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Is it correct to say that when you get something "shipped and sold by Amazon.com", it really comes from them? It's the "fulfilled by Amazon" (the infamous FBA)

Is it correct to say that when you get something "shipped and sold by Amazon.com", it really comes from them? It's the "fulfilled by Amazon" (the infamous FBA) that you need to watch out for. It's a bit screwy, but you can filter by seller by clicking into a specific product category, and then selecting Amazon.com in the bar on the left. Then all the items should be "shipped and sold by Amazon.com". But I've been sort of shocked to find recently that Amazon's prices, even with free shipping, are often not competitive with buying first-party, even with paying the shipping. For a lot of products these days, if there's a recognizable name brand associated with it, I just by first-party. You get it slower, but you know what you're getting, and probably end up giving more money to the seller too. I would not have seen myself doing this ten years ago.

elliekelly 4y ago
I’m actually not sure that’s a safe assumption. I could be wrong but I believe Amazon co-mingles products of the same SKU. So if Amazon is selling a book and other sellers have listed the same item as “new” and sent it to Amazon’s warehouse I don’t believe there is any distinction between the two at the warehouse. So the stock picker might grab Amazon’s (presumably authentic) item from the bin when they pack your order but there’s also a chance they’ll grab the third-party-seller “shipped by Amazon” item. My understanding is that it’s all kind of a crapshoot no matter how careful & deliberate you are when ordering.
- derefr 4y ago
  Not same SKU — same ASIN. I believe that brands that sell through Amazon (not FBA sellers), who are worried about comingled inventory, can get their official product moved over to a new ASIN, leaving the fakes behind in the old ASIN bin.
- davidbanham 4y ago
  My understanding is that the items have different uuids, but there are no markings on the physical item. They’re identified by bin location. There are lots of bins in the warehouse. They contain up to around five items each. There is a theoretical possibility that two of the same thing from different sellers could end up in the same bin. At that point the picker wouldn’t know which is which.
  - AnssiH 4y ago
    > There is a theoretical possibility that two of the same thing from different sellers could end up in the same bin. At that point the picker wouldn’t know which is which. Amazon's seller-side stickerless inventory documentation specifically says that identical items from different sellers are never put into same physical bin so that the original source can be traced.
    - SnowHill9902 4y ago
      Do you have any link for that?
      - cj 4y ago
        https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G200141480?language=en_US https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G200141480...
    - powerhour 4y ago
      Sounds like virtual commingling. Better, but not much.
    - TMWNN 4y ago
      >Amazon's seller-side stickerless inventory documentation specifically says that identical items from different sellers are never put into same physical bin so that the original source can be traced. Irrelevant to the discussion. Keep reading the link that cj provided, starting at the "Example", and you'll see that there is nothing preventing a counterfeit item being sold on behalf of a FBA seller even if the seller shipped genuine items to Amazon. All virtual tracking does is (theoretically) allow *tracing* of the counterfeit item should it be detected and reported.
- jrnichols 4y ago
  > I could be wrong but I believe Amazon co-mingles products of the same SKU. They do, and we have seen people get fake items. this is a huge problem for things like tourniquets. We tell people to go right to North American Rescue for example but so many people instinctively go to Amazon now and order things that it's a problem. the fakes look almost like the real thing but have no quality control and break easily.
  - discardable_dan 4y ago
    This is frightening. I don't understand how Amazon isn't liable for these things.
colesouth 4y ago
OP here - no. "Shipped and sold by Amazon.com" items can be sent to Amazon's fulfillment centers by anyone with a Vendor Central account. There is still plenty of fraud going on there. In general I would say it is safer than an FBA or FBM offer, but not totally safe. Vendor accounts are highly sought after by black-hatters because: 1. It's much harder to track down shenanigans you run on them (since as you said the only public seller info is "Amazon") 2. They generally have higher authority for editing listings, so if you want to change a competitor's images it's more likely to stick from a vendor account
- indigodaddy 4y ago
  Welcome to HN! Actually kind of surprised you’ve never posted here before today :)
ranger_danger 4y ago
Recently I bought a hard drive that was "shipped and sold by amazon" and it was not only completely DOA, but the serial number was fake. It did not verify using the manufacturer's lookup page. It had also arrived practically loose inside a way-too-large box with almost no padding inside. I returned that and simultaneously ordered the exact same item again from the same page, still "shipped and sold by amazon", and this time the properly packaged product arrived, with a valid serial number, and it worked just fine.

elliekelly 4y ago

I’m actually not sure that’s a safe assumption. I could be wrong but I believe Amazon co-mingles products of the same SKU. So if Amazon is selling a book and other sellers have listed the same item as “new” and sent it to Amazon’s warehouse I don’t believe there is any distinction between the two at the warehouse. So the stock picker might grab Amazon’s (presumably authentic) item from the bin when they pack your order but there’s also a chance they’ll grab the third-party-seller “shipped by Amazon” item. My understanding is that it’s all kind of a crapshoot no matter how careful & deliberate you are when ordering.

derefr 4y ago
Not same SKU — same ASIN. I believe that brands that sell through Amazon (not FBA sellers), who are worried about comingled inventory, can get their official product moved over to a new ASIN, leaving the fakes behind in the old ASIN bin.
davidbanham 4y ago
My understanding is that the items have different uuids, but there are no markings on the physical item. They’re identified by bin location. There are lots of bins in the warehouse. They contain up to around five items each. There is a theoretical possibility that two of the same thing from different sellers could end up in the same bin. At that point the picker wouldn’t know which is which.
- AnssiH 4y ago
  > There is a theoretical possibility that two of the same thing from different sellers could end up in the same bin. At that point the picker wouldn’t know which is which. Amazon's seller-side stickerless inventory documentation specifically says that identical items from different sellers are never put into same physical bin so that the original source can be traced.
  - SnowHill9902 4y ago
    Do you have any link for that?
    - cj 4y ago
      https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G200141480?language=en_US https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/external/G200141480...
  - powerhour 4y ago
    Sounds like virtual commingling. Better, but not much.
  - TMWNN 4y ago
    >Amazon's seller-side stickerless inventory documentation specifically says that identical items from different sellers are never put into same physical bin so that the original source can be traced. Irrelevant to the discussion. Keep reading the link that cj provided, starting at the "Example", and you'll see that there is nothing preventing a counterfeit item being sold on behalf of a FBA seller even if the seller shipped genuine items to Amazon. All virtual tracking does is (theoretically) allow *tracing* of the counterfeit item should it be detected and reported.
jrnichols 4y ago
> I could be wrong but I believe Amazon co-mingles products of the same SKU. They do, and we have seen people get fake items. this is a huge problem for things like tourniquets. We tell people to go right to North American Rescue for example but so many people instinctively go to Amazon now and order things that it's a problem. the fakes look almost like the real thing but have no quality control and break easily.
- discardable_dan 4y ago
  This is frightening. I don't understand how Amazon isn't liable for these things.

colesouth 4y ago

OP here - no. "Shipped and sold by Amazon.com" items can be sent to Amazon's fulfillment centers by anyone with a Vendor Central account. There is still plenty of fraud going on there. In general I would say it is safer than an FBA or FBM offer, but not totally safe. Vendor accounts are highly sought after by black-hatters because: 1. It's much harder to track down shenanigans you run on them (since as you said the only public seller info is "Amazon") 2. They generally have higher authority for editing listings, so if you want to change a competitor's images it's more likely to stick from a vendor account

indigodaddy 4y ago
Welcome to HN! Actually kind of surprised you’ve never posted here before today :)

ranger_danger 4y ago

Recently I bought a hard drive that was "shipped and sold by amazon" and it was not only completely DOA, but the serial number was fake. It did not verify using the manufacturer's lookup page. It had also arrived practically loose inside a way-too-large box with almost no padding inside. I returned that and simultaneously ordered the exact same item again from the same page, still "shipped and sold by amazon", and this time the properly packaged product arrived, with a valid serial number, and it worked just fine.