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"These items are sold by a third-party seller on our marketplace website" That's really the essence of the story here. Walmart, Amazon, and others sell almost

by tyingq 5y ago

"These items are sold by a third-party seller on our marketplace website" That's really the essence of the story here. Walmart, Amazon, and others sell almost anything via their 3rd party seller functionality. With little oversight on product safety, counterfeits, issues like this one, etc. And not really enough visual cues and explanation to the buyer about what a 3rd party marketplace is. People seem to understand, for example, that their eBay purchase is something of a crapshoot. They don't always get that idea on Amazon and WalMart.

jrootabega 5y ago
Not enough cues? Hell, more like actively pushing and misleading you to buy from third-party sellers even when you explicitly filter by first-party only. Why would they leave potential sales on the table?
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Amazon was bad when they removed the option to filter shipped and sold by Amazon many years ago. I thought Walmart was better, and it is because they let you filter for retailer as Walmart only, but recently they made it so it resets the filter every time you search. I cannot blame them, since retail profit margins are so low. But as a buyer, I try to direct my purchases to the retailers that make it easy for me to not deal with resellers. So I try to use Home Depot/Lowes/staples/Best Buy more often. Target is decent, but they also have more and more third party sellers now and do the same thing as Walmart.
  - swader999 5y ago
    Yeah it's great to keep it local. /s
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      How this is related to my comment? The purpose of buying something sold by the big box stores is to have a higher probability of them having vetted it or their source and it not being counterfeit, since they have to deal with the costs of the returns.
    - jrootabega 5y ago
      It is sad sometimes that we have to choose between alien and predator
  - headmelted 5y ago
    I wonder about exactly this though. What if some counterfeit device/toy is so toxic/dangerous as to kill someone? Who’s liable? I’m sure the store’s lawyers have pretty strong opinions but how would a jury view that if the brand of the store is plastered all over the checkout page? (Has this ever happened/been tested in court?)
    - pvaldes 5y ago
      If China Export logo cloning the European Community logo go with it unscathed, the perspectives of doing somebody about that aren't bright. People buy at their own risk in such big companies.
      - klondike_ 5y ago
        There is no such thing as a "China Export" logo. The familiar CE logo is a voluntary mark and manufacturers determine whether the item qualifies to use it or not. There has never been an organization enforcing the use of this mark.
        pvaldes 5y ago
        https://siloscordoba.com/blog/corporate/china-export-is-not-ce-a-symbol-to-cause-confusion/ https://siloscordoba.com/blog/corporate/china-export-is-not-...
        nrp 5y ago
        That is incorrect for most product categories: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking/manufacturers_en https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking/manufac... As of this year, there are even stricter requirements to have an in-region Authorized Representative to back up any claims of compliance: https://blog.clevercompliance.io/ce-marking/responsibilities-and-mandate-of-an-eu-authorised-representative/ https://blog.clevercompliance.io/ce-marking/responsibilities...
  - danudey 5y ago
    I solved this problem by filtering for "Prime" shipping, until one day I noticed that I was getting free Prime shipping on a third-party sale that shipped from China and would arrive in 30-45 days. If it's gonna take over a month to deliver and it's not a car, it better damn well be free shipping. Now I solve the problem by only ordering from more local companies; Best Buy is surely not local, but the local best buy is a lot more local than Chinese third-party sellers of counterfeit goods. Oh, and let's not forget that Amazon allows you to ship counterfeits and claim they're real, and then Amazon will mix them all together and sell your counterfeits to their customers and their legitimate products to your customers.
Spooky23 5y ago
I’m actually surprised that nobody has been caught using Amazon or Walmart to sell drugs. Package up some sort of expensive “soap flakes” or overpriced oregano.
- mysterydip 5y ago
  "mark this item as a gift" plus "include a note for the recipient?" with the right passphrase would allow a shady seller to filter requests for their illicit goods vs packing up an actual bottle of oregano.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    It would be really impressive if they were able to manage this while Fulfilled by Amazon.
    - ravenstine 5y ago
      With same-day delivery to boot!
      - koolba 5y ago
        I've never heard of any drug delivery, whether old school bike network in the 90s to now, that was not same delivery. That and free shipping are table stakes for selling drugs.
        dylan604 5y ago
        oh come on, you've never had your "guy" be unavailable where you have to call up that other person you only call up in a pinch? they know that too, so they aren't exactly excited to snap to either. it's really annoying, at least that's what a friend has told me.
    - notahacker 5y ago
      Could be interesting if Amazon mix up inventory...
ornornor 5y ago
I keep hearing people saying “yes there are third party sellers but if you buy ‘shipped and sold by amazon’ then you’re good” These people don’t realize that commingling is a thing and that shipped and sold by amazon just means that the same random third party seller simply paid amazon a bit more and sent their items to an amazon warehouse to use their logistics. It doesn’t guarantee anything. And except amazon basics items, amazon doesn’t sell or source any of the items directly. Nor do they feel like they’re responsible for them in any way.
drewzero1 5y ago
Walmart's website is trying to be Amazon in the worst ways. Usually when I go to the website of a brick-and-mortar business I'm trying to get an idea of what they might have in stock, and about how much I should expect to pay for it. Other stores (Target, Home Depot, etc.) manage this very well with clear indications of whether an item is sold in stores or will need to be ordered. Walmart's site is useless for this. They seem to be more concerned with selling the third-party stuff online than getting me into their store to pick something up today. My guess is, they've calculated that they can make more money off of third-party stuff online than impulse extras from in-store pickup. I'm certainly no ecommerce expert though.

by tyingq 5y ago

jrootabega 5y ago

Not enough cues? Hell, more like actively pushing and misleading you to buy from third-party sellers even when you explicitly filter by first-party only. Why would they leave potential sales on the table?

lotsofpulp 5y ago
Amazon was bad when they removed the option to filter shipped and sold by Amazon many years ago. I thought Walmart was better, and it is because they let you filter for retailer as Walmart only, but recently they made it so it resets the filter every time you search. I cannot blame them, since retail profit margins are so low. But as a buyer, I try to direct my purchases to the retailers that make it easy for me to not deal with resellers. So I try to use Home Depot/Lowes/staples/Best Buy more often. Target is decent, but they also have more and more third party sellers now and do the same thing as Walmart.
- swader999 5y ago
  Yeah it's great to keep it local. /s
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    How this is related to my comment? The purpose of buying something sold by the big box stores is to have a higher probability of them having vetted it or their source and it not being counterfeit, since they have to deal with the costs of the returns.
  - jrootabega 5y ago
    It is sad sometimes that we have to choose between alien and predator
- headmelted 5y ago
  I wonder about exactly this though. What if some counterfeit device/toy is so toxic/dangerous as to kill someone? Who’s liable? I’m sure the store’s lawyers have pretty strong opinions but how would a jury view that if the brand of the store is plastered all over the checkout page? (Has this ever happened/been tested in court?)
  - pvaldes 5y ago
    If China Export logo cloning the European Community logo go with it unscathed, the perspectives of doing somebody about that aren't bright. People buy at their own risk in such big companies.
    - klondike_ 5y ago
      There is no such thing as a "China Export" logo. The familiar CE logo is a voluntary mark and manufacturers determine whether the item qualifies to use it or not. There has never been an organization enforcing the use of this mark.
      - pvaldes 5y ago
        https://siloscordoba.com/blog/corporate/china-export-is-not-ce-a-symbol-to-cause-confusion/ https://siloscordoba.com/blog/corporate/china-export-is-not-...
      - nrp 5y ago
        That is incorrect for most product categories: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking/manufacturers_en https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/ce-marking/manufac... As of this year, there are even stricter requirements to have an in-region Authorized Representative to back up any claims of compliance: https://blog.clevercompliance.io/ce-marking/responsibilities-and-mandate-of-an-eu-authorised-representative/ https://blog.clevercompliance.io/ce-marking/responsibilities...
- danudey 5y ago
  I solved this problem by filtering for "Prime" shipping, until one day I noticed that I was getting free Prime shipping on a third-party sale that shipped from China and would arrive in 30-45 days. If it's gonna take over a month to deliver and it's not a car, it better damn well be free shipping. Now I solve the problem by only ordering from more local companies; Best Buy is surely not local, but the local best buy is a lot more local than Chinese third-party sellers of counterfeit goods. Oh, and let's not forget that Amazon allows you to ship counterfeits and claim they're real, and then Amazon will mix them all together and sell your counterfeits to their customers and their legitimate products to your customers.

Spooky23 5y ago

I’m actually surprised that nobody has been caught using Amazon or Walmart to sell drugs. Package up some sort of expensive “soap flakes” or overpriced oregano.

mysterydip 5y ago
"mark this item as a gift" plus "include a note for the recipient?" with the right passphrase would allow a shady seller to filter requests for their illicit goods vs packing up an actual bottle of oregano.
- dylan604 5y ago
  It would be really impressive if they were able to manage this while Fulfilled by Amazon.
  - ravenstine 5y ago
    With same-day delivery to boot!
    - koolba 5y ago
      I've never heard of any drug delivery, whether old school bike network in the 90s to now, that was not same delivery. That and free shipping are table stakes for selling drugs.
      - dylan604 5y ago
        oh come on, you've never had your "guy" be unavailable where you have to call up that other person you only call up in a pinch? they know that too, so they aren't exactly excited to snap to either. it's really annoying, at least that's what a friend has told me.
  - notahacker 5y ago
    Could be interesting if Amazon mix up inventory...

ornornor 5y ago

I keep hearing people saying “yes there are third party sellers but if you buy ‘shipped and sold by amazon’ then you’re good” These people don’t realize that commingling is a thing and that shipped and sold by amazon just means that the same random third party seller simply paid amazon a bit more and sent their items to an amazon warehouse to use their logistics. It doesn’t guarantee anything. And except amazon basics items, amazon doesn’t sell or source any of the items directly. Nor do they feel like they’re responsible for them in any way.

drewzero1 5y ago

Walmart's website is trying to be Amazon in the worst ways. Usually when I go to the website of a brick-and-mortar business I'm trying to get an idea of what they might have in stock, and about how much I should expect to pay for it. Other stores (Target, Home Depot, etc.) manage this very well with clear indications of whether an item is sold in stores or will need to be ordered. Walmart's site is useless for this. They seem to be more concerned with selling the third-party stuff online than getting me into their store to pick something up today. My guess is, they've calculated that they can make more money off of third-party stuff online than impulse extras from in-store pickup. I'm certainly no ecommerce expert though.