5 ms·

I can guarantee if you shop that much you've 100% had counterfeit items, you just didn't notice it. Or you're the online shopping equivalent of the 1.5 billion

I can guarantee if you shop that much you've 100% had counterfeit items, you just didn't notice it. Or you're the online shopping equivalent of the 1.5 billion lottery winner the other day. I've said this before but it bears repeating- one good anecdote vesus decades of openly user hostile and duplicitous practices and counterfeits doesn't wash. At this point you are part of the problem by supporting them in their bullshit simply for your convenience.

2c2c2c 4y ago
I buy probably 10 things on amazon a month, none of which I can identify as counterfeit. purchases end up in 3 categories: an item so cheap and generic every version of the product was going to come from the same warehouse in china anyways, amazon basics products, and expensive name brand goods. looking through my past 5 pages of orders, I see an aeropress, old spice deoderant, an ipad magic keyboard, and "genuine hd600 earpad replacement". I guess maybe the latter could be seen as counterfeit and undersirable? there's no perceivable problem in quality with any of these. i get the feeling that people with this mentality don't even try to help themselves. the refund process at amazon takes at most 5minutes. I've had a couple dozen refunds over the years with 0 questions asked, for items upwards of $500. maybe such refund policies are geography based, so service is perceived as awful in these locations?
- z9znz 4y ago
  I have read some photography equipment teardown articles, and the level of counterfeit effort might shock you. Plenty of electronics get counterfeited. And where some of them are concerned, the consumer will never noticed. Perhaps it's an audio product where the "special sauce" is indistinguishable to the lay consumer. But it can also be the "apple" charger which starts a fire in your house randomly. > the refund process at amazon takes at most 5minutes Depends where you are. While the online return experience is very easy, I still have to adequately repackage it and take it by car 20 minutes away to a shipping drop point. It's not even the effort that's significant, it's the mental overhead AND the fact that what I thought I was getting is not what I got, so I have to try it all again (and possibly return it again).
Hermitian909 4y ago
I share OPs experience: lots of shopping, no apparent counterfeits. Anecdotally, it feels like there's a geographic skew here. My friends in New York report a much worse experience, even on the same products I purchase.
shepherdjerred 4y ago
If I don't notice counterfeit items then why would I care as a consumer? If you do receive a counterfeit are you not able to figure that out in the 30 day return window? > At this point you are part of the problem by supporting them in their bullshit simply for your convenience. Do you yourself really not support any business, restaurant, or government that somehow harms others? I'd recommend watching a show called The Good Place. It illustrates morality and how we're all culpable to evil in some way.
- z9znz 4y ago
  > If I don't notice counterfeit items then why would I care as a consumer? Well, superficially it doesn't matter for something like a handbag, assuming the handbag doesn't wear out any sooner than the original. Maybe the knockoff was made by 10 year old slaves in a factory with no human rights pressures (and oversight). If you knew there was a high probability this was true, would you still have the "don't care" opinion? But when it comes to electronics or power tools, a failure can mean an accident or a fire. That's serious for you directly. And finally, if the copycats steal all the business, and the original designer/mfg stops making sales, they stop producing items. What does a copycat sell when there's no longer any original? I hope you like the exact product you have, because the copycat next iteration is going to be the same or maybe have an extra LED on it as a new feature.
  - throwaway5959 4y ago
    > Maybe the knockoff was made by 10 year old slaves in a factory with no human rights pressures (and oversight). If you knew there was a high probability this was true, would you still have the "don't care" opinion? You might be surprised how many people would answer yes, they don’t care. See fast fashion.
  - shepherdjerred 4y ago
    > Maybe the knockoff was made by 10 year old slaves in a factory with no human rights pressures (and oversight). If you knew there was a high probability this was true, would you still have the "don't care" opinion? If there was a high probability that I am supporting slavery, then I would change my mind. Do you have any evidence to support the claim that there is a high probability of something that I purchase from Amazon was made with slave labor? Aside from this, what is the solution that you propose? How can you ever participate in the global economy and definitively say that you aren't supporting something 'evil'? Are people suppose to go and inspect the supply chain before buying batteries?

2c2c2c 4y ago

I buy probably 10 things on amazon a month, none of which I can identify as counterfeit. purchases end up in 3 categories: an item so cheap and generic every version of the product was going to come from the same warehouse in china anyways, amazon basics products, and expensive name brand goods. looking through my past 5 pages of orders, I see an aeropress, old spice deoderant, an ipad magic keyboard, and "genuine hd600 earpad replacement". I guess maybe the latter could be seen as counterfeit and undersirable? there's no perceivable problem in quality with any of these. i get the feeling that people with this mentality don't even try to help themselves. the refund process at amazon takes at most 5minutes. I've had a couple dozen refunds over the years with 0 questions asked, for items upwards of $500. maybe such refund policies are geography based, so service is perceived as awful in these locations?

z9znz 4y ago
I have read some photography equipment teardown articles, and the level of counterfeit effort might shock you. Plenty of electronics get counterfeited. And where some of them are concerned, the consumer will never noticed. Perhaps it's an audio product where the "special sauce" is indistinguishable to the lay consumer. But it can also be the "apple" charger which starts a fire in your house randomly. > the refund process at amazon takes at most 5minutes Depends where you are. While the online return experience is very easy, I still have to adequately repackage it and take it by car 20 minutes away to a shipping drop point. It's not even the effort that's significant, it's the mental overhead AND the fact that what I thought I was getting is not what I got, so I have to try it all again (and possibly return it again).

Hermitian909 4y ago

I share OPs experience: lots of shopping, no apparent counterfeits. Anecdotally, it feels like there's a geographic skew here. My friends in New York report a much worse experience, even on the same products I purchase.

shepherdjerred 4y ago

If I don't notice counterfeit items then why would I care as a consumer? If you do receive a counterfeit are you not able to figure that out in the 30 day return window? > At this point you are part of the problem by supporting them in their bullshit simply for your convenience. Do you yourself really not support any business, restaurant, or government that somehow harms others? I'd recommend watching a show called The Good Place. It illustrates morality and how we're all culpable to evil in some way.

z9znz 4y ago
> If I don't notice counterfeit items then why would I care as a consumer? Well, superficially it doesn't matter for something like a handbag, assuming the handbag doesn't wear out any sooner than the original. Maybe the knockoff was made by 10 year old slaves in a factory with no human rights pressures (and oversight). If you knew there was a high probability this was true, would you still have the "don't care" opinion? But when it comes to electronics or power tools, a failure can mean an accident or a fire. That's serious for you directly. And finally, if the copycats steal all the business, and the original designer/mfg stops making sales, they stop producing items. What does a copycat sell when there's no longer any original? I hope you like the exact product you have, because the copycat next iteration is going to be the same or maybe have an extra LED on it as a new feature.
- throwaway5959 4y ago
  > Maybe the knockoff was made by 10 year old slaves in a factory with no human rights pressures (and oversight). If you knew there was a high probability this was true, would you still have the "don't care" opinion? You might be surprised how many people would answer yes, they don’t care. See fast fashion.
- shepherdjerred 4y ago
  > Maybe the knockoff was made by 10 year old slaves in a factory with no human rights pressures (and oversight). If you knew there was a high probability this was true, would you still have the "don't care" opinion? If there was a high probability that I am supporting slavery, then I would change my mind. Do you have any evidence to support the claim that there is a high probability of something that I purchase from Amazon was made with slave labor? Aside from this, what is the solution that you propose? How can you ever participate in the global economy and definitively say that you aren't supporting something 'evil'? Are people suppose to go and inspect the supply chain before buying batteries?