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Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

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Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#31

Post by cookiecaper »

justinpombrio wrote: post #26
Lasher wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You get to review the product but when the sourcing is all thrown together all you're really doing is dragging down the rating for the overall product (Quickbooks 2017 in this case) and not the source of the specific item you were shipped. My issue had nothing to do with the product itself although I suppose if enough 1 star reviews start to build up then Intuit and other larger publishers that might actually have so…

> My issue had nothing to do with the product itself You sound hesitant, but I don't think you should be. Your issue has to do with the product you received after clicking "buy" on an amazon product page. That page may say Quickbooks 2017 from Intuit, but there's no necessary relationship between what the page says and what you're buying, and when they're different you should rate what you were sold.

Agreed that this is a good practice to inform other buyers that there are counterfeit sellers on the product, but do be aware that it impacts the overall rating of the product, meaning that when you're shopping for something, a 3-star product may actually be the thing you're looking for, since the real rating is drug down by counterfeiters (Amazon eventually kicks the counterfeiters off the listing (usually after a few returns), but afaik, the rating damage for the ASIN lingers).

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#33

Post by DanBC »

tyingq wrote: post #17
briffle wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Our seller was pretty ticked when we kept getting copies of 'Where's Wally' instead of 'Where's Waldo' for a friend's birthday this fall. The former is sold outside the us. someone was finding them cheap, and damaged, and dumping them. We were trying to purchase from legit seller, and returned 3 times and then ran out of time....

Ah, so not a fake, but a bad substitution. Does show, though, that sellers can't get attention when it is needed.

Grey market imports can be a serious problem, and they're definitely more toward the counterfeit end.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#34

Post by justinpombrio »

losteverything wrote: post #25

Although not the point of the article, I find it upsetting that someone could link my HN comments to an article, as was done here to another HNer.

Really? They're pretty clearly public. Would you be upset if someone (who didn't know you personally) linked a friend of theirs to your comment? How about a radio broadcaster announcing "I saw a comment on Hacker News yesterday... here, let me read it to you..."? (Trying to pin down exactly what bothers you.)

Or is it that news articles seem official, while HN comments are off-the-cuff? It does seem strange to me that journalists treat internet comments and tweets as worthy of publication, but it seems to be a well established practice now...

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#36

Post by jessriedel »

jmcdiesel wrote: post #14
danjayh wrote: post #5

Amazon is a cluster all-around. They can't keep counterfeits off (I just recently got a 'samsung' battery that would only charge to 80%), and they can't police legit products correctly either. I've seen tons of horror stories from owners of FBA private labels who'v had their products pulled by Amazon for being 'counterfeit' because one of their competitors reported them in an attempt to reduce competition. Takes week…

If the rules are to not include pricing information and you include pricing information, how do you possibly get upset over it being taken down? Reviews are long-lived, that pricing info is probably out of date in a few months, but the review will live on for a while, and lead to confusion (Especially since, I assume your reviews were well written, giving them more credibility, and thus leading to more confusion) The…

Reviews clearly have to take the price into account. You expect different thing from a $40 grill and a $300 one. If Amazon doesn't want explicit price info displayed and they make that clear, fine, but a review can't be accurate under arbitrary price movements.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#37

Post by aisofteng »

You know those electronics stores littered around Manhattan that sell flip cell phones for like $10, calling cards, and $15 digital cameras that nobody shops at because it's so obvious what you're getting?

Why does it seem like people lose their sense online? If you're not buying from the manufacturer or a seller you're familiar with, do some research.

And don't buy from anywhere outside the Western world. The rest of the world is rife with liars and counterfeiters. There are still some here, but they are much fewer and are almost always trivial to distinguish.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#38

Post by greenyoda »

robotjosh wrote: post #19
Lasher wrote: post #4

I purchased Quickbooks Pro 2017 (PC) on Amazon last week, said it was "sold by Intuit" so wasn't even supposed to be an FBA (fulfilled by Amazon). Figured if it costs no more I might as well get the physical disk. What showed up was a DVD case with a very clearly photocopied cover for a Mac version with a Verbatim CDR inside and a hacked version of the software. Amazon processed the refund just fine but didn't seem p…

I bought a phone battery on amazon. Looked legit, was the top result for my phone. It was counterfeit and wouldn't work. I don't even know how to get a battery because the phone stores didn't have it anymore. Can't trust amazon.

I've bought cell phone batteries from batteries.com. I haven't gotten anything from them in years, so my experience isn't current, but they had the batteries I needed and they worked OK.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#39

Post by scurvy »

Neliquat wrote: post #11
rebootthesystem wrote: post #9

It's worst than that. As someone already pointed out, buying software on Amazon is down-right dangerous. And Amazon does not care. Yet, beyond that, counterfeits and scams are rampant on the platform. Scammers take advantage of genuine seller's good rank, insert themselves at lower prices, destroy the genuine seller's revenue stream and deliver cheap knock-offs or even dangerous products to unsuspecting buyers. And p…

They penalize and hide non verified reviews mostly now unless super helpful.

"Helpful" is easy to game with enough fraudulent upvotes.
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