5 ms·

Would you consider Target or Walmart more ethical? Or better at policing counterfeits?

cogman10 1y ago
Strangely enough, yes to both (at least for in store purchases). And I find neither company particularly ethical. They have a tighter control on their supply chain and don't have a truly open "market" where anyone can sell crap (or stolen crap). A lot of this comes down to limited stocking and shelf space. Amazon effectively has unlimited storage space. Hence their ability to show off 6000 drop shipping products which are actually the same product. Walmart and Target, on the other hand, have to be somewhat judicious because shelf space is limited. They can't have a row of the same products under different labels. And if what they choose to sell has quality problems they get hit harder for it. They take the loss for the unsold counterfeit goods. Amazon, by their nature, sees minimal hits when products are determined to be counterfeit. That usually just means they blacklist a seller. They are hardly impacted. Also, funnily enough, it's why I don't worry about counterfeits at Wholefoods even though it's parent company is Amazon.
- yupitsme123 1y ago
  What you said is true for their physical locations, but both Target and Walmart implemented Amazon-style marketplaces a while back, and my impression is that there's very little oversight or quality control. Even less than on Amazon.
  - SoftTalker 1y ago
    I'm pretty sure they don't co-mingle though. So if you make sure you're buying from Walmart or Target and not some other party you should be getting the same items that are in the stores.
    - yupitsme123 1y ago
      Yes, it's on you to identify if the seller is Target or a third party. It's listed on the product page, but if you didnt know that there were third party items, you would probably just assume you were buying from Target/Walmart.
      - nickthegreek 1y ago
        Happened to me a month ago when purchasing an item for my wife from walmart website. Ended up being 3rd party, slow delivery, and counterfeit item upon arrival. An issue i’ve actually never had with amazon.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]

Strangely enough, yes to both (at least for in store purchases). And I find neither company particularly ethical. They have a tighter control on their supply chain and don't have a truly open "market" where anyone can sell crap (or stolen crap). A lot of this comes down to limited stocking and shelf space. Amazon effectively has unlimited storage space. Hence their ability to show off 6000 drop shipping products which are actually the same product. Walmart and Target, on the other hand, have to be somewhat judicious because shelf space is limited. They can't have a row of the same products under different labels. And if what they choose to sell has quality problems they get hit harder for it. They take the loss for the unsold counterfeit goods. Amazon, by their nature, sees minimal hits when products are determined to be counterfeit. That usually just means they blacklist a seller. They are hardly impacted. Also, funnily enough, it's why I don't worry about counterfeits at Wholefoods even though it's parent company is Amazon.

yupitsme123 1y ago
What you said is true for their physical locations, but both Target and Walmart implemented Amazon-style marketplaces a while back, and my impression is that there's very little oversight or quality control. Even less than on Amazon.
- SoftTalker 1y ago
  I'm pretty sure they don't co-mingle though. So if you make sure you're buying from Walmart or Target and not some other party you should be getting the same items that are in the stores.
  - yupitsme123 1y ago
    Yes, it's on you to identify if the seller is Target or a third party. It's listed on the product page, but if you didnt know that there were third party items, you would probably just assume you were buying from Target/Walmart.
    - nickthegreek 1y ago
      Happened to me a month ago when purchasing an item for my wife from walmart website. Ended up being 3rd party, slow delivery, and counterfeit item upon arrival. An issue i’ve actually never had with amazon.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]