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I was recently looking for some dusk masks to have handy due to fires in my area. It's such a clusterfuck when you look on Amazon. They have special labels like

I was recently looking for some dusk masks to have handy due to fires in my area. It's such a clusterfuck when you look on Amazon. They have special labels like "Amazon's choice" or "Editor Recommended" which have nothing to do with the efficacy of the mask. A lot of masks make claims about being NIOSH approved and N95 certified, but they don't provide the approval numbers and NIOSH has no records of the manufacturer. I even saw some masks that supplied an invalid NIOSH approval number (it had been revoked in 2014). Some of the cheaper listings from legitimate companies sound like they're either counterfeit or some weird bulk reseller. A lot of reviews complaining about how the masks just came loose in the Amazon box with no packaging. I ordered some legit looking masks but figure it's a bit of a crapshoot

heavyset_go 7y ago
> A lot of masks make claims about being NIOSH approved and N95 certified, but they don't provide the approval numbers and NIOSH has no records of the manufacturer. I even saw some masks that supplied an invalid NIOSH approval number (it had been revoked in 2014). IMO, this is criminal.
- masonic 7y ago
  Just like the fake eclipse glasses of a couple of years ago. At one point, essentially all were found to be fake/not-as-spec and Amazon had zero available two weeks before the eclipse.
  - heavyset_go 7y ago
    I just don't understand why Amazon isn't held liable for the products they sell. If Walmart sold fake products that put people at risk or worse, lawyers would have a field day.
- beerandt 7y ago
  Water filters. Are the worst. Besides a registration/ certification number, they should all have a stamped (not printed) serial number or date code or similar.
Rapzid 7y ago
"Amazon's Choice" seems almost entirely algorithmic; base d on purchasing and review patterns. Easy to see how something like that could get gamed and become self-sustaining.
- beerandt 7y ago
  It's marketing / advertising and nothing else. Sellers can jump through some hoops (buy ads) to qualify their product listing, but it has nothing to with any sort of quality vetting.

heavyset_go 7y ago

> A lot of masks make claims about being NIOSH approved and N95 certified, but they don't provide the approval numbers and NIOSH has no records of the manufacturer. I even saw some masks that supplied an invalid NIOSH approval number (it had been revoked in 2014). IMO, this is criminal.

masonic 7y ago
Just like the fake eclipse glasses of a couple of years ago. At one point, essentially all were found to be fake/not-as-spec and Amazon had zero available two weeks before the eclipse.
- heavyset_go 7y ago
  I just don't understand why Amazon isn't held liable for the products they sell. If Walmart sold fake products that put people at risk or worse, lawyers would have a field day.
beerandt 7y ago
Water filters. Are the worst. Besides a registration/ certification number, they should all have a stamped (not printed) serial number or date code or similar.

Rapzid 7y ago

"Amazon's Choice" seems almost entirely algorithmic; base d on purchasing and review patterns. Easy to see how something like that could get gamed and become self-sustaining.

beerandt 7y ago
It's marketing / advertising and nothing else. Sellers can jump through some hoops (buy ads) to qualify their product listing, but it has nothing to with any sort of quality vetting.