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> It seems like permanently freezing counterfeiters out of the marketplace would be the obvious thing to do, and if Amazon lacks the technical capacity to do so
by spookthesunset 7y ago
> It seems like permanently freezing counterfeiters out of the marketplace would be the obvious thing to do, and if Amazon lacks the technical capacity to do so or to prevent their return I’d say that’s a pretty fundamental problem.
If it was that easy to "permanently freezing counterfeiters out of the marketplace", they would have done it already. Blocking somebody, especially somebody with a strong financial motive, from doing something on the internet is incredibly challenging. They'll go to great lengths to route around your block using all kinds of fun exciting methods. Methods might include creating a new account with a different business & address, taking over the account of a dormant but reputable seller, and probably a huge list of other things I can't even think of right now.
But seriously. Blocking or banning people on the internet is almost impossible. If they have the will, they'll find a way back onto your site.
- gbrown 7y agoI reject that entirely - we're talking about giving people access to a selling platform, not a social website which depends on maximum user growth and minimal barrier to participation. Amazon has prioritized growing the number of sellers, but they're in complete control of who they allow to sell on their platform, and what they require from sellers prior to beginning. You seem to be accepting, uncritically, the argument of "platforms" everywhere who don't want to be held responsible for what their "users" do. I don't agree with that perspective generally, and I think it's especially silly with respect to a web commerce company like Amazon.
- spookthesunset 7y agoYou can reject all you want, but the reality is that it is almost impossible to block people on the internet. You cannot change this fact no matter how much you wish it were so. This is probably why amazon wants to get law enforcement involved. Those folks can stop the people behind the fraud....
- gbrown 7y ago> "is almost impossible to block people on the internet" That doesn't actually mean anything though; the modern internet isn't some homogeneous medium people choose how to interact with, it's a federation of privately managed networks and services. Amazon can control exactly what is required for people to become sellers on their network, and it sounds like they may actually be starting to do just that.
- dasil003 7y agoAccount verification is orthogonal to communication channel. There's nothing about the internet that precludes identity and other KYC checks. Your argument only makes sense if Amazon needs an extremely high throughput and low latency of new vendors coming online. The status quo has certainly been fantastic for their business, but I don't see any reason why they can't afford to add a little friction there.
- bryan_w 7y agoSo what do you do when someone passes KYC and is still a fraudster? I would think you would report them to the authorities... which seems like what they are doing
- kelnos 7y agoYou ban them from your platform, and since you know them, they'll have a really hard time getting back on. And yes, report them to the authorities too.
- spookthesunset 7y agoIf you think it is that simple, clearly you’ve never worked in the field.
- kelnos 7y agoI never said anything about it being simple. But what's the alternative? Just give up, and accept bad behavior?