11 ms·

I wonder actually where this stuff happens typically. Clearly some seems to happen before things even get to Amazon, that whole counterfeit commingling thing yo

I wonder actually where this stuff happens typically. Clearly some seems to happen before things even get to Amazon, that whole counterfeit commingling thing you hear about, where the 3rd-party stock gets used even if you buy from Amazon directly. (How this could be worth it to do at all vs. the reputational damage is unclear but I guess they're always chasing the small efficiencies... still you'd think it would be easy for Amazon to track the actual source of fake/nonexistent items even when they're mingled like that.) I'd have to think theft by the warehouse workers is pretty rare, it feels like the kind of thing they'd surveil and police quite zealously. You can tell they're increasing the scrutiny on drivers as well with them having to take photos of the delivered item, and they've clearly always been closely tracked on time and location.

garmaine 5y ago
> I wonder actually where this stuff happens typically. Clearly some seems to happen before things even get to Amazon, that whole counterfeit commingling thing you hear about, where the 3rd-party stock gets used even if you buy from Amazon directly. This is actually largely Amazon's fault, as far as I understand it. People buy obviously counterfeit items, then buy the real thing on Amazon, and return the counterfeit item. Amazon does ~zero verification of the return and puts the counterfeit item back on the shelf/bin with the official SKU. Amazon has no concept of "open box" vs "new," and they don't want to be the arbitrator of returns.
- Reason077 5y ago
  > "Amazon has no concept of "open box" vs "new,"" Yes they do. There is a large section of the website ("Amazon Warehouse deals") devoted to open-box items. I've used this a few times and got great prices on perfect items, just with opened or damaged packaging.
  - garmaine 5y ago
    Yet somehow returns end up back in the warehouse where they are picked as "new" sales to other customers.
    - Strom 5y ago
      This is true. I've had Amazon send me clearly used and damaged items although I ordered new. They also always block my negative review pointing this out, claiming that reviews are about the product and not about my experience of ordering it from Amazon.
ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
> You can tell they're increasing the scrutiny on drivers as well with them having to take photos of the delivered item, and they've clearly always been closely tracked on time and location. Some time ago, my wife ordered something from Amazon, and it was reported as “delivered,” but the photo was of someone else’s doorstep. She had no problem getting them to ship a replacement, but it added a few days to the process. The “last mile” stuff is crazy. I sometimes see two Amazon Prime Sprinters on the same street, at the same time. It was much worse, when it was done by independent contractors. We would see these folks driving around, with so many boxes in the cab of their vans, they had to make a hole to see through. Looked like an episode of Hoarders. I’m not surprised they have issues. The system is basically strained to the max. It’s a miracle that it works as well as it does.
- jpindar 5y ago
  >Some time ago, my wife ordered something from Amazon, and it was reported as “delivered,” but the photo was of someone else’s doorstep. This happens to me about every third time I get something from Amazon. Fortunately, the wrong house they keep delivering to is in my neighborhood and I recognized it in the picture. I report this every time, but I don't expect it to do any good.
MertsA 5y ago
>You can tell they're increasing the scrutiny on drivers as well with them having to take photos of the delivered item, and they've clearly always been closely tracked on time and location. Not really, I'm currently living out of an apartment with a mailroom and it seems like half of the orders are correctly marked as "Left in mailroom" with a picture, less than half the time they actually put it in the parcel locker, most of the time it's just dumped on the floor even when it would obviously fit, and when it's not marked as "Left in mailroom" it seems that delivery drivers are exploiting the fact that they don't have to take a photo if they select "Left with receptionist". We don't have a receptionist, so every time they select that not only do I have to try and figure out where in the mailroom my package is, I have to do it immediately because now I have no clue if they correctly put it in the parcel locker where it's safe or if it's just lying in a stack of boxes out in the open. Not to even mention all the times packages are marked as delivered the day before, presumably to hit some delivery quota. Currently if you open up a case with Amazon for a package marked delivered that you haven't received they make you wait at least 2 days because odds are it's still in transit.

garmaine 5y ago

> I wonder actually where this stuff happens typically. Clearly some seems to happen before things even get to Amazon, that whole counterfeit commingling thing you hear about, where the 3rd-party stock gets used even if you buy from Amazon directly. This is actually largely Amazon's fault, as far as I understand it. People buy obviously counterfeit items, then buy the real thing on Amazon, and return the counterfeit item. Amazon does ~zero verification of the return and puts the counterfeit item back on the shelf/bin with the official SKU. Amazon has no concept of "open box" vs "new," and they don't want to be the arbitrator of returns.

Reason077 5y ago
> "Amazon has no concept of "open box" vs "new,"" Yes they do. There is a large section of the website ("Amazon Warehouse deals") devoted to open-box items. I've used this a few times and got great prices on perfect items, just with opened or damaged packaging.
- garmaine 5y ago
  Yet somehow returns end up back in the warehouse where they are picked as "new" sales to other customers.
  - Strom 5y ago
    This is true. I've had Amazon send me clearly used and damaged items although I ordered new. They also always block my negative review pointing this out, claiming that reviews are about the product and not about my experience of ordering it from Amazon.

ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago

> You can tell they're increasing the scrutiny on drivers as well with them having to take photos of the delivered item, and they've clearly always been closely tracked on time and location. Some time ago, my wife ordered something from Amazon, and it was reported as “delivered,” but the photo was of someone else’s doorstep. She had no problem getting them to ship a replacement, but it added a few days to the process. The “last mile” stuff is crazy. I sometimes see two Amazon Prime Sprinters on the same street, at the same time. It was much worse, when it was done by independent contractors. We would see these folks driving around, with so many boxes in the cab of their vans, they had to make a hole to see through. Looked like an episode of Hoarders. I’m not surprised they have issues. The system is basically strained to the max. It’s a miracle that it works as well as it does.

jpindar 5y ago
>Some time ago, my wife ordered something from Amazon, and it was reported as “delivered,” but the photo was of someone else’s doorstep. This happens to me about every third time I get something from Amazon. Fortunately, the wrong house they keep delivering to is in my neighborhood and I recognized it in the picture. I report this every time, but I don't expect it to do any good.

MertsA 5y ago

>You can tell they're increasing the scrutiny on drivers as well with them having to take photos of the delivered item, and they've clearly always been closely tracked on time and location. Not really, I'm currently living out of an apartment with a mailroom and it seems like half of the orders are correctly marked as "Left in mailroom" with a picture, less than half the time they actually put it in the parcel locker, most of the time it's just dumped on the floor even when it would obviously fit, and when it's not marked as "Left in mailroom" it seems that delivery drivers are exploiting the fact that they don't have to take a photo if they select "Left with receptionist". We don't have a receptionist, so every time they select that not only do I have to try and figure out where in the mailroom my package is, I have to do it immediately because now I have no clue if they correctly put it in the parcel locker where it's safe or if it's just lying in a stack of boxes out in the open. Not to even mention all the times packages are marked as delivered the day before, presumably to hit some delivery quota. Currently if you open up a case with Amazon for a package marked delivered that you haven't received they make you wait at least 2 days because odds are it's still in transit.