5 ms·

It's gotten to the point where a product with thousands of reviews and an average 4.5 - 5 star rating immediately raises a red flag with me. And Amazon appears

It's gotten to the point where a product with thousands of reviews and an average 4.5 - 5 star rating immediately raises a red flag with me. And Amazon appears unmotivated to do anything about it. As a personal example, I had purchased a mouth guard that had over six thousand 5-star reviews. It was listed as high quality, FDA approved, etc. When I received it, it was a piece of plastic junk with inkjet quality instructions in English and Chinese. Along with it came a note promising a $10 Amazon gift card if I left a 5 star review and emailed them proof of it. I took a photo of the note and forwarded it to Amazon expecting some action - instead I received a canned response about "we take these issues seriously". A year later, that seller is still there with dozens of products, all with thousands of 5-star reviews.

catillac 5y ago
For what it’s worth, and a little off topic, I would never ever purchase a product that went in or closely on my body from Amazon. Jacket? Maybe. Food? Not likely. Mouth guard that sits in my mouth for hours every night? Absolutely not, no, ever. Too many fake products that look like they’re the real things, and if they’re fake who knows where they come from or what they’re made of.
- wombat-man 5y ago
  yeah, it's fucked up that it's come to this but I'm the same way. I don't even really care about reviews anymore on amazon. I just don't believe the star rating. Reviews with pictures seem better, or like reddit reviews if it's a brand name.
varispeed 5y ago
I don't think most of products they sell are actually legal to be sold. If you had these products in your mom and pops shop, the trading standards or whatever agency would shut down your store, but somehow Amazon is allowed to sell all this dangerous junk without consequences and they are even allowed to avoid paying tax. Something isn't right.
- ticviking 5y ago
  It's called corruption. Or regulatory capture if we are trying not to ruffle feathers. Part of the issue we all keep buying this junk and reporting it to Amazon instead of the police, ftc and other enforcement bodies
  - heavyset_go 5y ago
    I've reported plenty of counterfeits to my state's AG and consumer protection division. They have an easy online form these days.
    - gowld 5y ago
      Did you get results?
      - heavyset_go 5y ago
        I've had a follow up for more information about a specific incident, but I haven't been contacted with concrete results of my reports. I figure, if anything, my reports might influence investigations or prosecutions later down the line, along with evidence and reports gathered by others. I don't really expect anyone to reach out to me unless they want my testimony, and at that point, I'm sure there are better people they could drag into hearings or court.
  - varispeed 5y ago
    I tried to report something once and agency told me to take it with Amazon, so there you go...
randompwd 5y ago
I did the same with Amazon UK. Free gift card for review for a very broken product and Amazons response was that they couldnt publish the review!
asddubs 5y ago
yup, had the exact same experience with a different product before. amazon does not care
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
jcadam 5y ago
Aw, man. Here I am working my ass off for The Man when such an easy, obvious, and apparently unchallenged grift is just right there in front of my face: 1. Find some cheap-ass white-label product and order a crap-ton of it. 2. List on amazon for a nice markup 3. Bribe idiots to leave 5 star reviews.
- adamhp 5y ago
  There are actually a lot of people doing this. It's the next "buy a carwash" or "buy a laundromat".
- fma 5y ago
  There is a whole industry around this...and I'd say you (and I) were many years too late. Once you find a good product others will come for it. If I find something "cool" on Amazon I check Aliexpress. If it's a significant savings I'd just buy it from there.
jareklupinski 5y ago
I canceled my prime subscription right after receiving something similar It's just not worth it anymore to buy something on Amazon only to receive a counterfeit and then have to order the same thing directly from the manufacturer anyway; something something poor man pays twice
bassdropvroom 5y ago
I've started putting these pictures in a review and then give an honest review. This will allow people to decide what to think of all the reviews, including mine, and whether or not they're willing to accept the risk.

catillac 5y ago

For what it’s worth, and a little off topic, I would never ever purchase a product that went in or closely on my body from Amazon. Jacket? Maybe. Food? Not likely. Mouth guard that sits in my mouth for hours every night? Absolutely not, no, ever. Too many fake products that look like they’re the real things, and if they’re fake who knows where they come from or what they’re made of.

wombat-man 5y ago
yeah, it's fucked up that it's come to this but I'm the same way. I don't even really care about reviews anymore on amazon. I just don't believe the star rating. Reviews with pictures seem better, or like reddit reviews if it's a brand name.

varispeed 5y ago

I don't think most of products they sell are actually legal to be sold. If you had these products in your mom and pops shop, the trading standards or whatever agency would shut down your store, but somehow Amazon is allowed to sell all this dangerous junk without consequences and they are even allowed to avoid paying tax. Something isn't right.

ticviking 5y ago
It's called corruption. Or regulatory capture if we are trying not to ruffle feathers. Part of the issue we all keep buying this junk and reporting it to Amazon instead of the police, ftc and other enforcement bodies
- heavyset_go 5y ago
  I've reported plenty of counterfeits to my state's AG and consumer protection division. They have an easy online form these days.
  - gowld 5y ago
    Did you get results?
    - heavyset_go 5y ago
      I've had a follow up for more information about a specific incident, but I haven't been contacted with concrete results of my reports. I figure, if anything, my reports might influence investigations or prosecutions later down the line, along with evidence and reports gathered by others. I don't really expect anyone to reach out to me unless they want my testimony, and at that point, I'm sure there are better people they could drag into hearings or court.
- varispeed 5y ago
  I tried to report something once and agency told me to take it with Amazon, so there you go...

randompwd 5y ago

I did the same with Amazon UK. Free gift card for review for a very broken product and Amazons response was that they couldnt publish the review!

asddubs 5y ago

yup, had the exact same experience with a different product before. amazon does not care

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

jcadam 5y ago

Aw, man. Here I am working my ass off for The Man when such an easy, obvious, and apparently unchallenged grift is just right there in front of my face: 1. Find some cheap-ass white-label product and order a crap-ton of it. 2. List on amazon for a nice markup 3. Bribe idiots to leave 5 star reviews.

adamhp 5y ago
There are actually a lot of people doing this. It's the next "buy a carwash" or "buy a laundromat".
fma 5y ago
There is a whole industry around this...and I'd say you (and I) were many years too late. Once you find a good product others will come for it. If I find something "cool" on Amazon I check Aliexpress. If it's a significant savings I'd just buy it from there.

jareklupinski 5y ago

I canceled my prime subscription right after receiving something similar It's just not worth it anymore to buy something on Amazon only to receive a counterfeit and then have to order the same thing directly from the manufacturer anyway; something something poor man pays twice

bassdropvroom 5y ago

I've started putting these pictures in a review and then give an honest review. This will allow people to decide what to think of all the reviews, including mine, and whether or not they're willing to accept the risk.