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Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

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Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Edit: theory probably doesn't work, see comments below > So the counterfeiter must have molded the entire slide (complete with the company logo that was embossed into the slide itself) thing is that company was dissolved back in the 80’s. I have a simpler explanation for that. Someone bought the tooling (injection moulds?), in an auction maybe, didn't bother to change the brand and is out there manufacturing slides.…

> I have a simpler explanation for that. Someone bought the tooling (injection moulds?), in an auction maybe But the company never sold them, so even they from the beginning reasonably believed they had in fact manufactured the slide. Had they sold the molds (which I don’t think a company would do bearing their mark without selling the actual mark as well) it would have actually helped their defense and helped them c…

Ah, those details were not clear from the original story.

They could have assumed (at the start of the process) that it could have been a pre-dissolution built slide.

But if they admit that, during the dissolution process their machinery wasn't sold that definitely goes against my theory.

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

counterfeit stickers...

A date string and or a string specified by amazon at the time of shipment creation signed with some sort of private key should fix this I think.

You're assuming they want to fix the problem

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#93

The categories of things that I've received counterfeit versions of on Amazon have been truly mind-blowing. It's been replacement HEPA filters, cat toys, even breakfast cereal. It's not just earphones/mics, batteries, usb cables, flash drives, extension cords, and other electronics. Who counterfeits breakfast cereal??? I've had this issue with both Quaker Oats and Raisin Bran. The scale of fraud is magnificent. And i…

Can anyone confirm if this happens in countries with functioning consumer protection? Or is it just an Amazon.us thing?

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#94
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The more you focus and the more you curate, the more you can trust you're getting what you think you're getting and the more confidence you can have in the overall supply chain. The tradeoff is selection and probably price--although for some large specialist retailers like B&H Photo you largely do get both price and a pretty good selection of products. Amazon should at least better separate the products it largely ha…

Is it really "selection" though anymore, when it comes down to a throw of the dice what you actually get home when you order? A wide random selection is still wide I guess.

"Throw of the dice" is an exaggeration. Personally, I haven't (knowingly) had an issue with counterfeit. And I have found things on Amazon or eBay that were super-obscure and I'd have had difficulty tracking down elsewhere. And it's not like various obscure websites can't be dodgy themselves.

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#95

The categories of things that I've received counterfeit versions of on Amazon have been truly mind-blowing. It's been replacement HEPA filters, cat toys, even breakfast cereal. It's not just earphones/mics, batteries, usb cables, flash drives, extension cords, and other electronics. Who counterfeits breakfast cereal??? I've had this issue with both Quaker Oats and Raisin Bran. The scale of fraud is magnificent. And i…

I've got a hard rule of not ordering anything from Amazon that goes in/on my body. Too many counterfeits and too much risk. I'll stick with trusted retailers for that (ordering from Target is just about as easy these days, maybe slightly slower shipping but can pick it up in-store if I need it fast).

Even Walmart is getting hard to shop online and filter out products that are sold by "marketplace" sellers.

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#97
post #93

The categories of things that I've received counterfeit versions of on Amazon have been truly mind-blowing. It's been replacement HEPA filters, cat toys, even breakfast cereal. It's not just earphones/mics, batteries, usb cables, flash drives, extension cords, and other electronics. Who counterfeits breakfast cereal??? I've had this issue with both Quaker Oats and Raisin Bran. The scale of fraud is magnificent. And i…

Can anyone confirm if this happens in countries with functioning consumer protection? Or is it just an Amazon.us thing?

Even with strong consumer protections, the bad actors are often based overseas. There is little to no incentive for the Chinese government to inhibit fraud taking place in the US or Europe.

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#98
post #55

The categories of things that I've received counterfeit versions of on Amazon have been truly mind-blowing. It's been replacement HEPA filters, cat toys, even breakfast cereal. It's not just earphones/mics, batteries, usb cables, flash drives, extension cords, and other electronics. Who counterfeits breakfast cereal??? I've had this issue with both Quaker Oats and Raisin Bran. The scale of fraud is magnificent. And i…

Someone should counterfeit the Amazon website.

If Azamon.com promises to be more diligent in monitoring for counterfeit items I would happily become a Preme subscriber.

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#99

The categories of things that I've received counterfeit versions of on Amazon have been truly mind-blowing. It's been replacement HEPA filters, cat toys, even breakfast cereal. It's not just earphones/mics, batteries, usb cables, flash drives, extension cords, and other electronics. Who counterfeits breakfast cereal??? I've had this issue with both Quaker Oats and Raisin Bran. The scale of fraud is magnificent. And i…

Here is one (plus the story of a defective product lawsuit behind it). A water slide. The type that bolts down into concrete for use with pools. If the first thing in your mind is...isn’t that something from the 70’s/80’s...yes it is. So the counterfeiter must have molded the entire slide (complete with the company logo that was embossed into the slide itself) thing is that company was dissolved back in the 80’s. So…

That's interesting, how do you sue a company that hasn't been in business for 20 or 30 years?

Re: Amazon establishes new Counterfeit Crimes Unit

#100

I ordered a well-known baby-bottom cream. The product gave her never-expanding rashes for a few days. Then I realized the color slightly differs from the same cream bought at the local pharmacy, and that many 1 star reviews also report knockoffs version of the cream. In some cases review pictures show that the packaging itself is clearly fake. I write a 1-star review explaining the above, and saying that the anxious…

Do you still have the counterfeit tube? It might be worthwhile to get in touch with your Attorney General’s Office. Doubly so if your AG is up for re-election.

I imagine a lot of Attorneys General would jump at the chance to stand up to Amazon in defense of poor little baby bottoms and a media-friendly fact pattern like this could help bring about much-needed change at Amazon across all product categories.

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