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They're not quite contradictory: notice that Amazon doesn't claim that they actively look for offenders; just that once they become aware of them, they'll take

They're not quite contradictory: notice that Amazon doesn't claim that they actively look for offenders; just that once they become aware of them, they'll take action. Though I'd argue that their "Safety is important" language is indeed bullshit. I've been shifting my buying away from Amazon toward smaller niche retailers that actually manage their own inventory. When I do opt for a free-for-all marketplace, I've found eBay to have a much more trustworthy reputation system.

abfan1127 7y ago
which retailers have you found?
- organsnyder 7y ago
  It really depends on what I'm buying. It seems like many product areas have niche retailers online, though finding the right one can be tricky (for instance, I ordered a couple of Z-wave products from one company and fulfillment seemed decent, but now they haven't answered a support email, so I'm less confident with them...). I'm also trying to find brick-and-mortar when possible.
- bluGill 7y ago
  There are a ton of them. When looking for xyz: xyz.com xyzwarehouse.com xyzdepot.com... Generally I go for the one that has other information about the product (how to use it...) on their website as it is worth supporting someone to write that stuff down.
- function_seven 7y ago
  For lithium-ion batteries specifically, the /r/electronic_cigarette subreddit has a great list of reputable vendors in their wiki. www.imrbatteries.com liionwholesale.com batterybro.com www.illumn.com www.orbtronic.com www.rtdvapor.com www.akkuteile.de ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk www.nkon.nl For many other niches, finding an active subreddit is a good way to find reputable vendors in that space. E-cig users are especially vulnerable to counterfeit lithium-ion cells. For one, we tend to draw way more current from them than most other consumer electronics devices. Two, the batteries are in our face or pocket all the time.
saidajigumi 7y ago
I've found eBay to have a much more trustworthy reputation system. I cannot overstate the irony I find in this reversal: In the early days of Amazon vs. eBay in online retail, a huge brand point for Amazon was its reliability and trustworthiness for consumers vs. the "free-for-all"(!) of early-days eBay. And I agree, the change has been rather dramatic, for both companies.
- nolok 7y ago
  Meanwhile both are competing for the worse searching/discovery system possible. Great feeling when you factually know the product you're looking for is there but you can't get to it easily because their suggestions keep pushing other stuff to you. As an aside, I feel like Ebay is one of those few "early behemoths" that actually figured out why they were working: you could know how reliable this john smith has been as a seller. And when internet payment was still terrible, they doubled down on it with Paypal (say what you want about paypal as a seller, but as a buyer it's still gold today, so ten years ago ...). Most selling communities that survived here in France either have also their own reputation system, or they're cash in hands. I find it kind of funny when compared to more "modern" tech giants like, say, Twitter; a company which has no idea why their product works.
- imtringued 7y ago
  How is that ironic? On Ebay you're buying products from a seller that isn't Ebay. The same product will be listed multiple times by different sellers. On amazon it's exactly the opposite. I go to Amazon to buy from Amazon. The same product is listed with multiple sellers and even products explicitly marked with "shipped by Amazon" are actually just random sellers using Amazon's fulfillment service. It is very hard to differentiate between legitimate sellers and Amazon. Therefore random sellers effectively get to sell under the same reputation as Amazon and can just sell fakes without any repercussion. On Ebay information about the trustworthiness of the seller is immediately shown to you on the product page and therefore sellers who sell fake products will lose their reputation and future sales.
jlarocco 7y ago
> They're not quite contradictory: notice that Amazon doesn't claim that they actively look for offenders; just that once they become aware of them, they'll take action. Maybe not contradictory, but according to the article it isn't true. They know the batteries can explode, but haven't done anything.
SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
> When I do opt for a free-for-all marketplace, I've found eBay to have a much more trustworthy reputation system. I just wanted to second this. I've been doing a lot of buying and selling on ebay recently and have had nothing but excellent experiences. Even when things (inevitably) go wrong they seem to be handled fairly. This is a fairly recent development btw (I've been a member since 2002). I'd urge anyone who has been avoiding ebay due to their reputation from 10 years ago to give it a second chance. Either they've changed or Amazon has lowered the bar so far that ebay doesn't seem so bad these days!

abfan1127 7y ago

which retailers have you found?

organsnyder 7y ago
It really depends on what I'm buying. It seems like many product areas have niche retailers online, though finding the right one can be tricky (for instance, I ordered a couple of Z-wave products from one company and fulfillment seemed decent, but now they haven't answered a support email, so I'm less confident with them...). I'm also trying to find brick-and-mortar when possible.
bluGill 7y ago
There are a ton of them. When looking for xyz: xyz.com xyzwarehouse.com xyzdepot.com... Generally I go for the one that has other information about the product (how to use it...) on their website as it is worth supporting someone to write that stuff down.
function_seven 7y ago
For lithium-ion batteries specifically, the /r/electronic_cigarette subreddit has a great list of reputable vendors in their wiki. www.imrbatteries.com liionwholesale.com batterybro.com www.illumn.com www.orbtronic.com www.rtdvapor.com www.akkuteile.de ecoluxshopdirect.co.uk www.nkon.nl For many other niches, finding an active subreddit is a good way to find reputable vendors in that space. E-cig users are especially vulnerable to counterfeit lithium-ion cells. For one, we tend to draw way more current from them than most other consumer electronics devices. Two, the batteries are in our face or pocket all the time.

saidajigumi 7y ago

I've found eBay to have a much more trustworthy reputation system. I cannot overstate the irony I find in this reversal: In the early days of Amazon vs. eBay in online retail, a huge brand point for Amazon was its reliability and trustworthiness for consumers vs. the "free-for-all"(!) of early-days eBay. And I agree, the change has been rather dramatic, for both companies.

nolok 7y ago
Meanwhile both are competing for the worse searching/discovery system possible. Great feeling when you factually know the product you're looking for is there but you can't get to it easily because their suggestions keep pushing other stuff to you. As an aside, I feel like Ebay is one of those few "early behemoths" that actually figured out why they were working: you could know how reliable this john smith has been as a seller. And when internet payment was still terrible, they doubled down on it with Paypal (say what you want about paypal as a seller, but as a buyer it's still gold today, so ten years ago ...). Most selling communities that survived here in France either have also their own reputation system, or they're cash in hands. I find it kind of funny when compared to more "modern" tech giants like, say, Twitter; a company which has no idea why their product works.
imtringued 7y ago
How is that ironic? On Ebay you're buying products from a seller that isn't Ebay. The same product will be listed multiple times by different sellers. On amazon it's exactly the opposite. I go to Amazon to buy from Amazon. The same product is listed with multiple sellers and even products explicitly marked with "shipped by Amazon" are actually just random sellers using Amazon's fulfillment service. It is very hard to differentiate between legitimate sellers and Amazon. Therefore random sellers effectively get to sell under the same reputation as Amazon and can just sell fakes without any repercussion. On Ebay information about the trustworthiness of the seller is immediately shown to you on the product page and therefore sellers who sell fake products will lose their reputation and future sales.

jlarocco 7y ago

> They're not quite contradictory: notice that Amazon doesn't claim that they actively look for offenders; just that once they become aware of them, they'll take action. Maybe not contradictory, but according to the article it isn't true. They know the batteries can explode, but haven't done anything.

SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago

> When I do opt for a free-for-all marketplace, I've found eBay to have a much more trustworthy reputation system. I just wanted to second this. I've been doing a lot of buying and selling on ebay recently and have had nothing but excellent experiences. Even when things (inevitably) go wrong they seem to be handled fairly. This is a fairly recent development btw (I've been a member since 2002). I'd urge anyone who has been avoiding ebay due to their reputation from 10 years ago to give it a second chance. Either they've changed or Amazon has lowered the bar so far that ebay doesn't seem so bad these days!