5 ms·

> How? Stick with official stores from reputable brands. Don't order shit from sellers like GoldenRandomBrand24723. Don't buy shit from shady stores with 10 re

> How? Stick with official stores from reputable brands. Don't order shit from sellers like GoldenRandomBrand24723. Don't buy shit from shady stores with 10 reviews. Don't buy shit from stores whose pricing model is based on charging high shipping fees and low prices. Don't buy shit you can't return. Basically, don't do deals where you know upfront the odds you'll be screwed without any recourse is high. Online stores sell products, but you need to get your head sorted out and do the thinking.

lotsofpulp 4y ago
What use is all that filtering if inventory is commingled?
afavour 4y ago
Amazon makes it harder and harder to do this, de-emphasising the seller in listings. I used to be able to confidently "buy it now" from the search results page but I'd never do that now. The fact that the answer is "look through all the reviews to see if they're shady, check the seller, check the sellers reviews" is an absolute product failure by Amazon. I shouldn't have to do scam research to buy a toothbrush.
- simplotek 4y ago
  > Amazon makes it harder and harder to do this, de-emphasising the seller in listings. You make me suspect I might be using Amazon wrong. Amazon's search is notoriously bad, but if you know what you want them you can go there and buy it. Just don't do stupid things like buying a 20 dollar item whose cost is 1 dollar price with a 19 dollar shipping fee, or buying weird things from shady sellers who just dropped by out of nowhere. But that's just me. Perhaps I'm using it wrong. Who knows.
  - afavour 4y ago
    An example, just because this is exactly what happened to me recently. Looking for Oral B replacement toothbrush heads. A bunch of bargain off brand alternatives pop up, yeah, I'm skipping right over them for something going inside my mouth. The second non-sponsored result is: "Genuine Original Oral-B Braun Precision Clean Replacement Rechargeable Toothbrush Heads..." $31 for a ten pack. Seems probably about right? But when I click through the full title is: "Genuine Original Oral-B Braun Precision Clean Replacement Rechargeable Toothbrush Heads (10 Count) - International Version, German Packaging" and it's sold by "Wiki Deals". The photos show a package with English labelling, for what it's worth. So I guess these have been imported somehow? Are they legit? What does that mean for FDA approval, I wonder? I don't want to have to consider these things. By contrast when I search Target, the first result (including any promoted stuff): Oral-B Sensitive Gum Care Electric Toothbrush Replacement Brush Head It's a three pack, $21, sold by Target themselves. More and more I'm just going to Target in the first instance and skipping Amazon entirely.
goosedragons 4y ago
That doesn't work when they comingle inventory. I got a counterfeit SanDisk microSD card from Amazon as the seller. They did refund obviously but it's still a hassle. Now I ironically only buy smaller brands that ONLY have themselves as seller and have had better luck getting real cards.
simondw 4y ago
I have bought from official stores, only for Amazon to say my package is conveniently "Now arriving early" from a totally different seller.
- jrd259 4y ago
  That is not supposed to happen! You need to contact customer support, it's a bug.
JohnFen 4y ago
You say that like it's easy. It's not. It's a lot of effort. It's much easier to simply not use Amazon.

lotsofpulp 4y ago

What use is all that filtering if inventory is commingled?

afavour 4y ago

Amazon makes it harder and harder to do this, de-emphasising the seller in listings. I used to be able to confidently "buy it now" from the search results page but I'd never do that now. The fact that the answer is "look through all the reviews to see if they're shady, check the seller, check the sellers reviews" is an absolute product failure by Amazon. I shouldn't have to do scam research to buy a toothbrush.

simplotek 4y ago
> Amazon makes it harder and harder to do this, de-emphasising the seller in listings. You make me suspect I might be using Amazon wrong. Amazon's search is notoriously bad, but if you know what you want them you can go there and buy it. Just don't do stupid things like buying a 20 dollar item whose cost is 1 dollar price with a 19 dollar shipping fee, or buying weird things from shady sellers who just dropped by out of nowhere. But that's just me. Perhaps I'm using it wrong. Who knows.
- afavour 4y ago
  An example, just because this is exactly what happened to me recently. Looking for Oral B replacement toothbrush heads. A bunch of bargain off brand alternatives pop up, yeah, I'm skipping right over them for something going inside my mouth. The second non-sponsored result is: "Genuine Original Oral-B Braun Precision Clean Replacement Rechargeable Toothbrush Heads..." $31 for a ten pack. Seems probably about right? But when I click through the full title is: "Genuine Original Oral-B Braun Precision Clean Replacement Rechargeable Toothbrush Heads (10 Count) - International Version, German Packaging" and it's sold by "Wiki Deals". The photos show a package with English labelling, for what it's worth. So I guess these have been imported somehow? Are they legit? What does that mean for FDA approval, I wonder? I don't want to have to consider these things. By contrast when I search Target, the first result (including any promoted stuff): Oral-B Sensitive Gum Care Electric Toothbrush Replacement Brush Head It's a three pack, $21, sold by Target themselves. More and more I'm just going to Target in the first instance and skipping Amazon entirely.

goosedragons 4y ago

That doesn't work when they comingle inventory. I got a counterfeit SanDisk microSD card from Amazon as the seller. They did refund obviously but it's still a hassle. Now I ironically only buy smaller brands that ONLY have themselves as seller and have had better luck getting real cards.

simondw 4y ago

I have bought from official stores, only for Amazon to say my package is conveniently "Now arriving early" from a totally different seller.

jrd259 4y ago
That is not supposed to happen! You need to contact customer support, it's a bug.

JohnFen 4y ago

You say that like it's easy. It's not. It's a lot of effort. It's much easier to simply not use Amazon.