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Amazon has been careful with the launch here in Australia, as our government won't hesitate to slap Amazon. They did a small launch where their inventory sucked

Amazon has been careful with the launch here in Australia, as our government won't hesitate to slap Amazon. They did a small launch where their inventory sucked, but they're expanding pretty rapidly with their own warehouses here in AU. The logistics behind it are pretty interesting, where I think they fly the packages from say Sydney -> Perth, then use to use Australia Post but now use their own contractors. They would have to be very very careful with introducing random third parties, right now from what I can tell on Amazon AU you can only buy through Amazon directly (ie they have the item) or via an "authorised third party" where they are a pre-established brick and mortar (every store I've seen on Amazon I know who they are). Steam (aka Valve) only started offering refunds to Australians once they were threatened by the AU government, and even then they were still shady. https://www.eurogamer.net/valve-is-being-sued-by-australian-consumer-group-over-steams-refund-policy https://www.eurogamer.net/valve-is-being-sued-by-australian-... Australia is pretty good with the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission), there are some horror stories from both side but most of the time it works out good for the consumer.

nl 4y ago
Most things on Amazon AU are from 3rd party sellers. Eg I bought this on Amazon AU. It's from a 3rd party seller: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B0972JM9NZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B0972JM9NZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_p... (And it's fine - not all 3rd party sellers are bad)
- belter 4y ago
  Your comment made me curious, as your purchase is a camping Titanium cup. By coincidence I am also interested in one :-) But at the same time, your comment illustrates the prime example of the terrible conundrum facing who wants to buy at Amazon. Normally Titanium is quite expensive, and although pure Titanium cookware is one of the safest metals, it's heat distribution is not really ideal. Some companies titanium cookware has titanium alloyed with other metals and materials. This provides end results, with a non reactive cookware that is now not as expensive as pure titanium. In other words as titanium isn't the best conducting heat, there is the possibility was coated with other metals than can potentially leak into food. See [1], [2] and [3] So to make this type of purchase, personally, it would be quite important to know who the vendor is, where are they based, are they on a country with reputable manufacturing controls? Looking at the 3rd party seller you provided as example, you do notice their guarantees, certifications and mention the product is 99.8% Titanium. But who are they? Where are they? Who controls them? Looking at their 3rd Party Seller shop in Amazon, there is nothing to easily identify the seller. A series of stock photo images from outdoor camping events...Further research shows they also have a page at Alibaba, but again no mention of who they are than can be easily found. Just a lot more stock photos of outdoor living and camping. Invoking all my Internet search Fu skills, you end up finding they are a medium sized manufacturer based in Guangzhou. At the same time they are also listed on a random Reddit comment as a generic manufacturer of cookware of difficult to verify quality... See [4] So what is an Amazon customer to do? Their research for Amazon? Trust the Chinese authorities quality control? Maybe the products are really excellent but it's way too much research. Will go to a reputable camping shop, and maybe buy from a reputable manufacturer... [1] "What Are the Dangers of Titanium in Cookware?" https://oureverydaylife.com/what-are-the-dangers-of-titanium-in-cookware-13408890.html https://oureverydaylife.com/what-are-the-dangers-of-titanium... [2] "Is Titanium Safe to Cook In? What the Evidence Says" https://sliceofkitchen.com/is-titanium-safe-to-cook-in-what-the-evidence-says/ https://sliceofkitchen.com/is-titanium-safe-to-cook-in-what-... [3] "Healthy Types of Metal for Cookware" https://www.livestrong.com/article/158539-healthy-types-of-metal-for-cookware/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/158539-healthy-types-of-m... [4] "Titanium alloys from sketchy Chinese companies, are they safe to use for water?" : https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/ux5zts/titanium_alloys_from_sketchy_chinese_companies/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/ux5zts/titanium...
  - nl 4y ago
    Whilst I agree with your general message that 3rd party sellers are problematic from the consumer safety point of view, I'd suggest you are overestimating the dangers of titanium based cookware specifically. I'd note that all the links you point to say titanium is safe, and the Reddit discussion notes concerns about aluminum (which of course is much more common in cookware than titanium).

nl 4y ago

Most things on Amazon AU are from 3rd party sellers. Eg I bought this on Amazon AU. It's from a 3rd party seller: https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B0972JM9NZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/B0972JM9NZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_p... (And it's fine - not all 3rd party sellers are bad)

belter 4y ago
Your comment made me curious, as your purchase is a camping Titanium cup. By coincidence I am also interested in one :-) But at the same time, your comment illustrates the prime example of the terrible conundrum facing who wants to buy at Amazon. Normally Titanium is quite expensive, and although pure Titanium cookware is one of the safest metals, it's heat distribution is not really ideal. Some companies titanium cookware has titanium alloyed with other metals and materials. This provides end results, with a non reactive cookware that is now not as expensive as pure titanium. In other words as titanium isn't the best conducting heat, there is the possibility was coated with other metals than can potentially leak into food. See [1], [2] and [3] So to make this type of purchase, personally, it would be quite important to know who the vendor is, where are they based, are they on a country with reputable manufacturing controls? Looking at the 3rd party seller you provided as example, you do notice their guarantees, certifications and mention the product is 99.8% Titanium. But who are they? Where are they? Who controls them? Looking at their 3rd Party Seller shop in Amazon, there is nothing to easily identify the seller. A series of stock photo images from outdoor camping events...Further research shows they also have a page at Alibaba, but again no mention of who they are than can be easily found. Just a lot more stock photos of outdoor living and camping. Invoking all my Internet search Fu skills, you end up finding they are a medium sized manufacturer based in Guangzhou. At the same time they are also listed on a random Reddit comment as a generic manufacturer of cookware of difficult to verify quality... See [4] So what is an Amazon customer to do? Their research for Amazon? Trust the Chinese authorities quality control? Maybe the products are really excellent but it's way too much research. Will go to a reputable camping shop, and maybe buy from a reputable manufacturer... [1] "What Are the Dangers of Titanium in Cookware?" https://oureverydaylife.com/what-are-the-dangers-of-titanium-in-cookware-13408890.html https://oureverydaylife.com/what-are-the-dangers-of-titanium... [2] "Is Titanium Safe to Cook In? What the Evidence Says" https://sliceofkitchen.com/is-titanium-safe-to-cook-in-what-the-evidence-says/ https://sliceofkitchen.com/is-titanium-safe-to-cook-in-what-... [3] "Healthy Types of Metal for Cookware" https://www.livestrong.com/article/158539-healthy-types-of-metal-for-cookware/ https://www.livestrong.com/article/158539-healthy-types-of-m... [4] "Titanium alloys from sketchy Chinese companies, are they safe to use for water?" : https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/ux5zts/titanium_alloys_from_sketchy_chinese_companies/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/ux5zts/titanium...
- nl 4y ago
  Whilst I agree with your general message that 3rd party sellers are problematic from the consumer safety point of view, I'd suggest you are overestimating the dangers of titanium based cookware specifically. I'd note that all the links you point to say titanium is safe, and the Reddit discussion notes concerns about aluminum (which of course is much more common in cookware than titanium).