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On the left panel under "Seller" there is a Amazon.com check box you can use to eliminate third party sellers from the product search. I tend to select sold by

On the left panel under "Seller" there is a Amazon.com check box you can use to eliminate third party sellers from the product search. I tend to select sold by Amazon unless the seller is the actual manufacturer of the product, e.g. a candy company selling direct through Amazon.

derekp7 7y ago
That doesn't work, because Amazon comingles stock. You could still get bad product if the packaging looks the same between Amazon's item and a third party seller's item
- PeterisP 7y ago
  Not verifying expiry dates seems to be something that's not affected by comingling. What does Amazon do to ensure that their expired stock does not get shipped? Why does the same process not work for third-party goods?
  - Rychard 7y ago
    I would expect they handle this the way that brick and mortar stores do: estimating future sales and not purchasing excess inventory from the distributor.
  - jthistle 7y ago
    Here's what is _supposed_ to happen with perishable goods: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G201003420?language=en-US&ref=efph_G201003420_cont_200140860 https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G201003420... tldr; Anything perishable is supposed to have several expiration date labels on it in large format, and nothing can be sent into Amazon that expires within 90 days. Amazon says they will dispose of anything received with less than 90 days remaining before it expires. There are a number of things that could be going wrong here. I operate a supply chain company which works with 3rd party sellers, so I'll focus on what I'm exposed to. One issue could be Amazon's labeling requirements. They actually require a separate label in MM-DD-YYYY format to be affixed to each product. This sounds good on paper, but in reality it means the seller or sometimes a 3rd party warehouse can put whatever they want on the label. Generally, sellers are honest about this, but mistakes do happen and Amazon doesn't necessarily verify what these labels say. Beyond that, commingling can compound the issue. Say you have 5 businesses selling the same product, and one of them is fudging their expiration dates. It becomes fairly difficult to track down which seller is fudging the dates. This is one reason I recommend all my customers not commingle their inventory (it's an option the seller can choose). Supply chains can also have wildly varying temperatures. Many sellers choose to work with climate controlled warehouses, but don't consider the trucks used to move their inventory aren't climate controlled. It's highly possible a product meant to be stored at 70F will sit in a 110F truck for 3 days before being checked in at Amazon.
_nalply 7y ago
And does this really help or are news that Amazon doesn't separate third party sellers from their own stocks just FUD?
Dobbs 7y ago
As far as I know this doesn't actually work, because Amazon will comingle goods. That is to say you buy good from A. The warehouse closest to you has the same "item" but it is from B. So they ship you B's item, but mark it from A's inventory and credit A the money. So even if you order from known good retailers, or Amazon themselves if party B puts bad products into the warehouse you can end up with bad or fake products.
- jthistle 7y ago
  Sellers have the option about whether their inventory can be commingled. Also, when there is high fraud potential or a large number of complaints Amazon doesn't allow commingling stock. I operate a supply chain company who works for Amazon 3rd party sellers.
  - nkrisc 7y ago
    Even if what you say is true (I have no reason to doubt you), I simply no longer trust Amazon enough to believe it. I don't imagine I'm alone.
  - dspillett 7y ago
    But how do we, as buyers, know which sellers have selected that option and which haven't? The option existing for you makes absolutely no difference to how much I trust the system if information about (or even the existence of) the option is not something I know.
dman 7y ago
That does not mean anything because of commingling of inventory.
- Merrill 7y ago
  It reduces the risk, because more of the inventory will be genuine, returns are simpler, and you have "one throat to choke" if something is bad. You can reduce risk further by buying Amazon essentials or Amazon's own brands, such as Whole Foods brands.
  - lotsofpulp 7y ago
    Most people can more easily reduce risk by shopping somewhere else. Amazon shareholders should be asking management why they think the cost savings of commingling are worth the loss of brand value and trust. Higher income people don’t care about spending more money if it saves them time, so why waste that good will?
    - Merrill 7y ago
      I've bought online from probably two dozen major retailers. Where to go depends on selection, price, availability and risk. On the other hand, I don't buy from small unknown vendors, either on their own site or via third-party aggregation. I don't buy from small sketchy local stores either.
      - lotsofpulp 7y ago
        I try to buy directly from manufacturers, or Target or Costco. But Amazon lost the business my family used to give them. I’d go with Walmart before Amazon too.
        Merrill 7y ago
        Target same day pickup is good. Not a Costco member, so have only used the pharmacy. Bought a microwave from Walmart that came in a severely damaged carton, although there were no dents or scratches. But the microwave died a few months later. Never again. Besides, Walmart was a huge factor in killing the downtowns of many small and medium sized towns and cities.

derekp7 7y ago

That doesn't work, because Amazon comingles stock. You could still get bad product if the packaging looks the same between Amazon's item and a third party seller's item

PeterisP 7y ago
Not verifying expiry dates seems to be something that's not affected by comingling. What does Amazon do to ensure that their expired stock does not get shipped? Why does the same process not work for third-party goods?
- Rychard 7y ago
  I would expect they handle this the way that brick and mortar stores do: estimating future sales and not purchasing excess inventory from the distributor.
- jthistle 7y ago
  Here's what is _supposed_ to happen with perishable goods: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G201003420?language=en-US&ref=efph_G201003420_cont_200140860 https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G201003420... tldr; Anything perishable is supposed to have several expiration date labels on it in large format, and nothing can be sent into Amazon that expires within 90 days. Amazon says they will dispose of anything received with less than 90 days remaining before it expires. There are a number of things that could be going wrong here. I operate a supply chain company which works with 3rd party sellers, so I'll focus on what I'm exposed to. One issue could be Amazon's labeling requirements. They actually require a separate label in MM-DD-YYYY format to be affixed to each product. This sounds good on paper, but in reality it means the seller or sometimes a 3rd party warehouse can put whatever they want on the label. Generally, sellers are honest about this, but mistakes do happen and Amazon doesn't necessarily verify what these labels say. Beyond that, commingling can compound the issue. Say you have 5 businesses selling the same product, and one of them is fudging their expiration dates. It becomes fairly difficult to track down which seller is fudging the dates. This is one reason I recommend all my customers not commingle their inventory (it's an option the seller can choose). Supply chains can also have wildly varying temperatures. Many sellers choose to work with climate controlled warehouses, but don't consider the trucks used to move their inventory aren't climate controlled. It's highly possible a product meant to be stored at 70F will sit in a 110F truck for 3 days before being checked in at Amazon.

_nalply 7y ago

And does this really help or are news that Amazon doesn't separate third party sellers from their own stocks just FUD?

Dobbs 7y ago

As far as I know this doesn't actually work, because Amazon will comingle goods. That is to say you buy good from A. The warehouse closest to you has the same "item" but it is from B. So they ship you B's item, but mark it from A's inventory and credit A the money. So even if you order from known good retailers, or Amazon themselves if party B puts bad products into the warehouse you can end up with bad or fake products.

jthistle 7y ago
Sellers have the option about whether their inventory can be commingled. Also, when there is high fraud potential or a large number of complaints Amazon doesn't allow commingling stock. I operate a supply chain company who works for Amazon 3rd party sellers.
- nkrisc 7y ago
  Even if what you say is true (I have no reason to doubt you), I simply no longer trust Amazon enough to believe it. I don't imagine I'm alone.
- dspillett 7y ago
  But how do we, as buyers, know which sellers have selected that option and which haven't? The option existing for you makes absolutely no difference to how much I trust the system if information about (or even the existence of) the option is not something I know.

dman 7y ago

That does not mean anything because of commingling of inventory.

Merrill 7y ago
It reduces the risk, because more of the inventory will be genuine, returns are simpler, and you have "one throat to choke" if something is bad. You can reduce risk further by buying Amazon essentials or Amazon's own brands, such as Whole Foods brands.
- lotsofpulp 7y ago
  Most people can more easily reduce risk by shopping somewhere else. Amazon shareholders should be asking management why they think the cost savings of commingling are worth the loss of brand value and trust. Higher income people don’t care about spending more money if it saves them time, so why waste that good will?
  - Merrill 7y ago
    I've bought online from probably two dozen major retailers. Where to go depends on selection, price, availability and risk. On the other hand, I don't buy from small unknown vendors, either on their own site or via third-party aggregation. I don't buy from small sketchy local stores either.
    - lotsofpulp 7y ago
      I try to buy directly from manufacturers, or Target or Costco. But Amazon lost the business my family used to give them. I’d go with Walmart before Amazon too.
      - Merrill 7y ago
        Target same day pickup is good. Not a Costco member, so have only used the pharmacy. Bought a microwave from Walmart that came in a severely damaged carton, although there were no dents or scratches. But the microwave died a few months later. Never again. Besides, Walmart was a huge factor in killing the downtowns of many small and medium sized towns and cities.