunch of what they say is the exact same product with the same UPC and it gets listed on the same listing. They can even make these stand out more by making variations on the product that then show up (like a 2-pack) that maybe you never sold. Secondly there is Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) this is when you sell the products and Amazon takes a commission and all the fulfillment fees to store and ship the product for you. In this case the seller has MUCH MUCH more control over every aspect of the listing. They can choose to have the ASIN generated by the UPC which can result in the same problem as above OR they can choose to have the ASIN generated by a number and barcode that is unique to the particular seller. This is called a FNSKU. Even if you know the FNSKU number which would be on a barcode on the product, ONLY the particular seller can create /ship product to Amazon using it. So Only the seller can variate listing or sell the product. And thirdly you can do seller fulfillment which works list the last option in terms of listing, just with your own warehousing and fulfillment.
- forgotpw1123 9y ago
  Or any type of wireless headphones. Not sure the percentage, but never got a pair that was real. In fact I don't buy anything from Amazon anymore...
  - m-j-fox 9y ago
    I buy everything from Amazon, including all my food. You make me wonder what I've been eating. Still, I can't see going back to fighting crowds at Safeway.
    - bdcravens 9y ago
      There's always Instacart, and many stores are offering order online and pickup (in Houston, I know of Walmart and Kroger) - no line to speak of, you have a scheduled time.
    - nebabyte 9y ago
      > Still, I can't see going back to fighting crowds at Safeway. Safeway delivers
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
lstroud 9y ago
That's a pretty common practice in the Mfg industry. Makes lot tracking simpler.

by amirmc 9y ago

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.
  - philjohn 9y ago
    Just tried to sell 2 ipod nano's on Amazon today, I had to get approval to sell Apple branded items with an invoice or an authorisation from Apple that I'm a reseller.
ikeboy 9y ago
90% of ones Apple bought. They probably have a good idea of which sellers are authorized to begin with and therefore didn't buy from those.
- wlesieutre 9y ago
  As I understand it, doesn't really matter what seller you buy from. Amazon says "The supplies all said these are the same item, so they're interchangeable" and they treat all the inventory the same regardless of who it came from. Maybe legit sellers that aren't "fulfilled by Amazon" are safer because they ship it themselves?
  - ikeboy 9y ago
    That's only for sellers that opt in to commingling. Plenty of sellers don't.
    - x0x0 9y ago
      Yeah, but you can't tell as a purchaser.
    - klausjensen 9y ago
      Are you sure it is not the other way around, that you have to opt out as a seller? Anecdotally, a friend of mine runs a company that produces a unique fitness product, never opted into any kind of co-mingling as far as I know, as they are the only supplier in the world - and suddenly found themselves with comingled fake stock.
      - birdman3131 9y ago
        You have to opt in as far as I know because the full name is stickerless comingled. It has its benefits but the sellers I know refuse to touch the stuff because of the potential issues.
    - AaronNewcomer 9y ago
      This is incorrect, kind of. There are essentially 3 ways to sell on Amazon. 1. Amazon can buy your product wholesale and they sell it. The manufacturer still has a lot of control on pricing and listing and etc. But Amazon has more control. In this case Amazon uses the UPC (or equivalent) to come up with the ASIN. In this case any 3rd party seller can list the same item with the UPC and it will show up on the same listing. They can even sell it via FBA where it is labeled as prime and stocked in Amazon's warehouses and if priced cheaper then will often get the buy box. So you could have 1000 positive reviews for your product and then all of a sudden a counterfeiter ships Amazon a bunch of what they say is the exact same product with the same UPC and it gets listed on the same listing. They can even make these stand out more by making variations on the product that then show up (like a 2-pack) that maybe you never sold. Secondly there is Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) this is when you sell the products and Amazon takes a commission and all the fulfillment fees to store and ship the product for you. In this case the seller has MUCH MUCH more control over every aspect of the listing. They can choose to have the ASIN generated by the UPC which can result in the same problem as above OR they can choose to have the ASIN generated by a number and barcode that is unique to the particular seller. This is called a FNSKU. Even if you know the FNSKU number which would be on a barcode on the product, ONLY the particular seller can create /ship product to Amazon using it. So Only the seller can variate listing or sell the product. And thirdly you can do seller fulfillment which works list the last option in terms of listing, just with your own warehousing and fulfillment.
forgotpw1123 9y ago
Or any type of wireless headphones. Not sure the percentage, but never got a pair that was real. In fact I don't buy anything from Amazon anymore...
- m-j-fox 9y ago
  I buy everything from Amazon, including all my food. You make me wonder what I've been eating. Still, I can't see going back to fighting crowds at Safeway.
  - bdcravens 9y ago
    There's always Instacart, and many stores are offering order online and pickup (in Houston, I know of Walmart and Kroger) - no line to speak of, you have a scheduled time.
  - nebabyte 9y ago
    > Still, I can't see going back to fighting crowds at Safeway. Safeway delivers

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

lstroud 9y ago

That's a pretty common practice in the Mfg industry. Makes lot tracking simpler.