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Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

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Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#121

Post by tommek4077 »

noduerme wrote: post #56

I wish I could say I stopped buying things off Amazon for ethical reasons, but the truth is, I stopped buying because if you look closely at the reviews, you realize that almost everything for sale there is now a scam or a knock-off. This was a slow creep for awhile, but now the problem has grown exponentially. Amazon is what Canal Street was in the 90s - somewhere to buy fakes, stolen goods, and electronics that mig…

Also at least in germany, they teamed up with scam comparison sites (they present their "winners" on amazon.de and get a reduced affiliate fee). The kind of sites claiming to do tests and reviews but in the end just comparing the stats the chinese manufacturer puts into the description. Its really frustating to find anything of value, and the search engine gets dumber and dumber every week it seems as well.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#122

Post by jcun4128 »

odonnellryan wrote: post #2

If you leave a bad review on a high priced item often you will be contacted and offered a refund for removing the review.

Or they just remove it silently (no notification) and then you try to post and it says "not accepting reviews from this account".

In my case I was pissed off about these fake battery capacities and I posted evidence (current draws with images) and yeah...

Similarly I bought the same replacement battery for a Lenovo laptop and all 3 times (from different companies including Amazon) I got fake ones (fake capacity).

It is unfortunate how convenient Amazon is though. The lockers and 1 day shipping.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#123

Post by Slippery_John »

TuringTest wrote: post #108
jjav wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Last summer I bought a new Nikon DSLR from Amazon. Not the type of item where I thought they'd substitute scam items! But when the box arrived, it was an opened box with an old used and abused Nikon DSLR, parts even missing! Wow. At least the return was painless so I guess there's that. I try hard to avoid Amazon now. I prioritize a locally owned store if possible, second option is a reputable specialty web store tha…

> I prioritize a locally owned store if possible, second option is a reputable specialty web store that specializes in the kind of item I want. Serious question, how do you find reputable specialty web stores nowadays? (for items which are not your professional specialty, i.e. when you don't have direct knowledge of the market or trusted contacts that can recommend those for you). Trying to google for items of medium…

Honestly, reddit. I moved to Berlin last year and wanted to buy some coffee making equipment. This was still the height of the pandemic, before vaccines were readily available here. So I hit up the local subreddits. And now I have a small list of sites where I can buy both good equipment as well as some great coffee. Of course now I can also go in person if I want to.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#124

Post by neilalexander »

gscott wrote: post #116
leejo wrote: post #115

It feels like Amazon is at a place where eBay was about, what, a decade ago? At least from a shopper point of view. In other words it feels like you're overwhelmed by choice but much of that choice makes you feel uneasy. It seems to be full of dodgy sellers using questionable practices like those described in the post, the feedback (review) system is utterly broken, getting in touch with a real person is near impossi…

The products on eBay are the same as on Amazon now. All Chinese sellers or drop shippers.

Amazon is completely and utterly flooded with companies that sound like they fell right out of a random string generator. If you'd like a bedside alarm clock for example, you have to sift through pages and pages of nonsense "brands" like Tisaika, Keniy, Noklead, Yissvic, Anjank, Coulax, Famicozy, Noklead, Liorque, Jiemei, Paladone, Yzzseason, Tokincen, Hopsem, Mosuo and Moxtoy.

It is now incredibly difficult to find products by reputable brands that you stand a chance of recognising, and if you do, they are probably knock-offs too.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#125

Post by alicesreflexion »

estaseuropano wrote: post #83
managerclass wrote: post #37

It's been a while since I've used sort by average customer review. Only useful sorts are "featured" or possibly price if you put in some filter parameters on the side. Anything else is just asking for hot garbage. There are few things that I buy from amazon now that aren't shipped and sold by amazon. I just don't trust third party sellers unless it's a 'direct' seller aka the company making the product. Almost would…

Amazon does not separate the inventory so you will never know whether what you get is amazon or third party inventory.

This depends on the item. Items that just use a UPC do get comingled, products that use an Amazon-specific barcode like an X00 do not, and this is required for some types of products (eg food or anything with an expiration date)

As I understand it, anything used or returned will also get an LPN barcode, which tracks that specific unit.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#126

Post by xxs »

maeln wrote: post #103
noduerme wrote: post #56

I wish I could say I stopped buying things off Amazon for ethical reasons, but the truth is, I stopped buying because if you look closely at the reviews, you realize that almost everything for sale there is now a scam or a knock-off. This was a slow creep for awhile, but now the problem has grown exponentially. Amazon is what Canal Street was in the 90s - somewhere to buy fakes, stolen goods, and electronics that mig…

What start to really annoy me is how it as become almost impossible to buy quality product anymore. And the issue is not even limited to Amazon. Recently, at work, we had to make a bunch of RJ45 cables. So we bought some cable, terminals and a crimper and a tester. The crimper was so horrible, we add to cut and re-crimp new terminals 2-4 times before having a working cable. So we said fuck it, lets go buy another one…

>The crimper was so horrible...

Tools/electronics can easily be bought from reputable providers: eu.mouser.com, tme.eu, uk.farnell.com, digikey.com, etc.. You can get a decent ratchet rj-45 crimp tool at around 40€ - like "Knipex 975110".

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#127

Post by bryanrasmussen »

noduerme wrote: post #56

I wish I could say I stopped buying things off Amazon for ethical reasons, but the truth is, I stopped buying because if you look closely at the reviews, you realize that almost everything for sale there is now a scam or a knock-off. This was a slow creep for awhile, but now the problem has grown exponentially. Amazon is what Canal Street was in the 90s - somewhere to buy fakes, stolen goods, and electronics that mig…

>I wish I could say I stopped buying things off Amazon for ethical reasons, but the truth is, I stopped buying because if you look closely at the reviews, you realize that almost everything for sale there is now a scam or a knock-off.

that seems like an ethical reason to me.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#129

Post by stdbrouw »

maeln wrote: post #103
noduerme wrote: post #56

I wish I could say I stopped buying things off Amazon for ethical reasons, but the truth is, I stopped buying because if you look closely at the reviews, you realize that almost everything for sale there is now a scam or a knock-off. This was a slow creep for awhile, but now the problem has grown exponentially. Amazon is what Canal Street was in the 90s - somewhere to buy fakes, stolen goods, and electronics that mig…

What start to really annoy me is how it as become almost impossible to buy quality product anymore. And the issue is not even limited to Amazon. Recently, at work, we had to make a bunch of RJ45 cables. So we bought some cable, terminals and a crimper and a tester. The crimper was so horrible, we add to cut and re-crimp new terminals 2-4 times before having a working cable. So we said fuck it, lets go buy another one…

That's interesting, I've been renovating my home for the past two years and have had the exact opposite experience: I've been quite happy with my cheap pipe bender, cheap angle grinder, cheap hex crimper, cheap multipipe pliers as well as store brand consumables like hybrid glue, tape, drill bits and whatnot. For electrical work I do buy Knipex most of the time and for tools that get used heavily it's usually Bosch, plus I'm never going near cheap paint again, so I do see the advantage of trustworthy brands, but it's nice to know that for things that'll only see occasional use, you can get something okay-ish for a great price. Or for something completely different, I used to dabble in brewing, and all of the small commercial brewers I know are really happy with their bottom price Chinese fermentation tanks.

Re: Amazon still isn't doing enough to stop bait-and-switch reviews

#130

Post by derbOac »

noduerme wrote: post #87
Spivak wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What mom and pop shops are you going to? Seriously, if you peruse Aliexpress for a bit you will see that every “local” store has all the same junk. It’s not like John Mitchell from Wilmington Wisconsin is doing anything other than sourcing from the same wholesalers.

I mean, that's kind of what I'm saying. It's hard for local stores to find consumer goods that aren't junk quality. Portland, Oregon where I live does have one of the better local economies for well sourced / locally produced stuff, e.g. we still have glass manufacturers, make a lot of shoes, and anything made out of wood, pretty much all your furnishings and most of your food you can buy from local makers and grower…

Regarding your last remark, and circling back to the main article: now the review market and culture is broken as well. Even when legitimate companies come on line, it's difficult to know about them because they don't get reviewed, and if they do, you never know if there's some financial conflict of interest, or if the reviews are legitimate, or what. If they do get reviewed, there's no follow-through to see if quality has improved or declined, etc.

It's remarkable how, when information is so much more accessible, it's become useless by deception and fraud.

It's especially sad in that it affects companies trying to establish a foothold by providing good business.

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