Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish • Hacker News Board

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#11

Post by MichaelApproved » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:13 PM UTC

mdszy wrote: post #2

If you're buying from AliExpress/Wish (aka: direct from china) I don't think there's much room for being surprised when you get fakes. eBay in many cases too. Amazon especially needs to get its shit together, though. I unsubscribed from Prime and have all but stopped using Amazon because of how it's turned into basically "eBay with marginally faster shipping" at this point given all the absolute offbrand crap that's…

AliExpress=eBay=Amazon. They all sell the same stuff, it's only the shipping speed that's different.

They all hide behind the "Platform" laws and get to offload liability to some no-name fly by night company.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#12

Post by MichaelApproved » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:17 PM UTC

gsuppy wrote: post #7

Why is anyone shocked AliExpress products are fake? I only go there if I want a knock off version of something (shirts, AirPod cases, etc.). Ebay and Amazon are also not surprising either, but both retailers often have the "official merchants" of products that are being sold. As long as you buy through the official storefronts, then you're good to go.

We shouldn't have to be investigative reporters in order to buy products that won't harm us.

Even the merchant name is bullshit on Amazon.

Try finding Apple headphones and see how many are sold by merchants named "Apple".

Amazon has to know that product is not actually being sold by Apple, yet they allow the counterfeiting to continue.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#13

Post by quickthrowman » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:20 PM UTC

nkrisc wrote: post #4

mdszy wrote: post #2

If you're buying from AliExpress/Wish (aka: direct from china) I don't think there's much room for being surprised when you get fakes. eBay in many cases too. Amazon especially needs to get its shit together, though. I unsubscribed from Prime and have all but stopped using Amazon because of how it's turned into basically "eBay with marginally faster shipping" at this point given all the absolute offbrand crap that's…

I have as well, but Amazon isn't bad when what you need is cheap crap (a bag of 1000 cable ties, for example). Bonus: they keep offering me free trials of Prime so I just save up a cart of stuff and then buy it when they give me free shipping.

Would you order those cable ties if you were a low-voltage contractor suspending a bundle of ~100 cables for 200’ above an ACT grid ceiling? Cheap cable ties may work for bundling cables in your home rig or home stereo setup, but they may not be sufficient for a more robust load that a commercial application demands.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#14

Post by Spivak » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:24 PM UTC

MichaelApproved wrote: post #6

> What's more, the product was found to contain 751 times the amount of lead Health Canada considers acceptable in cosmetics. How long are we going to let companies hide behind their "platform" bullshit? They know this happens but, because they're not the actual seller, they get to offload the liabilities to some fly-by-night company that'll close down and reopen under a different name. Lead in products is dangerous…

This frustration seems like it's just being directed at the closest entity you can shake your fist at rather than the actual cause.

Suppose all those fly-by-night companies set up merchant accounts on Shopify or just bought cheap Wordpress template and hosted it themselves and did the exact same thing. The world of boutique men's watches is absolutely rampant with this. Would you be demanding that Shopify or Tim Berners Lee vet all the products before they're sold. Would you demand that Visa/Mastercard do it? What about UPS/FedEx?

If you want to require businesses to get licenses and submit themselves to regular safety audits then just say that. Don't try to offload the responsibility of law and public policy to random corporations.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#15

Post by werber » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:25 PM UTC

People actively seek out fakes, especially in the luxury space. For every person who would be glad that their faux product was intercepted, there's just as many who would be mad they didn't get their Gukki belt, or just not notice.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#16

Post by nkrisc » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:27 PM UTC

quickthrowman wrote: post #13

nkrisc wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have as well, but Amazon isn't bad when what you need is cheap crap (a bag of 1000 cable ties, for example). Bonus: they keep offering me free trials of Prime so I just save up a cart of stuff and then buy it when they give me free shipping.

Would you order those cable ties if you were a low-voltage contractor suspending a bundle of ~100 cables for 200’ above an ACT grid ceiling? Cheap cable ties may work for bundling cables in your home rig or home stereo setup, but they may not be sufficient for a more robust load that a commercial application demands.

No, I wouldn't. But I'm not a low voltage contractor. To hold two Cat5e cables running through my basement, though? Sure. Heck I'd use tape if it wasn't a pain to remove later.

If I was buying for a commercial project I would use a supplier I trusted.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#17

Post by jsjddbbwj » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:27 PM UTC

MichaelApproved wrote: post #6

> What's more, the product was found to contain 751 times the amount of lead Health Canada considers acceptable in cosmetics. How long are we going to let companies hide behind their "platform" bullshit? They know this happens but, because they're not the actual seller, they get to offload the liabilities to some fly-by-night company that'll close down and reopen under a different name. Lead in products is dangerous…

If you buy any health product, makeup, etc from AliExpress we should call this natural selection. Only half joking.

I don't want to see AliExpress closed down just because some girl decided it was a good idea to buy lipstick there at an unbelievably low price.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#18

Post by dd36 » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:28 PM UTC

Spivak wrote: post #14

MichaelApproved wrote: post #6

> What's more, the product was found to contain 751 times the amount of lead Health Canada considers acceptable in cosmetics. How long are we going to let companies hide behind their "platform" bullshit? They know this happens but, because they're not the actual seller, they get to offload the liabilities to some fly-by-night company that'll close down and reopen under a different name. Lead in products is dangerous…

This frustration seems like it's just being directed at the closest entity you can shake your fist at rather than the actual cause. Suppose all those fly-by-night companies set up merchant accounts on Shopify or just bought cheap Wordpress template and hosted it themselves and did the exact same thing. The world of boutique men's watches is absolutely rampant with this. Would you be demanding that Shopify or Tim Bern…

They should have to buy liability insurance and if the insurer won’t insure them, they can’t list.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#19

Post by Spivak » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:28 PM UTC

christopherwxyz wrote: post #8

And Shopify. It’s probably #2 behind Amazon, if I had to guess. Their one-stop deploy a drop ship website is far too convenient.

Every online marketplace/platform becomes an opportunity for price arbitrage via dropshipping.

I felt silly when I bought a few rolls of shelf-liners on Amazon and they shipped in a Walmart box because I didn't check.

Re: Fake Goods Sold by AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and Wish

#20

Post by freeone3000 » Fri, Feb 21, 2020, 2:28 PM UTC

Spivak wrote: post #14

MichaelApproved wrote: post #6

> What's more, the product was found to contain 751 times the amount of lead Health Canada considers acceptable in cosmetics. How long are we going to let companies hide behind their "platform" bullshit? They know this happens but, because they're not the actual seller, they get to offload the liabilities to some fly-by-night company that'll close down and reopen under a different name. Lead in products is dangerous…

This frustration seems like it's just being directed at the closest entity you can shake your fist at rather than the actual cause. Suppose all those fly-by-night companies set up merchant accounts on Shopify or just bought cheap Wordpress template and hosted it themselves and did the exact same thing. The world of boutique men's watches is absolutely rampant with this. Would you be demanding that Shopify or Tim Bern…

If you're buying off of a Shopify site, the only endorsement is from the seller. And you know who you're buying from. Amazon is allowing these companies to sell in Amazon's name. I'm not charged by YouCantBelieveItsNotNike, my CC bill says Amazon. I return these products to Amazon. Amazon is the seller.