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Honestly I don't understand why this is so hard to solve, unless amazon is willfully ignoring it. If the item is shipped by a third party directly, tracing the

by bfdm 7y ago

Honestly I don't understand why this is so hard to solve, unless amazon is willfully ignoring it. If the item is shipped by a third party directly, tracing the counterfeit origin is easy. It's the comingling at the Amazon fulfillment centers that muddies the water. However, why not just tag each individual item with the supplying vendor as it arrives? You must of course credit them with stock, so just assign a code for that unit or box or pallet connected to that seller. They can still cross-fulfill (though I don't think they should) and record the origin code with each order as it's packed. Don't tell me this is too complicated for Amazon. It's an extra code like a second SKU per item, not conceptually challenging. Of course there are process issues to solve, but this should be a huge internal priority for Amazon. I see it as a weak spot that leaves room for a competitor to do better. Of course identifying fakes is still a challenge, manufacturers have long had systems for verifying authentic units. If a $20 webcam has a unique serial number I don't see why we couldn't have one for an $80 board game.

adinobro 7y ago
They should copy China to solve the problem. The standard policy in China is x3 refund if the product is fake. The all online sellers have this policy but it makes it a lot easier to tell if something is likely to be fake. Also if you get a fake then you get a triple refund...
secabeen 7y ago
They do already offer this, but it's not free, and you have to re-label each item with your barcode, and cover up any UPC codes, if possible. The base problem is that UPC. Amazon wants to use it to identify everything, as it's already there, and easy to use. However, it's also easy to counterfeit along with the item. It would also be a significant technical challenge, as it would increase the size of Amazon's item database by at least an order of magnitude, and would increase the amount of unique bins they need to maintain in the warehouse by a lot too. They clearly need to do something, but understand why they don't want to go down the road of tagging per-vendor if they can avoid it. On more expensive items, they seem to be trying the alternative of allowing vendors that control their supply chains to also exercise control of the amazon supply chain. It's starting to hit for more prominent vendors. I can no longer sell used Canon lenses on Amazon anymore. To do so, I need approval, which consists of "At least 1 purchase invoice for products from a manufacturer or distributor, 1 letter from Canon authorizing you to sell their products". (Note, this is for selling used gear, not new, or like-new. Just normal, used camera lenses that I bought and no longer need.)
aeternus 7y ago
They are definitely tracking suppliers, but it is not as easy as you make it seem. Suppliers may not be using 100% fakes, making them much harder to catch. Customers may also be a significant part of the problem, due to Amazon's return policy. Customers can easily claim a fake, then ship a fake item back, blaming the supplier. There's no way to know for sure without Amazon themselves testing the products, which would be costly. Most items do not have unique serial numbers, and even if they did, opening boxes to confirm matching serial numbers would likely be cost prohibitive.
dpacmittal 7y ago
Why would they solve it when it's in their best interest to let this issue foster. It increases trust in their own in-house brands.
AnssiH 7y ago
> However, why not just tag each individual item with the supplying vendor as it arrives? Amazon does track the original source of the items it fulfills already. See e.g. Amazon comment in this article: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/04/03/1554287401000/Amazon--sub-prime---Part-II/ https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/04/03/1554287401000/Amazon-... > The system is purposefully designed so that similar products are not placed next to or near each other, and Amazon can also track the original seller of each unit.

by bfdm 7y ago

adinobro 7y ago

They should copy China to solve the problem. The standard policy in China is x3 refund if the product is fake. The all online sellers have this policy but it makes it a lot easier to tell if something is likely to be fake. Also if you get a fake then you get a triple refund...

secabeen 7y ago

They do already offer this, but it's not free, and you have to re-label each item with your barcode, and cover up any UPC codes, if possible. The base problem is that UPC. Amazon wants to use it to identify everything, as it's already there, and easy to use. However, it's also easy to counterfeit along with the item. It would also be a significant technical challenge, as it would increase the size of Amazon's item database by at least an order of magnitude, and would increase the amount of unique bins they need to maintain in the warehouse by a lot too. They clearly need to do something, but understand why they don't want to go down the road of tagging per-vendor if they can avoid it. On more expensive items, they seem to be trying the alternative of allowing vendors that control their supply chains to also exercise control of the amazon supply chain. It's starting to hit for more prominent vendors. I can no longer sell used Canon lenses on Amazon anymore. To do so, I need approval, which consists of "At least 1 purchase invoice for products from a manufacturer or distributor, 1 letter from Canon authorizing you to sell their products". (Note, this is for selling used gear, not new, or like-new. Just normal, used camera lenses that I bought and no longer need.)

aeternus 7y ago

They are definitely tracking suppliers, but it is not as easy as you make it seem. Suppliers may not be using 100% fakes, making them much harder to catch. Customers may also be a significant part of the problem, due to Amazon's return policy. Customers can easily claim a fake, then ship a fake item back, blaming the supplier. There's no way to know for sure without Amazon themselves testing the products, which would be costly. Most items do not have unique serial numbers, and even if they did, opening boxes to confirm matching serial numbers would likely be cost prohibitive.

dpacmittal 7y ago

Why would they solve it when it's in their best interest to let this issue foster. It increases trust in their own in-house brands.

AnssiH 7y ago

> However, why not just tag each individual item with the supplying vendor as it arrives? Amazon does track the original source of the items it fulfills already. See e.g. Amazon comment in this article: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/04/03/1554287401000/Amazon--sub-prime---Part-II/ https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2019/04/03/1554287401000/Amazon-... > The system is purposefully designed so that similar products are not placed next to or near each other, and Amazon can also track the original seller of each unit.