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Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

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Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#301

Post by hakfoo »

sofixa wrote: post #22
srmarm wrote: post #9

I don't get they don't crack down on the product switcheroo scam [0] - it seems like a trivial problem to solve. I've reported items to them before and they don't care. [0] this product for example, loads of the reviews are for something totally different - https://www.amazon.co.uk/WERPOWER-Windscreen-Invisible-Winds...

How is it trivial to solve? They either need to prevent sellers from modifying product pages (which would be a disaster because any mistakes could no longer be fixed without losing all reviews) or gate it behind human intervention(slow) /algorithm (complex). There's nothing trivial about the issue.

I could see something like a prominent disclaimer:

This page was edited May 20, 2022 (1.2% of text changed) and September 16, 2021 (85.3% of text changed) with a link for "See archived versions".

If you could see "okay, they fixed a typo or material error in the listing", that's way different from "this laptop was a blender last year."

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#302

Post by rapjr9 »

Now on to the rest of the problems with Amazon's web site. Do a search on "canned shrimp" and then select "Sort by: Avg. Customer Review". I see seven pages of results, none of which include any canned shrimp even though it is obvious they sell canned shrimp from the page before you sort by customer reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=canned+shrimp&s=review-rank&crid=...

Also, since any search now includes randomly added items, when you sort by customer reviews all the higher rated things that do not match your search are listed first. The items you are actually interested in may not show up until several pages later. You also cannot sort by customer review AND number of reviews.

The Amazon search engine is seriously broken and seems to keep getting worse in my experience.

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#303

Post by actually_a_dog »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #300
actually_a_dog wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. You can’t “not my problem” your way out of being an accessory to fraud.

Why not? It seems like getting a full refund is a pretty big mitigation.

What other crimes do you think should allow the “not my problem” defense? A crime is still a crime even if full restitution is made.

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#304

Post by captainkrtek »

iLoveOncall wrote: post #184
captainkrtek wrote: post #56

I’ve given up on Amazon shopping years ago. I much prefer to buy things directly from specific retailers, eg: outdoor gear from an outdoor retailer, clothes directly from the brand, etc. This has resulted in never having to return anything, not rolling the dice on product legitimacy, and pretty great customer service who is knowledgable of the products.

I buy hundreds of items per year and almost never return anything. If I buy from xiangxiangshenzencorp then I expect the item to be crap, but it's obvious from the listing and the price. If I buy from a reputable brand I also know what to expect. I honestly don't get how people can get a quality different from what was clear from the listing (well, I've been positively surprised in the past).

Sure, the quality is obvious from one of the fake name generated chinese brands, my issue is more the pollution of the listings with those brands. Going to search for anything turns up hundreds of the top results with these “brands” all 5 stars.

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#305

Post by spydr »

srmarm wrote: post #9

I don't get they don't crack down on the product switcheroo scam [0] - it seems like a trivial problem to solve. I've reported items to them before and they don't care. [0] this product for example, loads of the reviews are for something totally different - https://www.amazon.co.uk/WERPOWER-Windscreen-Invisible-Winds...

I was surprised to see this product when I clicked the link. I recently bought one of these and ended up cracking my whole windshield trying to fix a small chip

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#306

Post by s1artibartfast »

actually_a_dog wrote: post #303
s1artibartfast wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not? It seems like getting a full refund is a pretty big mitigation.

What other crimes do you think should allow the “not my problem” defense? A crime is still a crime even if full restitution is made.

There's a pretty long list. If someone sells a fraudulent product by mail, I don't hold the mail carrier accountable. If I buy a product I don't like on Craigslist, I don't hold them accountable.

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#307

Post by coding123 »

m463 wrote: post #215
coding123 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The product switcheroo thing should be fixed with AI. Chatbot, is this product update similar to the previous product that was posted here?

it is way easier than that - just allow feedback about a product listing. "This does not seem to be the product described". or flag a listing for review when photos are changed.

Why is a single openai GPT call hard? Why make someone pay for and return a product to know if someone is scamming?

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#308

Post by AceyMan »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #248
Nifty3929 wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expensive ~= effortful, meaning that it would take a lot of human labor, which would otherwise be contributing differently in the economy, at Amazon or elsewhere. Every hour spent manually reviewing product pages could instead be spent growing food, producing shoes, building homes, providing accounting services, etc. This doesn't mean it is or needs to be determined centrally - just that it is an economic truth that…

Just think about all the meaningful local mom and pop jobs that gave back to the community that Amazon destroyed in the name of putting bezos in the top two richest men alive. Maybe the judge should consider that and just demolish them.

Sadly, "we" voted with our dollars. The invisible hand at work.

(Anymore, I don't by anything but detergent, screen protectors & phone cases from AMZN, ftr.)

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#309

Post by RadiozRadioz »

mabbo wrote: post #106

There is a famous story about Customer Obsession and returns that I used to tell during training sessions for new Amazon employees- Customer Obsession 101, which I was a teacher for. Jeff is in a call center for a day shadowing a customer support agent. A customer calls about a specific item and the CS agent is like "They're going to say it's broken in this particular manner" before the call even starts. Jeff later i…

Actually, the Andon system still exists. I've worked for an Amazon seller and I've seen plenty of Andon-related error messages.

Re: Amazon starts flagging frequently returned products that you maybe shouldn’t buy

#310

Post by account42 »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #300
actually_a_dog wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. You can’t “not my problem” your way out of being an accessory to fraud.

Why not? It seems like getting a full refund is a pretty big mitigation.

Do you think it's ok if I steal from you as long as I promise to return whatever you notice?
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