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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

#321
post #13

It's trivially easy to run into counterfeit products on Amazon. Here's an example I pulled up in 2 minutes of searching: https://www.amazon.com/Apple-A1385-Adapter-Charger-iPhone/dp... I see two sellers offering an iPhone charger, ostensibly genuine and new, as low as USD 3.19. Compare with the Apple listing for the same item for USD 19: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD810LL/A/apple-5w-usb-pow... There is no way…

> There is no way you can be selling the genuine product at that price and be making a profit. Am I missing where the ad says it's a genuine Apple product? I see that it says "compatible", but that's clearly a fake to me. Not that it wouldn't trick some people, but I can't really blame Amazon for that. It's a knockoff. I think if someone goes onto Amazon and buys a phone charger for half the price of a genuine charge…

If the only place I ever bought something was Amazon how do I know if the charger was "half price?" Especially if you didn't know counterfeit chargers were a thing? These chargers are some of the best selling products on Amazon's charger category. In most cases they outsell the genuine versions.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#322
post #47
post #13

It's trivially easy to run into counterfeit products on Amazon. Here's an example I pulled up in 2 minutes of searching: https://www.amazon.com/Apple-A1385-Adapter-Charger-iPhone/dp... I see two sellers offering an iPhone charger, ostensibly genuine and new, as low as USD 3.19. Compare with the Apple listing for the same item for USD 19: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD810LL/A/apple-5w-usb-pow... There is no way…

This is actually a different scam that's been going on recently. These "just launched" sellers show up for about 1/10th the actual price and when you buy from them they just won't ever send anything. Their strategy is to delay as long as possible and hope Amazon gives them their first payment before they finally get shut down. I sell on Amazon via FBA and the counterfeiting and scamming is unbelievable. I'm glad to s…

Yeah, this is practically an epidemic with Amazon's hotter items. For instance, check out this seller page for Nintendo Switch, which is comprised almost entirely of "just launched" sellers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B01LTHP2ZK/ref=dp_ol...

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#323

I feel like there's so much idiocy going on with Amazon sites. How can such a successful company make something so idiotic such as the current Amazon.com? It's beyond belief. People visiting Amazon.com intending to buy various items: a) want the shipment and customer care to be handled by Amazon. (Since they have showed that they area really good at that kind of thing) b) want to have the goods vetted for basic safet…

Amazon makes money hand over fist from third party sellers. They also makes up half their business. They aren't going anywhere.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#324
post #310

As you can imagine, we (rsync.net) buy a lot of hard drives. We use SAS drives so, unfortunately, we can't do the "buy the cheapest external USB drives from Frys and strip them" trick. However, it is very, very hard to buy a new hard drive on Amazon if it is more than a year out of introduction. After a year or so, all of the "new" drives on Amazon have widely varying SMART statistics and lifetime gauges. We very, ve…

I didn't realize how bad things were until reading this.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#325

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What conclusion should be drawn from that listing?

I'm not the OP, but I am suspicious of most of the sellers being 'just launched' or having very few instances of feedback. Also the seller names don't look like anything I would pick it I wanted to name my business.

It seems like not allowing they extremely obvious scams would do a ton. Both scam buyers and scam sellers.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#326

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Military bases also pay no local taxes so they don't increase their tax revenue.

They pay certain taxes e.g sales taxes, they pay salaries to civilians that work on base and they do not really use any of the local services that are tax funded, police, fire department, medical and social services all provided by the DOD.

No, the federal government does not pay state or local sales tax. Bases also open and operate large sales tax free stores for service member and family use (base exchanges).

Military housing, as long as owned directly by the federal government, doesn't pay property taxes and the residents do use local police, fire dept, and schools as well as drive on local roads. Any local or state services are fully available to to them just as any other resident. I've also personally seen both local and state police respond to emergencies at the base.

Service members can also elect to file income taxes in the state they lived in when they were called to active duty rather than their duty station location.

I'm not saying military bases don't add to the local economy, they do, just not anything like a civilian operation of a similar size.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#327
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon might care when entire warehouses are locked down for investigation. It's systemic after all.

Amazon is a powerful company with friends in high places.

Don't forget about enemies in even higher places.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#328
post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> hold all the inventory as evidence With the FBA situation, why would amazon even care? Amazon will just tell the seller, "X from your inventory was just sized by the FBI, talk to them if you want it back" The seller has no leverage against Amazon, Amazon is out no money, Amazon will just get another shipment of counterfeit widgets the next day.

> Amazon will just tell the seller, "X from your inventory was just sized by the FBI, talk to them if you want it back" No, if you have FBA, once your item enters their system, it's their item. If it's seized by the FBI, AMZ will pay you fair market price for your item they've lost the possession of, or will replace it with a likewise item. I mean, if they had any actual idea/proof that you're the one who supplied th…

What is the fair market price of perfume that has been identified as counterfeit by the FBI?

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#329
post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazon will just tell the seller, "X from your inventory was just sized by the FBI, talk to them if you want it back" No, if you have FBA, once your item enters their system, it's their item. If it's seized by the FBI, AMZ will pay you fair market price for your item they've lost the possession of, or will replace it with a likewise item. I mean, if they had any actual idea/proof that you're the one who supplied th…

What is the fair market price of perfume that has been identified as counterfeit by the FBI?

Yeah, just because they pay you for inventory they lose doesn't mean they pay you for inventory that was seized for being counterfeit.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#330
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…

Wouldn't Amazon be potentially liable if they sold a counterfeit battery as something it isn't and that battery ends up hurting someone?

In theory yeah, if they clearly didn't do their due diligence and knew/should have known. Probably won't in reality.

They've been fined lately a bunch of times for improperly shipping hazardous materials that have injured people.

http://fortune.com/2016/06/22/amazon-fined-shipping-hazardou...

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