4 ms·

The cognitive load of trying to figure out which items are possibly counterfeit is one of the reasons why I closed my Amazon Prime account.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
nkrisc 7y ago
Most other American retailers don't seem to have any trouble with this, so I shop with them instead of Amazon. At this point, the issue I have with Amazon if simply one of trust: I don't trust them any more. I might occasionally but something from Amazon, but only stuff that is basically "uncounterfeitable" such as a bunch of simple, metal bookends or plastic cord management sheathing. I also usually wait for them to offer me yet another free month of Prime so they eat the shipping cost too.
bookofjoe 7y ago
I shared your unhappiness re: not knowing if I was unwittingly buying a counterfeit. However, rather than close my account, I do my research on Amazon as far as I can take it, then go to the website of the manufacturer (Garmin, Das Keyboard, Bluelounge, etc.) and buy direct from them. No counterfeits EVER.
- unlinked_dll 7y ago
  I do the opposite. Amazon browsing is next to impossible unless you already know what you're looking for. For all the complaints about counterfeits I've never once received one. Even stuff I thought would definitely be fake (electrical components) was legit.
frockington1 7y ago
The worst is when you call support and they make it seem like its your fault their market place is flawed. Took me three representatives to return a fake keyboard. Cancelled my subscription to Prime and began the transition from AWS to Azure.
- Jamwinner 7y ago
  I wonder how often a bad experince on one amzn platform loses them much more profitable customers on another? Surely this effect is only accelerating.
zojirushibottle 7y ago
do not buy brand products off amazon! unless it's the official brand store. at this point, there's so little to gain doing so. the only thing that comes to mind is not having to sign up for another online account and entering details. nowadays, most brands match up the fast 2-days shipping and they have better discounts and deals, and you know the stuff you are getting is from them.
- ilikepi 7y ago
  > ...unless it's the official brand store. Anecdote time. Last year I bought an Anker power brick via Amazon, using the link on Anker's own website. When it arrived, instead of Anker's normal well-designed retail packaging, the brick was simply wrapped in bubble wrap, with a printed label stating that it was "new" and thrown into its shipping box. I inquired with Anker support about this, but they could only say that all their products they send to Amazon for distribution are in retail packaging. I did confirm that the item was purchased through the AnkerDirect seller, so I can only guess that it was either a returned item or that the retail packaging had been damaged, and someone at the Amazon warehouse repackaged it and put it back in the "new" bin. I ended up returning it for a refund. My trust of Amazon as a retail platform has been steadily eroding over the past few years, and this was just another reason to shop elsewhere.
  - 0xffff2 7y ago
    Amazon commingles inventory, so if there were any other sellers of the item, you get an item from a random seller, not necessarily an item that was provided by the seller you purchased from.
    - ilikepi 7y ago
      Right. I looked this morning, and AnkerDirect claims to be "...the sole authorized seller of authentic Anker products (other than Amazon) on the Amazon platform." I don't recall if this was true back at the time I bought the power brick, but I suspect it was.
    - fmajid 7y ago
bduerst 7y ago
The Fakespot browser extension has been a lifesaver in this regard: https://www.fakespot.com/ https://www.fakespot.com/ The only problem is that Fakespot will only update it's product review analyses on demand, and some of them are years old.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

nkrisc 7y ago

Most other American retailers don't seem to have any trouble with this, so I shop with them instead of Amazon. At this point, the issue I have with Amazon if simply one of trust: I don't trust them any more. I might occasionally but something from Amazon, but only stuff that is basically "uncounterfeitable" such as a bunch of simple, metal bookends or plastic cord management sheathing. I also usually wait for them to offer me yet another free month of Prime so they eat the shipping cost too.

bookofjoe 7y ago

I shared your unhappiness re: not knowing if I was unwittingly buying a counterfeit. However, rather than close my account, I do my research on Amazon as far as I can take it, then go to the website of the manufacturer (Garmin, Das Keyboard, Bluelounge, etc.) and buy direct from them. No counterfeits EVER.

unlinked_dll 7y ago
I do the opposite. Amazon browsing is next to impossible unless you already know what you're looking for. For all the complaints about counterfeits I've never once received one. Even stuff I thought would definitely be fake (electrical components) was legit.

frockington1 7y ago

The worst is when you call support and they make it seem like its your fault their market place is flawed. Took me three representatives to return a fake keyboard. Cancelled my subscription to Prime and began the transition from AWS to Azure.

Jamwinner 7y ago
I wonder how often a bad experince on one amzn platform loses them much more profitable customers on another? Surely this effect is only accelerating.

zojirushibottle 7y ago

do not buy brand products off amazon! unless it's the official brand store. at this point, there's so little to gain doing so. the only thing that comes to mind is not having to sign up for another online account and entering details. nowadays, most brands match up the fast 2-days shipping and they have better discounts and deals, and you know the stuff you are getting is from them.

ilikepi 7y ago
> ...unless it's the official brand store. Anecdote time. Last year I bought an Anker power brick via Amazon, using the link on Anker's own website. When it arrived, instead of Anker's normal well-designed retail packaging, the brick was simply wrapped in bubble wrap, with a printed label stating that it was "new" and thrown into its shipping box. I inquired with Anker support about this, but they could only say that all their products they send to Amazon for distribution are in retail packaging. I did confirm that the item was purchased through the AnkerDirect seller, so I can only guess that it was either a returned item or that the retail packaging had been damaged, and someone at the Amazon warehouse repackaged it and put it back in the "new" bin. I ended up returning it for a refund. My trust of Amazon as a retail platform has been steadily eroding over the past few years, and this was just another reason to shop elsewhere.
- 0xffff2 7y ago
  Amazon commingles inventory, so if there were any other sellers of the item, you get an item from a random seller, not necessarily an item that was provided by the seller you purchased from.
  - ilikepi 7y ago
    Right. I looked this morning, and AnkerDirect claims to be "...the sole authorized seller of authentic Anker products (other than Amazon) on the Amazon platform." I don't recall if this was true back at the time I bought the power brick, but I suspect it was.
  - fmajid 7y ago

bduerst 7y ago

The Fakespot browser extension has been a lifesaver in this regard: https://www.fakespot.com/ https://www.fakespot.com/ The only problem is that Fakespot will only update it's product review analyses on demand, and some of them are years old.