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>Hermès’s $640 Clic H Bracelet is one of those luxury baubles that’s financially out of reach for most shoppers. So how is it that Amazon shoppers could recentl

>Hermès’s $640 Clic H Bracelet is one of those luxury baubles that’s financially out of reach for most shoppers. So how is it that Amazon shoppers could recently search for the Hermès piece by name and find a bracelet for just $24.99 on the e-commerce giant’s website? I think this is why I've never received anything fake from Amazon. I'm not stupid enough to think I can get something priced at $640 for $25. >Still, Philip Thomas recently bought a counterfeit Novel Duffle bag from Herschel Supply Co., which generally retails for $85. The New York-based tech executive didn’t care much about color as he browsed, so he scrolled through the various options to pick a black version available for $45.10, even though it meant waiting three weeks for delivery. I also am not stupid enough to think that I can get something priced at $85 for $45 and I know that three weeks means a "China ePacket" full of shit. Even the people who complain about getting fake SD cards must know that a 256GB "not eligible for prime", 2-3 week delivery time, SD card that only cost them $9.99 has got to be a scam, right? Right?!?? I must either be using Amazon wrong or have some magical superpower that causes me to be able to comprehend what is going on around me.

rasz 7y ago
This is one side of the equation, the other is people ordering the real thing, repackaging it with fake from aliexpress and returning for full refund. More enterprising folks sign up as Amazon supplier, register for some expensive products, ship real thing once or twice and then start throwing more and more fakes into their shipments, all nicely co-mingled by Amazon.
- DownGoat 7y ago
  Was it not also a thing that if you let Amazon keep your stock as a supplier, customer might get another suppliers item as they were kept together? So if I ordered a book from Amazon from AmazingVendor, Amazon might actually send me an item from ScummyVendor's stock which sold the same book.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    Yes, including if the AmazingVendor is Amazon itself.
  - ss64 7y ago
    That only happens when one or more of the 3rd party sellers are part of the "Fullfillment by Amazon" program (FBA). If I was a lawmaker I would make FBA illegal, it is an open door for untraceable counterfeits. I think its the primary reason we are seeing major brands like Nike and Birkenstock walking away from Amazon.
    - nkrisc 7y ago
      Or just hold Amazon accountable for the products they ship and sell through their website. As a consumer I don't care about the logistics of fulfillment; I went to Amazon.com and paid money to Amazon.com, ergo I bought it from Amazon.com and they should be accountable. Then let Amazon sort it out with their suppliers if they're receiving counterfeit goods from them. If Walmart was receiving counterfeit goods from supplier for their stores, they would probably cut ties with those suppliers. This problem exists because Amazon is not being held accountable for what they sell to consumers.
  - fma 7y ago
    Yes. Which is why I never order food items from Amazon. It's a common tactic for people to buy items close to expiring at a discount, turn around and do FBA. It gets comingled w/ items sold by sellers who source the products legitimately.
- wufufufu 7y ago
  > ... the other is people ordering the real thing, repackaging it with fake from aliexpress and returning for full refund. Can't you do this to a retailer? > More enterprising folks sign up as Amazon supplier, register for some expensive products, ship real thing once or twice and then start throwing more and more fakes into their shipments, all nicely co-mingled by Amazon Seems like a fast track to getting your account suspended. Why compromise a profitable business to basically skim off the top?
  - rasz 7y ago
    Other retailers usually pay better wages and care at least a little about the returns. They catch on $370000 quicker https://www.newsweek.com/22-year-old-allegedly-scammed-amazon-out-370k-return-shipments-filled-dirt-1452452 https://www.newsweek.com/22-year-old-allegedly-scammed-amazo... Selling fakes is not skimming off the top, you get at least 1000% margins and Amazon doesnt seem to care all that much as evidenced by above link.
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soylentcola 7y ago
Hell, if it was clearly a "designer impostor" and sold as such for a fraction of the price, I'd have no problem with it. Plenty of times I'd be fine with something like that (I think of all the $10 "faux-kley" sunglasses I bought as a teen in the 90's). IMO, items in the style of expensive designer baubles have their place as long as they a) don't use the real logo/claim to be legit and b) don't cost as much. I don't mean there aren't some IP lawsuits waiting to happen, but that's not my concern. It's the fakes labeled as genuine articles that need to go. Sell a lookalike Hermes bracelet without logo for $25 instead of $640? Fine by me. Costume jewelry can be fun I'm sure. Same for "Rolax" watches or whatever. But it's not the $100 item listed at $10 that really sucks, it's the fake that's labeled genuine and still sold for $100 that ruins things and needs to be cracked down on.

rasz 7y ago

This is one side of the equation, the other is people ordering the real thing, repackaging it with fake from aliexpress and returning for full refund. More enterprising folks sign up as Amazon supplier, register for some expensive products, ship real thing once or twice and then start throwing more and more fakes into their shipments, all nicely co-mingled by Amazon.

DownGoat 7y ago
Was it not also a thing that if you let Amazon keep your stock as a supplier, customer might get another suppliers item as they were kept together? So if I ordered a book from Amazon from AmazingVendor, Amazon might actually send me an item from ScummyVendor's stock which sold the same book.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  Yes, including if the AmazingVendor is Amazon itself.
- ss64 7y ago
  That only happens when one or more of the 3rd party sellers are part of the "Fullfillment by Amazon" program (FBA). If I was a lawmaker I would make FBA illegal, it is an open door for untraceable counterfeits. I think its the primary reason we are seeing major brands like Nike and Birkenstock walking away from Amazon.
  - nkrisc 7y ago
    Or just hold Amazon accountable for the products they ship and sell through their website. As a consumer I don't care about the logistics of fulfillment; I went to Amazon.com and paid money to Amazon.com, ergo I bought it from Amazon.com and they should be accountable. Then let Amazon sort it out with their suppliers if they're receiving counterfeit goods from them. If Walmart was receiving counterfeit goods from supplier for their stores, they would probably cut ties with those suppliers. This problem exists because Amazon is not being held accountable for what they sell to consumers.
- fma 7y ago
  Yes. Which is why I never order food items from Amazon. It's a common tactic for people to buy items close to expiring at a discount, turn around and do FBA. It gets comingled w/ items sold by sellers who source the products legitimately.
wufufufu 7y ago
> ... the other is people ordering the real thing, repackaging it with fake from aliexpress and returning for full refund. Can't you do this to a retailer? > More enterprising folks sign up as Amazon supplier, register for some expensive products, ship real thing once or twice and then start throwing more and more fakes into their shipments, all nicely co-mingled by Amazon Seems like a fast track to getting your account suspended. Why compromise a profitable business to basically skim off the top?
- rasz 7y ago
  Other retailers usually pay better wages and care at least a little about the returns. They catch on $370000 quicker https://www.newsweek.com/22-year-old-allegedly-scammed-amazon-out-370k-return-shipments-filled-dirt-1452452 https://www.newsweek.com/22-year-old-allegedly-scammed-amazo... Selling fakes is not skimming off the top, you get at least 1000% margins and Amazon doesnt seem to care all that much as evidenced by above link.

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soylentcola 7y ago

Hell, if it was clearly a "designer impostor" and sold as such for a fraction of the price, I'd have no problem with it. Plenty of times I'd be fine with something like that (I think of all the $10 "faux-kley" sunglasses I bought as a teen in the 90's). IMO, items in the style of expensive designer baubles have their place as long as they a) don't use the real logo/claim to be legit and b) don't cost as much. I don't mean there aren't some IP lawsuits waiting to happen, but that's not my concern. It's the fakes labeled as genuine articles that need to go. Sell a lookalike Hermes bracelet without logo for $25 instead of $640? Fine by me. Costume jewelry can be fun I'm sure. Same for "Rolax" watches or whatever. But it's not the $100 item listed at $10 that really sucks, it's the fake that's labeled genuine and still sold for $100 that ruins things and needs to be cracked down on.