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Very dramatic article. Author made a lot of assumptions, a common pitfall, and got a fake product. She reports she received a refund. I can’t fault anyone but t

by xfitm3 8y ago

Very dramatic article. Author made a lot of assumptions, a common pitfall, and got a fake product. She reports she received a refund. I can’t fault anyone but the buyer here.

Zdechlak 8y ago
Precisely.
- throwaway2048 8y ago
  There is an upvote button, Use it instead of replying like this.
endorphone 8y ago
If someone went on shadyripoffsite.cn and paid 1/10th the normal price for a counterfeit product then sure, blame the buyer for not seeing red flags. But buying a product on Amazon that claims it's by the official seller, selling at the normal retail price of the product, should be a trustable, reasonable exercise. That Amazon lets anyone seemingly be anyone, even major brands, as sellers, and lets blatant frauds continue for long periods of time, is a serious problem. This isn't the buyer's fault whatsoever. Good they got a refund, but it's nice that they shine a light on it.
- alistairSH 8y ago
  But buying a product on Amazon that claims it's by the official seller This is the key, at least from my perspective. If I go to Amazon (or any other online vendor) and an item is listed as being by "International Brand X", I expect that the item is, in fact, being sold by "International Brand X". Amazon doesn't list the seller separate from the brand. The way the page is lad out, it is clearly meant to indicate the manufacturer is the seller.[0] 0 - http://oi65.tinypic.com/30t2ykm.jpg http://oi65.tinypic.com/30t2ykm.jpg
beaconstudios 8y ago
you could also fault amazon for not preventing fraudulent listings. It seems strange to me that instead of expanding their range that comes direct from manufacturers, they decided to merge their own sales with essentially a horde of unvetted eBay stores. Many people still buy from Amazon thinking they're essentially buying from an online outlet store, but they're often buying from random unvetted strangers with very little culpability. At the very least they could add a "verified/unverified" badge to store names and give verified status to manufacturer outlets.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
koboll 8y ago
>Author made a lot of assumptions I, too, am guilty of assuming when I buy a product it is actually the product and not a different product. The fault lies with Amazon for knowingly and intentionally adhering minimally to the law because it is more profitable to do so than to launch an effective crackdown against counterfeiters. If they forced sellers to get verification from the companies whose products they purported to be selling, or proactively banned sellers who are obviously hawking counterfeits (before a journalist shines a spotlight on them), they'd lose profit. We need laws that require these things, and levy fines large enough to be a clear deterrent against those who break them. Indeed, their behavior is illegal even under current law. They intentionally obfuscate the seller, and prevent revealing a seller as a counterfeiter on product pages. This is knowing abetting of counterfeiting. Amazon is almost certainly the largest and most flagrant abetter of counterfeiting in the United States.
hoaw 8y ago
Never understood why so many people are interested in supporting scammers. These people are criminals engaging in fraud, not a mistake. There is little else to it. Why should we take your opinion seriously?
- xfitm3 8y ago
  The buyer looked at a list of authorized retailers after the fact. This should have been done before the purchase. To me - this article is a reminder to be personally responsible when shopping online.

by xfitm3 8y ago

Very dramatic article. Author made a lot of assumptions, a common pitfall, and got a fake product. She reports she received a refund. I can’t fault anyone but the buyer here.

Zdechlak 8y ago

Precisely.

throwaway2048 8y ago
There is an upvote button, Use it instead of replying like this.

endorphone 8y ago

If someone went on shadyripoffsite.cn and paid 1/10th the normal price for a counterfeit product then sure, blame the buyer for not seeing red flags. But buying a product on Amazon that claims it's by the official seller, selling at the normal retail price of the product, should be a trustable, reasonable exercise. That Amazon lets anyone seemingly be anyone, even major brands, as sellers, and lets blatant frauds continue for long periods of time, is a serious problem. This isn't the buyer's fault whatsoever. Good they got a refund, but it's nice that they shine a light on it.

alistairSH 8y ago
But buying a product on Amazon that claims it's by the official seller This is the key, at least from my perspective. If I go to Amazon (or any other online vendor) and an item is listed as being by "International Brand X", I expect that the item is, in fact, being sold by "International Brand X". Amazon doesn't list the seller separate from the brand. The way the page is lad out, it is clearly meant to indicate the manufacturer is the seller.[0] 0 - http://oi65.tinypic.com/30t2ykm.jpg http://oi65.tinypic.com/30t2ykm.jpg

beaconstudios 8y ago

you could also fault amazon for not preventing fraudulent listings. It seems strange to me that instead of expanding their range that comes direct from manufacturers, they decided to merge their own sales with essentially a horde of unvetted eBay stores. Many people still buy from Amazon thinking they're essentially buying from an online outlet store, but they're often buying from random unvetted strangers with very little culpability. At the very least they could add a "verified/unverified" badge to store names and give verified status to manufacturer outlets.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

koboll 8y ago

>Author made a lot of assumptions I, too, am guilty of assuming when I buy a product it is actually the product and not a different product. The fault lies with Amazon for knowingly and intentionally adhering minimally to the law because it is more profitable to do so than to launch an effective crackdown against counterfeiters. If they forced sellers to get verification from the companies whose products they purported to be selling, or proactively banned sellers who are obviously hawking counterfeits (before a journalist shines a spotlight on them), they'd lose profit. We need laws that require these things, and levy fines large enough to be a clear deterrent against those who break them. Indeed, their behavior is illegal even under current law. They intentionally obfuscate the seller, and prevent revealing a seller as a counterfeiter on product pages. This is knowing abetting of counterfeiting. Amazon is almost certainly the largest and most flagrant abetter of counterfeiting in the United States.

hoaw 8y ago

Never understood why so many people are interested in supporting scammers. These people are criminals engaging in fraud, not a mistake. There is little else to it. Why should we take your opinion seriously?

xfitm3 8y ago
The buyer looked at a list of authorized retailers after the fact. This should have been done before the purchase. To me - this article is a reminder to be personally responsible when shopping online.