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Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

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Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#131

As a "Content Creator" and frequent advocate for U.S. Copyright Reform, this is one of the few instances where I think the full willful infringement penalty is absolutely justified. There's only a paper thin "Well they didn't inspect every book!" defense, which immediately falls apart when Amazon is making money by way of the transactions and doing market harm to the actual Copyright holder. It's not "incidental" inf…

> I think the full willful infringement penalty is absolutely justified

Out of curiousity: how much is that? How much should Amazon pay? Would you support the same penalty if your local bookseller was found to have purchased a batch of counterfeits? You realize that happens all the time in retail, right? Many smaller retailers have little to no ability to control their supply chain in the way you're demanding from Amazon.

I mean... this is bad. It should stop. Vendors need to be careful. Amazon's partner programs create some bad incentives that put too much of the risk on consumers. All of that is true.

But guys... the Amazon hate in this thread is just out of control. Counterfeits happen. A lot.

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#132
post #123
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've stopped using Amazon for: - Anything eaten - Anything that consumes or stores power (too much fire risk) - Anything worn on the body (even socks) And now, based on this article, it appears I'll have to stop using them for books, as how can I be sure it's word-for-word the same? What's left?

I can't believe they let this go on while trying to market groceries. There's no way I'd ever consider buying anything edible from them. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't even realize they're being sold counterfeit goods.

Doesn't look like they commingle things with expiration dates.

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>poor experiences with cheap phone chargers/etc are the reason I've been sticking to the Amazon Basics line. This is a brilliant strategy on Amazon's part.

So what's the over/under on when Amazon will be cluelessly selling commingled counterfeits of "Basics" items? A week?

Amazon Basics is amazon's line of products, you can't sell them yourself because they'd always be counterfit (or used)

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#135
post #98

Counterfeits in comingled inventory has become pretty common on Amazon these days. "Fulfillment by amazon" has led them to comingle inventories on common products, meaning every seller's product gets jumbled together. I've gotten counterfeit huggies diapers from amazon (invalid serial number for huggies 'points' and different build quality), Mach 3 razor blades, GE MWF Water filters, even a counterfeit baby bath. The…

I've stopped using Amazon for: - Anything eaten - Anything that consumes or stores power (too much fire risk) - Anything worn on the body (even socks) And now, based on this article, it appears I'll have to stop using them for books, as how can I be sure it's word-for-word the same? What's left?

I use Amazon for all of these things on a regular basis and have experienced zero problems, to provide a counterpoint to your anecdote.

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#136
There are certain brands I cannot sell on Amazon because their manufactures will claim I am not a certified reseller and thus am committing copyright infringement (Amazon says nothing about needing to be a 'certified reseller') and they threaten to have my entire store shut down. It's how they keep the prices of some things artificially high. So it's funny that they can't get real counterfeit things off their website.

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#137

What is a counterfeit book? Who stands to lose the most from a counterfeit book? Who stands to gain the most from a counterfeit book?

> What is a counterfeit book?

a book "made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud"

> Who stands to lose the most from a counterfeit book?

The author and/or rights holder

> Who stands to gain the most from a counterfeit book?

The counterfeiter

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you also advocate that eBay should verify every item it sells is not counterfeit?

If you consider my perspective is that eBay / Amazon / et al are acting with the least amount of policing effort they can legally or financially commit, then yes, I would like to advocate that a marketplace such as eBay should attempt to verify every item it sells is not counterfeit. I'd like to avoid being unrealistic in that I don't think a marketplace can 100% verify every item and grow to scale, but I'm also extr…

What annoys me is that they do not share that data with consumers. Just rely on people to self report issues in feedback which is not the same thing. If the seller takes two weeks to reply to a query from a customer then that should be reported.

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#139
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've stopped using Amazon for: - Anything eaten - Anything that consumes or stores power (too much fire risk) - Anything worn on the body (even socks) And now, based on this article, it appears I'll have to stop using them for books, as how can I be sure it's word-for-word the same? What's left?

'fire risk': oh noes. . . I bought my searzall and fire extinguisher off amazon.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=1EBfxjSFAxQ&t=0m57s

Re: Sellers printing counterfeit books and selling under Amazon's brand

#140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what's the over/under on when Amazon will be cluelessly selling commingled counterfeits of "Basics" items? A week?

Amazon Basics is amazon's line of products, you can't sell them yourself because they'd always be counterfit (or used)

By the same process in which Amazon has sold counterfeit NoStarch books, Amazon could also sell counterfeit "Basics" products. At this point, we're pretty sure it has something to do with commingling...
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