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Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

kurtisknodel.com

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Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#42

While I agree this is a problem - one which I have been the victim of as well - Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges. This, of course, is not a great consolidation, especially for a novice who doesn't understand or encounters it too late. But I strongly disagree with "Amazon runs little to no risk selling the fraudulent products, but still makes money off of them." In the next paragraph the auth…

> Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges But remember that Amazon keeps what's basically a social credit score on you that drops every time you return something, and then they permanently ban you (including from non-retail things like AWS and Prime Video) if it ever gets too low.

>including from non-retail things like AWS

is there any example of this?

Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#43

While I agree this is a problem - one which I have been the victim of as well - Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges. This, of course, is not a great consolidation, especially for a novice who doesn't understand or encounters it too late. But I strongly disagree with "Amazon runs little to no risk selling the fraudulent products, but still makes money off of them." In the next paragraph the auth…

This is true for obvious scams (e.g. a blender that breaks in a week). However, for subtle scams people often don't realize the scam. For instance, many people won't hit the actual size limit of the USB and won't realize it's not 1TB. In these cases, Amazon does not take a reputation hit for these individuals due to them being unaware of the scam. Only the technically inclined or those who research before buying will realize the scam and think less of Amazon.

Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#45

While I agree this is a problem - one which I have been the victim of as well - Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges. This, of course, is not a great consolidation, especially for a novice who doesn't understand or encounters it too late. But I strongly disagree with "Amazon runs little to no risk selling the fraudulent products, but still makes money off of them." In the next paragraph the auth…

> Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges But remember that Amazon keeps what's basically a social credit score on you that drops every time you return something, and then they permanently ban you (including from non-retail things like AWS and Prime Video) if it ever gets too low.

[deleted]

Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#46

You know that price is too slow for 1TB drive and you are willing to take the chance and at the end you can still return it get the refund and give a bad review. I didn’t know how much better Amazon can do as a platform in this case.

But not selling fraudulent products. Are you saying nothing more can be done?

Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#47

While I agree this is a problem - one which I have been the victim of as well - Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges. This, of course, is not a great consolidation, especially for a novice who doesn't understand or encounters it too late. But I strongly disagree with "Amazon runs little to no risk selling the fraudulent products, but still makes money off of them." In the next paragraph the auth…

> Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges But remember that Amazon keeps what's basically a social credit score on you that drops every time you return something, and then they permanently ban you (including from non-retail things like AWS and Prime Video) if it ever gets too low.

For my DIY hobby I buy a ton of stuff off Amazon - usually small parts under $15 dollars. I just checked and this year I've made 602 total purchases and, after checking the return e-mails they send, I've made 287 returns this year. I just click "bought by mistake each time".

If there is a social credit score based on number of returned items I still haven't hit it.

Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#48
Like I describe in https://pilabor.com/blog/2022/01/the-ultimate-boot-stick/, I tend no longer buying USB drives but mini USB single card readers for micro SD. Although not as fast and a bit more expensive, they are reliable, bootable and pretty cheap to "upgrade", as soon as micro SD cards (e.g. Samsung Evo Select - made for amazon and highest probability of "no fake" cards) have sale prices.

I also use the software h2testw to check, if the drive / card is a fake or not as soon as I bought one.

Re: Top USB Drives on Amazon are a Scam

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Amazon accepts the return with no questions and/or charges But remember that Amazon keeps what's basically a social credit score on you that drops every time you return something, and then they permanently ban you (including from non-retail things like AWS and Prime Video) if it ever gets too low.

For my DIY hobby I buy a ton of stuff off Amazon - usually small parts under $15 dollars. I just checked and this year I've made 602 total purchases and, after checking the return e-mails they send, I've made 287 returns this year. I just click "bought by mistake each time". If there is a social credit score based on number of returned items I still haven't hit it.

The credit doesn't just go by the number of returns - it also considers the total value of the returns and the value of purchase to value of returns ratio.
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