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It’s about time. I’ve been going out of my way to not buy from Amazon, especially on items that are often counterfeit, or where a counterfeit item would cause r

It’s about time. I’ve been going out of my way to not buy from Amazon, especially on items that are often counterfeit, or where a counterfeit item would cause real issues. Just a couple days ago I was planning to buy some supplements, which Amazon had. I went to the actual website of the company and bought from them, because the idea of getting a knock off was a bit scary. To my dismay, I received an Amazon shipping notice after making the purchase outside of Amazon. This brought back my skepticism. I’m still waiting for the package to arrive and will end up inspecting it closely. A few months ago I bought some headphones from Amazon, because the official site was out of stock on the color I wanted. I ended up going on YouTube and finding a video on how to spot authentic pairs vs counterfeit ones to make sure I got the real thing. This all stemmed from when I bought a water bottle, and the reviews mentioned this commingling issue and how to spot authentic real one vs a fake. I double checked that I was buying from the company’s listing and not one of the other sellers on the item. I received a counterfeit one. Thankfully this review tipped me off. I lost a significant amount of trust in Amazon that day. A random bottle isn’t something I even thought I needed to worry about counterfeit version for. Amazon has a long way to go to rebuild trust with me. This is a step in the right direction. The fact that it took this long is pretty sad. Amazon is the only mainstream store where I’ve ever had to question if I was buying legitimate goods or not.

antonymoose 10mo ago
Another counterfeit issue they have that will not be solved by this is the “REPLACEMENT PART FOR OEM FOOBAR-123” listings. I’ve had quite a few repairs over the last few years for household appliances and pool pumps and such. It’s very common to find a listing for a heating element for a Samsung dryer or a Heyward filter diverter being listed with a misleading title and often further listing the manufacturer as, say, Samsung itself. I got screwed after buying a dryer heating element for $80 recommended via a reputable YouTube DIY channel. Silly me neglected to check the comments and lo and behold 50%+ are complaints that this heating element dies after 6-8 weeks, just past the 30 day refund window…
- nmcfarl 10mo ago
  This is not always a bad thing. The example I always use of why it’s good that Amazon has knock off parts, is a Jacuzzi heating element. Amazon has them for $30, but has none of the legitimate item which are only sold through a dealer network and dealers charge the OEM price of $285 bucks plus shipping. It’s not quite the same part – cause dealers only sell a larger unit that includes the heater - you can’t buy the actual part number except via a knockoff. Add to this that the Jacuzzi part - for my model at least - has a reputation of just dying at two years plus one day, while the Chinese parts frequently last 3-5 years. In the end, you save yourself quite a lot of money, and time by replacing less frequently, by buying the knock off. And where I live, you couldn’t get the knock off otherwise. The important thing of course is to know that you’re getting a knock off, and have made that choice in intentionally. Your story does suck - and there can be lots of reasons both good and bad to make a knock off.
  - TuringNYC 10mo ago
    >> Amazon has them for $30, but has none of the legitimate item which are only sold through a dealer network and dealers charge the OEM price of $285 bucks plus shipping. It’s not quite the same part – cause dealers only sell a larger unit that includes the heater - you can’t buy the actual part number except via a knockoff. Possibly the reason the OEM price is so high is because it is backed by huge liability insurance (e.g., you get into a Jacuzzi and get electrocuted). I'd pay for that assurance. By assurance, not that I get a payout, but rather the company has sufficient QA to avoid a payout.
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 10mo ago
      >By assurance, not that I get a payout, but rather the company has sufficient QA to avoid a payout. They also have sufficient insurance that a payout doesn't tank their company. I don't think their risk avoidance translates into your risk avoidance.
      - TuringNYC 10mo ago
retSava 10mo ago
This is one of many exploitative habits of Amazon. Others include not ensuring products follow regulation, eg on hazardous substances (lead, etc), or on electrical safety. They also make your local {book, game, hobby, ...} shop go bankrupt. You don't -have- to buy there, if you have the financial means I urge/recommend/encourage you to buy locally or from a responsible seller. Even if they are slower, less things on offer, etc. You probably already know some small local stores you would be sad to see shut down. Support them! (if you don't already)
- mikepurvis 10mo ago
  > follow regulation This one bit me recently when I bought a package of budget light fixtures (in Canada, from amazon.ca) and then my licensed electrician informed me that he wouldn't be able to install them as they didn't have a CSA or UL mark. (edit: originally I had mis-recalled and said CE here) To their credit, Amazon did allow me to return them without penalty, and now my review there warns other consumers that those are only for DIY use and even then you are risking your home's insurance coverage.
  - embedding-shape 10mo ago
    > and now my review there warns other consumers that those are only for DIY use Actually make sure with a incognito window that this review is actually visible. I've noticed that some reviews of mine have been "shadow-banned" and while it looks like they're still there when I'm logged in, once I try in a incognito window the review doesn't show up publicly anymore. My reviews were just basically facts about the products themselves, and received no word from Amazon about breaking any rules.
    - AlexandrB 10mo ago
      The few times I've tried leaving a negative review, Amazon has either taken it down or it has disappeared like this. The game is rigged.
    - mikepurvis 10mo ago
boelboel 10mo ago
The time of retailers being 'honest' is over. Scamming, bargaining and the likes were a big part of business. Bargaining was normal before certain religious beliefs (like the quakers and calvinists, similar religious beliefs were found with catholics), The fact it was more efficient with the industrial revolution not to do so helped it. When you lose both those factors it's bound to come up again. People don't 'really' believe anymore in the west, doesn't bother me so much besides the fact that nothing better really replaced it. Better operation research/management/computers now allow for the bargaining to be done 'efficiently'. Nobody in the US cares about this anyway, who cares if Zuckerberg makes billions scamming people. People were brought into passivity by the same culture industry and the politicians gain from these guys, they're cash cows for the US. I don't see how things could get better.
- parineum 10mo ago
  > The time of retailers being 'honest' is over. First, I'm not sure it ever started. Second, this article is about moving towards honesty.
  - boelboel 10mo ago
    After years of scamming customers, amazon has finally seen the light and won't be prioritizing shareholder returns (which they're legally required to do). In reality hey're just trying to tone down the scamming they've been doing ever so slightly because it's hurting revenue. 100% sure it will just end up at 2019 or 2021 amazon scam levels, Some sort of 'scamming optimum' for amazon. If you think it never started try going to some third world country and compare, their people are used to the bargaining/scamming but nobody cares. Things will end up the same here at some point.
- technothrasher 10mo ago
  I'm not exactly sure what you're saying here. Are you implying that secularism is the cause of counterfeit goods on Amazon? Or am I reading you wrong?
  - 10mo ago
snarf21 10mo ago
This is a great first step but the review system needs to stop commingling too. I get a bad produce can be bad from all sellers but then you would see that when you try to buy from someone else.
- thayne 10mo ago
  They also need to fix the problem of (good) reviews for one product getting transferred to another (lower quality) product.
  - Someone1234 10mo ago
    I actually created a review to warn people that most of the reviews were for a different product (even provided photos, showing the old/new; showing the huge downgrade), and Amazon nuked my review because: > After carefully reviewing your submission, your review could not be posted to the website. It appears your review had feedback on the seller. Yeah, so Amazon won't let you post reviews warning others about this either. The review itself was about the LISTING not the SELLER.
  - brianwawok 10mo ago
    They do try. seems like it’s a bit less lately. Still sometimes see a review talking about it being a soft towel and you are buying a toaster.
  - BrenBarn 10mo ago
    Not to mention the problem of bad reviews for one product not getting transferred to a "new" product that is just the same product again with a different listing.
- netrap 10mo ago
  It seems like it is easy to get good reviews on some product then just switch the product completely different. Do they not have ways to prevent that??
- al_borland 10mo ago
  Good point. I’ve also seen where there are completely different products as different SKUs of the same product listing. Just yesterday I was looking at some chopsticks, and when I went down to the reviews, everyone was talking about a wok. Sure enough, I could buy a wok from the chopstick listing. Insanity.
randycupertino 10mo ago
Just last week I got a fake Tony Moly skin lotion from Amazon. So frustrating. It had 1200 positive reviews, which I read and looked good so I ordered. Only when I got it and the bottle different than my last order and the lotion smelled weird I went into the reviews and actually keyword searched "fake' did 18 new reviews come up talking about how it is not the actual branded product. Initially I searched in the "ask Rufus" AI bot field and got some gaslighting slop about how there are no fake products on Amazon as the response! > Have gotten fake products twice > First things first, I love this moisturizer. I’ve used this as my primary since the product line was released. I use a lot of skin care and the chok chok cream is the best. They used to have a gel version for summer and a thick version for winter. I loved those too. > Problem: Twice now I have ordered and have gotten fakes. How do I know? Packaging not correct, texture of cream not correct and no correct date stamp on bottom. The container was actually strangely big next to my authentic version. You can see in the photo that the stamp on the container is not similar. The one on the left is the real deal and the one on the right is the fake I have gotten twice.
ChrisMarshallNY 10mo ago
I have had similar issues. I no longer buy anything over $50 from them, but I have had "Fulfilled by Amazon," from the sellers' [actual] sites, and haven't had a problem. I don't trust the sellers' "stores" on Amazon, though. You will get things like gray market Chinese versions, from "official" stores.
fmajid 10mo ago
Same here, I'd buy from B&H instead. The thing, though is, as you discovered with the water bottle, "items that are often counterfeit" is pretty much everything nowadays, not just SD cards.
stefan_ 10mo ago
Let's be clear, the reason they are doing this is because by now the majority of listings on Amazon for any even remotely generic item are from made-up brands with a bunch of fake 5 star reviews. The commingling just happens at the source..
alphax314 10mo ago
Is this also a problem when buying and the seller is amazon.com or only affects third party sellers?
ctvo 10mo ago
You listed common items you think may be counterfeits, and all your effort in checking, but fail to mention av single time you _actually_ ran into a counterfeit. I'm sure if it occurred you'd happily mention it since it would do wonders in reinforcing the paranoia.
- garciansmith 10mo ago
  What do you mean? They specifically say they received a counterfeit water bottle in their post. Signed, someone who has received a counterfeit Canon DSLR camera battery, fridge water filter, and "official" Nintendo Switch case from Amazon. (Albeit some years back for all of them, as I rarely buy there any longer.)
drzaiusx11 10mo ago
I've gotten a counterfeit SD card from Amazon before, so it's likely a pervasive issue. Glad they're finally doing something about it.

antonymoose 10mo ago

Another counterfeit issue they have that will not be solved by this is the “REPLACEMENT PART FOR OEM FOOBAR-123” listings. I’ve had quite a few repairs over the last few years for household appliances and pool pumps and such. It’s very common to find a listing for a heating element for a Samsung dryer or a Heyward filter diverter being listed with a misleading title and often further listing the manufacturer as, say, Samsung itself. I got screwed after buying a dryer heating element for $80 recommended via a reputable YouTube DIY channel. Silly me neglected to check the comments and lo and behold 50%+ are complaints that this heating element dies after 6-8 weeks, just past the 30 day refund window…

nmcfarl 10mo ago
This is not always a bad thing. The example I always use of why it’s good that Amazon has knock off parts, is a Jacuzzi heating element. Amazon has them for $30, but has none of the legitimate item which are only sold through a dealer network and dealers charge the OEM price of $285 bucks plus shipping. It’s not quite the same part – cause dealers only sell a larger unit that includes the heater - you can’t buy the actual part number except via a knockoff. Add to this that the Jacuzzi part - for my model at least - has a reputation of just dying at two years plus one day, while the Chinese parts frequently last 3-5 years. In the end, you save yourself quite a lot of money, and time by replacing less frequently, by buying the knock off. And where I live, you couldn’t get the knock off otherwise. The important thing of course is to know that you’re getting a knock off, and have made that choice in intentionally. Your story does suck - and there can be lots of reasons both good and bad to make a knock off.
- TuringNYC 10mo ago
  >> Amazon has them for $30, but has none of the legitimate item which are only sold through a dealer network and dealers charge the OEM price of $285 bucks plus shipping. It’s not quite the same part – cause dealers only sell a larger unit that includes the heater - you can’t buy the actual part number except via a knockoff. Possibly the reason the OEM price is so high is because it is backed by huge liability insurance (e.g., you get into a Jacuzzi and get electrocuted). I'd pay for that assurance. By assurance, not that I get a payout, but rather the company has sufficient QA to avoid a payout.
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 10mo ago
    >By assurance, not that I get a payout, but rather the company has sufficient QA to avoid a payout. They also have sufficient insurance that a payout doesn't tank their company. I don't think their risk avoidance translates into your risk avoidance.
    - TuringNYC 10mo ago

retSava 10mo ago

This is one of many exploitative habits of Amazon. Others include not ensuring products follow regulation, eg on hazardous substances (lead, etc), or on electrical safety. They also make your local {book, game, hobby, ...} shop go bankrupt. You don't -have- to buy there, if you have the financial means I urge/recommend/encourage you to buy locally or from a responsible seller. Even if they are slower, less things on offer, etc. You probably already know some small local stores you would be sad to see shut down. Support them! (if you don't already)

mikepurvis 10mo ago
> follow regulation This one bit me recently when I bought a package of budget light fixtures (in Canada, from amazon.ca) and then my licensed electrician informed me that he wouldn't be able to install them as they didn't have a CSA or UL mark. (edit: originally I had mis-recalled and said CE here) To their credit, Amazon did allow me to return them without penalty, and now my review there warns other consumers that those are only for DIY use and even then you are risking your home's insurance coverage.
- embedding-shape 10mo ago
  > and now my review there warns other consumers that those are only for DIY use Actually make sure with a incognito window that this review is actually visible. I've noticed that some reviews of mine have been "shadow-banned" and while it looks like they're still there when I'm logged in, once I try in a incognito window the review doesn't show up publicly anymore. My reviews were just basically facts about the products themselves, and received no word from Amazon about breaking any rules.
  - AlexandrB 10mo ago
    The few times I've tried leaving a negative review, Amazon has either taken it down or it has disappeared like this. The game is rigged.
  - mikepurvis 10mo ago

boelboel 10mo ago

The time of retailers being 'honest' is over. Scamming, bargaining and the likes were a big part of business. Bargaining was normal before certain religious beliefs (like the quakers and calvinists, similar religious beliefs were found with catholics), The fact it was more efficient with the industrial revolution not to do so helped it. When you lose both those factors it's bound to come up again. People don't 'really' believe anymore in the west, doesn't bother me so much besides the fact that nothing better really replaced it. Better operation research/management/computers now allow for the bargaining to be done 'efficiently'. Nobody in the US cares about this anyway, who cares if Zuckerberg makes billions scamming people. People were brought into passivity by the same culture industry and the politicians gain from these guys, they're cash cows for the US. I don't see how things could get better.

parineum 10mo ago
> The time of retailers being 'honest' is over. First, I'm not sure it ever started. Second, this article is about moving towards honesty.
- boelboel 10mo ago
  After years of scamming customers, amazon has finally seen the light and won't be prioritizing shareholder returns (which they're legally required to do). In reality hey're just trying to tone down the scamming they've been doing ever so slightly because it's hurting revenue. 100% sure it will just end up at 2019 or 2021 amazon scam levels, Some sort of 'scamming optimum' for amazon. If you think it never started try going to some third world country and compare, their people are used to the bargaining/scamming but nobody cares. Things will end up the same here at some point.
technothrasher 10mo ago
I'm not exactly sure what you're saying here. Are you implying that secularism is the cause of counterfeit goods on Amazon? Or am I reading you wrong?
- 10mo ago

snarf21 10mo ago

This is a great first step but the review system needs to stop commingling too. I get a bad produce can be bad from all sellers but then you would see that when you try to buy from someone else.

thayne 10mo ago
They also need to fix the problem of (good) reviews for one product getting transferred to another (lower quality) product.
- Someone1234 10mo ago
  I actually created a review to warn people that most of the reviews were for a different product (even provided photos, showing the old/new; showing the huge downgrade), and Amazon nuked my review because: > After carefully reviewing your submission, your review could not be posted to the website. It appears your review had feedback on the seller. Yeah, so Amazon won't let you post reviews warning others about this either. The review itself was about the LISTING not the SELLER.
- brianwawok 10mo ago
  They do try. seems like it’s a bit less lately. Still sometimes see a review talking about it being a soft towel and you are buying a toaster.
- BrenBarn 10mo ago
  Not to mention the problem of bad reviews for one product not getting transferred to a "new" product that is just the same product again with a different listing.
netrap 10mo ago
It seems like it is easy to get good reviews on some product then just switch the product completely different. Do they not have ways to prevent that??
al_borland 10mo ago
Good point. I’ve also seen where there are completely different products as different SKUs of the same product listing. Just yesterday I was looking at some chopsticks, and when I went down to the reviews, everyone was talking about a wok. Sure enough, I could buy a wok from the chopstick listing. Insanity.

randycupertino 10mo ago

Just last week I got a fake Tony Moly skin lotion from Amazon. So frustrating. It had 1200 positive reviews, which I read and looked good so I ordered. Only when I got it and the bottle different than my last order and the lotion smelled weird I went into the reviews and actually keyword searched "fake' did 18 new reviews come up talking about how it is not the actual branded product. Initially I searched in the "ask Rufus" AI bot field and got some gaslighting slop about how there are no fake products on Amazon as the response! > Have gotten fake products twice > First things first, I love this moisturizer. I’ve used this as my primary since the product line was released. I use a lot of skin care and the chok chok cream is the best. They used to have a gel version for summer and a thick version for winter. I loved those too. > Problem: Twice now I have ordered and have gotten fakes. How do I know? Packaging not correct, texture of cream not correct and no correct date stamp on bottom. The container was actually strangely big next to my authentic version. You can see in the photo that the stamp on the container is not similar. The one on the left is the real deal and the one on the right is the fake I have gotten twice.

ChrisMarshallNY 10mo ago

I have had similar issues. I no longer buy anything over $50 from them, but I have had "Fulfilled by Amazon," from the sellers' [actual] sites, and haven't had a problem. I don't trust the sellers' "stores" on Amazon, though. You will get things like gray market Chinese versions, from "official" stores.

fmajid 10mo ago

Same here, I'd buy from B&H instead. The thing, though is, as you discovered with the water bottle, "items that are often counterfeit" is pretty much everything nowadays, not just SD cards.

stefan_ 10mo ago

Let's be clear, the reason they are doing this is because by now the majority of listings on Amazon for any even remotely generic item are from made-up brands with a bunch of fake 5 star reviews. The commingling just happens at the source..

alphax314 10mo ago

Is this also a problem when buying and the seller is amazon.com or only affects third party sellers?

ctvo 10mo ago

You listed common items you think may be counterfeits, and all your effort in checking, but fail to mention av single time you _actually_ ran into a counterfeit. I'm sure if it occurred you'd happily mention it since it would do wonders in reinforcing the paranoia.

garciansmith 10mo ago
What do you mean? They specifically say they received a counterfeit water bottle in their post. Signed, someone who has received a counterfeit Canon DSLR camera battery, fridge water filter, and "official" Nintendo Switch case from Amazon. (Albeit some years back for all of them, as I rarely buy there any longer.)

drzaiusx11 10mo ago

I've gotten a counterfeit SD card from Amazon before, so it's likely a pervasive issue. Glad they're finally doing something about it.