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Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

arstechnica.com

151–160 of 438 posts

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#151
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked for a startup that sold a food product direct, with a significant part of sales on Amazon. We decided to switch our standard size from 12 packs to 8 packs to better fit our customers consumption habits. But on Amazon that meant creating new listings for new SKUs, abandoning hundreds of positive comments/ratings on each 12 pack flavor SKU, which would crush sales for a while. So instead we let inventory run o…

There must be -somewhere- an acceptable delta to keep your listing while doing legitimate edits. The line should be somewhere in-between: 1- changing the package size from 12 to 8 2- changing a german car oil listing, to a horse accessory and then a toy drone

Maybe there is and that is why the listing took the path it did. "Horses and cars are both modes of transportation, so I guess this change is ok." then "Horses and drones are both hobby activities in this day and age, so I guess this change is ok." I lean towards change in package size ok, but just about anything else is not. Otherwise you can anneal the product page to fit your needs.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#152
post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've come full circle and only order books (usually used) or things I don't care if they're Chinese bargain-version off Amazon anymore. Target, or occasionally Walmart, gets what used to be Amazon's business from me.

Even books aren't safe. Support your local booksellers! https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/02/amazo...

Even for non-counterfeit books, I’ve often got shit quality print-on-demand versions with plates that look like an inkjet printer running low on ink and with the letters having fuzzy boundaries.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#153

There's a somewhat pervasive idea that advertising and brand recognition are coercive tools that will ultimately die out, replaced by better objective information about products. I'm kind of partial to this idea myself. But increasingly we seem a long way from achieving this. Amazon reviews have become such garbage, I've fallen back to pretty much relying on name brands as my placeholder for product quality. There's…

I know my comment will be lost in a sea of voices, but I need to share my experience _somewhere_ else other than amazon reviews. I got my fiancé two Christmas presents this year - both bought off Amazon. One was an electronic keyboard that was dead on arrival, the other was a snuggie type blanket that started falling apart yesterday. Both items had thousands of 5 star reviews. I usually go somewhere (anywhere) else b…

Fakespot can help reveal which products have misleading reviews

https://www.fakespot.com/

Obviously it isn't perfect but it does help.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#154
post #137
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amusingly enough if you trace the history of brand names ... this is why they started! And this is the strength that the major retailers have against Amazon - if Amazon won't police (and they have problems with commingling counterfeit brands, too) then Walmart and Target will jump ahead.

> Walmart and Target will jump ahead. Actually, I think it's D2C that will jump ahead. The problem with Walmart and Target is they either (a) have limited brand selection (target) or (b) they dilute themselves so much to compete with Amazon that they eventually become Amazon (Walmart).

Limited brand selection is actually a benefit. I don't want to spend an hour flipping through shitty USB-C cables to find the one that won't nuke my device. I want to pay the buyer at the retailer a few cents to do that for me.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#155
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ultimately the only way to guarantee quality would be to vote for politicians who support strong regulations and a strong regulatory apparatus. Speaking as a socialist-leaning libertarian, I'mma have to take a hard disagree on this. Let the companies have a mix of terrible quality and great quality as they wish, and let the market itself decide which products and companies succeed or fail Let a private company, say…

There is a reason you aren't afraid of getting poisoned when you eat at restaurants, and it isn't because every restaurant owner cares about poisoning you but because the government have made the common practices which led to food poisoning illegal.

Here is an upvote for engaging.

Kind of a non-sequitur, no? I was talking about toy drones.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#156

Here's one solution: don't buy cheap garbage. Yes, someone makes a $23 drone. It is cheap plastic shit from China. Do you really need to buy it, and then throw it in landfill a week (or two days) later after it breaks? Did OP reeeeeally expect a $23 drone to be on the up-and-up and NOT end up as landfill? OP is a bit oblivious to his impact on the environment. This race to the bottom for the cheapest crap is what ins…

I've heard this phrased as "buy once, cry once".

A few years ago my New Year's resolution was to stop buying cheap crap, and to consciously save up for nice things. This had a few unexpected consequences:

1. I accumulate less junk and produce less waste.

2. I buy less stuff and end up spending less money in the long run, since there's only so much you can save up for at once.

3. My purchases bring me much more pleasure; the anticipation and research heightens the joy of actually getting the thing.

Number 3 was the most surprising to me, most likely because I have a rather strong anti-materialism streak. I'm not the kind of person who "goes shopping", but even I must admit that deliberately saving up for something makes its purchase a bit more meaningful, and loads more satisfying.

Oh, and I basically don't experience buyer's remorse anymore, which is nice.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#157
post #137
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amusingly enough if you trace the history of brand names ... this is why they started! And this is the strength that the major retailers have against Amazon - if Amazon won't police (and they have problems with commingling counterfeit brands, too) then Walmart and Target will jump ahead.

> Walmart and Target will jump ahead. Actually, I think it's D2C that will jump ahead. The problem with Walmart and Target is they either (a) have limited brand selection (target) or (b) they dilute themselves so much to compete with Amazon that they eventually become Amazon (Walmart).

I dunno. I don't think anyone actually wants D2C, for rare-purchase (ie the mass majority of goods).

It's one thing if the brand has an ongoing relationship with its customers, but nobody wants the burden of dealing with 1,000 slightly different processes for ordering toilet paper.

That's the inherent value of Paypal et al. -- abstracting diversity on one side into a standard interface on the customer side.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#158
post #143
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ultimately the only way to guarantee quality would be to vote for politicians who support strong regulations and a strong regulatory apparatus. Speaking as a socialist-leaning libertarian, I'mma have to take a hard disagree on this. Let the companies have a mix of terrible quality and great quality as they wish, and let the market itself decide which products and companies succeed or fail Let a private company, say…

yeah it'd make sense if you disregard externalities. i sure don't want the usb charger market to sort itself out by the metric of which products burn my house down faster.

The discussion was toy drones, not USBs.

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#159

Here's one solution: don't buy cheap garbage. Yes, someone makes a $23 drone. It is cheap plastic shit from China. Do you really need to buy it, and then throw it in landfill a week (or two days) later after it breaks? Did OP reeeeeally expect a $23 drone to be on the up-and-up and NOT end up as landfill? OP is a bit oblivious to his impact on the environment. This race to the bottom for the cheapest crap is what ins…

... Except that Amazon also has a problem with counterfeiting, especially for known brands.

Absolutely agreed. It's a different topic though. Amazon even steals top sellers, copies them, and pushes out the originator! (I think there was a radiolab about a guy who invented a bunch of grill tools that Amazon duplicated, and bottom-listed him).

There are lots of problems with Amazon, but in hindsight, perhaps my original comment was a bit offtopic...

Re: Amazon still hasn’t fixed its problem with bait-and-switch reviews

#160
9th best selling flash disk is totally fake: USB Flash Drive 1TB - Thumb Drive, High Speed USB Drive, Portable Ultra Large Storage USB Memory Stick, Jump Drive Pen Drive Come with Keychain https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N16XZNR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_...

Reviews are for Soda and the storage capacity is much less than 1TB so you will lose data if you film it.

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