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> So this makes me wonder, if amazon are bundling-up returned items into pallets and selling them in bulk, how did clearly returned items get sold back to an en
by AnssiH 6y ago
> So this makes me wonder, if amazon are bundling-up returned items into pallets and selling them in bulk, how did clearly returned items get sold back to an end user?
If the item is (looks) unopened and pristine, Amazon will usually sell it again as new.
Some switcharoos are caught, some are not.
- adrr 6y agoThey could catch it multiples ways. Simple precise weight measurement would catch basic scammers. They could X-ray the package and use cv to determine if the contents have been modified or not.
- qppo 6y agoWhy automate? Pay someone to open the box and check.
- skylanh 6y agoCost of multiple shifts at multiple locations + cost of implementing verification process + cost of security and oversight + cost of extra inventory loss due to employee theft vs Cost of negative image (deferred via simple returns) + cost of inventory loss duo to fraud + cost of inventory loss due to employees It's simpler to simply eat the cost of abuse.
- ohazi 6y agoAnd now the (possibly fake) security seal is definitely broken, so "probably new" becomes "definitely used"
- saagarjha 6y agoHow would this catch this particular case, were you just put the same thing back in except one has a small "8 GB" sticker on it?
- adrr 6y agoThey have different weights according Amazon’s site. 1.75 vs 1.45 pounds.
- londons_explore 6y agoXray + CV will fail horribly when the device is sent back with the power cable wrapped around it...
- adrr 6y agoThe reference was to shrink wrapped(unopened) returns. If it’s open, employees could do a manual inspection.
- zaroth 6y agoNo, this was an Amazon Warehouse deal, in which you purposefully buy a returned item at a discount.
- AnssiH 6y agoRight. Though it does happen with "new" items as well, I've been hit with RAM swapped in the package with an older module (sold by Amazon as new).
- balls187 6y ago> If the item is (looks) unopened and pristine, Amazon will usually sell it again as new. This is a big reason I stopped purchasing most goods from Amazon. I was tired of getting open-box merch sold as brand new.
- novok 6y agoIsnt this mass fraud being committed by amazon then?
- balls187 6y agoI'm no legal expert, but I imagine it would be very difficult to prove that Amazon is committing fraud. In Washington State, Fraud has a very specific meaning, and requires me (the victim) to prove 9 elements of fraud. These elements include proving Amazon intentionally mislead me by stating false facts, and that as a result of the fraud, I suffered damages. As other threads have mentioned, the sheer scale at which Amazon operates means they deal with logistical issues differently than other retailers. To ensure 100% rate for returns would increase the cost to Amazon, which would either be eaten by the company, or passed along to the consumer.