8 ms·

I'm sorry but this is utter stupidity. Punishing consumers for ordering a product for which the supplier/supply chain sent a counterfeit which was flagged by c

I'm sorry but this is utter stupidity. Punishing consumers for ordering a product for which the supplier/supply chain sent a counterfeit which was flagged by customs is just dumb. Importing and selling counterfeit products is already illegal. If the person has a 20' shipping container full of counterfeit product, maybe investigate it and level penalties. But to disqualify someone from an entry program because of one counterfeit product, when clearly no one from Amazon, CBP, or the manufacturer put in any effort whatsoever to investigate, is just wrong IMHO. The article states the manufacturer took the lazy route and punished the innocent customer because going after Amazon and someone in China would be more effort/expense. Guilty until proven innocent. Ridiculous.

paulie_a 9y ago
What's funny is you can buy embargoed goods on Amazon.
- carlmr 9y ago
  Now we know where Little Kim orders his oil.
- rsync 9y ago
  "What's funny is you can buy embargoed goods on Amazon." Can you provide an example or two ?
  - slantyyz 9y ago
    I don't know whether they are embargoed or not, but on Amazon.ca and Amazon.uk it's very easy to find Android Kodi boxes pre-loaded with sketchy apps and Kodi plug-ins that are also fulfilled by Amazon. I'm pretty sure in Canada and the UK, that those products have been heavily targeted by the government for piracy. Several local sellers of those boxes in Canada have been prosecuted/shut down, yet they are still so easily available on Amazon.
nerdponx 9y ago
As far as I understand, in the USA it's not actually illegal to buy counterfeit goods, only to sell them.
- jdietrich 9y ago
  If you purchase counterfeit goods via mail-order from an overseas seller then you're technically an importer, which is very much illegal.
  - crankylinuxuser 9y ago
    No, you bought it from "Amazon". Amazon is incorporated in the US. Amazon's distribution centers reside in many states. In Indiana, since they have a presence, they are legally obligated in collecting sales tax. My bank statement shows "AMAZON", not 3rd party importer. I find your claim of "technically an importer" to be completely bunkum. The importer here is Amazon, and full blame on import fraud should be levied against them. I have no issue in giving a grace period to get "shit in order", but they've known about this for quite some time. Enough's enough. (Claiming that I buy stuff from Amazon makes me an importer would also make me an importer buying crap from Walmart.... And yet we don't see that, do we?)
    - buttcoinslol 9y ago
      > I find your claim of "technically an importer" to be completely bunkum You may well find his claim to be bunkum, but he's correct. If you purchase something from a third party seller in a different country on Amazon's platform, and the seller ships it from their country to your country and it passes through customs, you are the importer. Walmart imports goods from China and gets them through customs and then sells them, so you are not importing things when you buy them from Walmart, unless you purchase something from a foreign country from a third party seller on their marketplace platform, just like Amazon.
      - crankylinuxuser 9y ago
        If: The sale is made to Amazon, The product goes through Amazon's warehouses, and Taxes are paid to Amazon...It's an Amazon Sale and they are acting as the importer for these goods. Now, Alibaba/Aliexpress on the other hand, I do agree wholeheartedly with you. Because you are ordering from a Chinese company, ordering Chinese goods with no regard to US copyright/patent/trademark law.

paulie_a 9y ago

What's funny is you can buy embargoed goods on Amazon.

carlmr 9y ago
Now we know where Little Kim orders his oil.
rsync 9y ago
"What's funny is you can buy embargoed goods on Amazon." Can you provide an example or two ?
- slantyyz 9y ago
  I don't know whether they are embargoed or not, but on Amazon.ca and Amazon.uk it's very easy to find Android Kodi boxes pre-loaded with sketchy apps and Kodi plug-ins that are also fulfilled by Amazon. I'm pretty sure in Canada and the UK, that those products have been heavily targeted by the government for piracy. Several local sellers of those boxes in Canada have been prosecuted/shut down, yet they are still so easily available on Amazon.

nerdponx 9y ago

As far as I understand, in the USA it's not actually illegal to buy counterfeit goods, only to sell them.

jdietrich 9y ago
If you purchase counterfeit goods via mail-order from an overseas seller then you're technically an importer, which is very much illegal.
- crankylinuxuser 9y ago
  No, you bought it from "Amazon". Amazon is incorporated in the US. Amazon's distribution centers reside in many states. In Indiana, since they have a presence, they are legally obligated in collecting sales tax. My bank statement shows "AMAZON", not 3rd party importer. I find your claim of "technically an importer" to be completely bunkum. The importer here is Amazon, and full blame on import fraud should be levied against them. I have no issue in giving a grace period to get "shit in order", but they've known about this for quite some time. Enough's enough. (Claiming that I buy stuff from Amazon makes me an importer would also make me an importer buying crap from Walmart.... And yet we don't see that, do we?)
  - buttcoinslol 9y ago
    > I find your claim of "technically an importer" to be completely bunkum You may well find his claim to be bunkum, but he's correct. If you purchase something from a third party seller in a different country on Amazon's platform, and the seller ships it from their country to your country and it passes through customs, you are the importer. Walmart imports goods from China and gets them through customs and then sells them, so you are not importing things when you buy them from Walmart, unless you purchase something from a foreign country from a third party seller on their marketplace platform, just like Amazon.
    - crankylinuxuser 9y ago
      If: The sale is made to Amazon, The product goes through Amazon's warehouses, and Taxes are paid to Amazon...It's an Amazon Sale and they are acting as the importer for these goods. Now, Alibaba/Aliexpress on the other hand, I do agree wholeheartedly with you. Because you are ordering from a Chinese company, ordering Chinese goods with no regard to US copyright/patent/trademark law.