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Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

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Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#161
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What bothers me most is the fake was incredibly lazy. It came in a plain white box with the brand I ordered stamped on one corner. The product inside looked completely different and was from a "brand" that I can't find sold on any legitimate site. I suspect it didn't even include a functioning battery, I couldn't get it to hold a charge for more than a few seconds. If Amazon got "duped" by this they could have gotten…

Please tell us the product name so we are aware.

The product name won't help. This could happen with almost any item Amazon sells because of how they commingle inventory.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This strikes me as very idealistic. They are selling more than double the amount of stuff they were 5 years ago, and are over half of US ecommerece. You might care about getting a fake charger, but 90% of people don't give a crap if it's 30% cheaper than the real thing and magically appears at their house the next day. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/revenu... I think AWS and retail/AFT are basi…

> but 90% of people don't give a crap if it's 30% cheaper than the real thing and magically appears at their house the next day ...until it burns their house down.

Yes, but at that point it is too late, right? I'm not defending the business practice--I just don't think many consumers consider that kind of exceptional possibility when they make purchases.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This strikes me as very idealistic. They are selling more than double the amount of stuff they were 5 years ago, and are over half of US ecommerece. You might care about getting a fake charger, but 90% of people don't give a crap if it's 30% cheaper than the real thing and magically appears at their house the next day. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/revenu... I think AWS and retail/AFT are basi…

People do care about fake chargers when they make their phone explode or their house burn down.

Genuine Samsung premium phones can do that too.

Just saying...

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This strikes me as very idealistic. They are selling more than double the amount of stuff they were 5 years ago, and are over half of US ecommerece. You might care about getting a fake charger, but 90% of people don't give a crap if it's 30% cheaper than the real thing and magically appears at their house the next day. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/revenu... I think AWS and retail/AFT are basi…

People do care about fake chargers when they make their phone explode or their house burn down.

and fake batteries! - for laptops, cameras and cell phones - I have seen some really bad stuff come from the smiling boxes - and read nightmares from others.

It's to the point that I do not buy any batteries from Amazon and tell others to be wary, fire to save a few bucks is not worth it.

Sometimes it's easy to spot knockoffs, other times the sellers have the name of the OEM as their store it seems - and it's crazy bad.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This also makes me laugh out loud. If Amazon gave two craps about some of this stuff it would be cut WAY back. For a few years at least every Apple branded product on amazon I bought was 100% fake - lazy fakes too. I ended up having to buy from Apple directly to get something legit. You are telling me brands haven't complained about this? I find that totally hard to believe. The crap amazon sells is going to bring th…

This strikes me as very idealistic. They are selling more than double the amount of stuff they were 5 years ago, and are over half of US ecommerece. You might care about getting a fake charger, but 90% of people don't give a crap if it's 30% cheaper than the real thing and magically appears at their house the next day. https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AMZN/amazon/revenu... I think AWS and retail/AFT are basi…

You’re not getting a fake for 30% off... because then it is not a fake.. that’s just some off brand crap

It’s a fake when you get a counterfeit item that is sold to you at full price under the listing for the real thing. I think most people that seek out a particular brand and then find out it is a fake are pretty pissed off.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#166
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People do care about fake chargers when they make their phone explode or their house burn down.

Genuine Samsung premium phones can do that too. Just saying...

Sometimes yes, but if it happens there will be a very public recall, and they will replace the device for free. A crappy charger someone bulk- ordered white-label is not going to have either of those things.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#167
post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine Samsung premium phones can do that too. Just saying...

Sometimes yes, but if it happens there will be a very public recall, and they will replace the device for free. A crappy charger someone bulk- ordered white-label is not going to have either of those things.

Replacing a phone isn't going to help someone who's house burned down

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#168
post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I can still filter by vendor, at least on the European websites. At least in the US, Amazon comingles new products unless the seller requests them not to. So if you buy something shipped and sold by Amazon.com, you may be getting the one vendor ABC had shipped to Amazon's warehouses. Agree with GP. If they cared, they wouldn't comingle. Comingling saves Amazon money, though, as they don't have to track whose goods…

It doesn't. Even when commingling, they individually track each good. The only advantage is that comingling is faster and cheaper deliveries, because they can just and you the item nearest to your house.

I've heard this claim before, and I've never been shown evidence of this. Certainly Amazon didn't disclose this to me when I used to sell stuff on FBA.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#169
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a product on Amazon this Christmas that was completely fake. It was "sold by Amazon" but didn't even have the same label as the brand I had ordered. I complained to Amazon and they just gave me a refund without requiring that I return the product (I ended up just throwing it out). I suspect that they knew the inventory was tainted but figured the cost of dealing with noisy customers like me is less than the…

It's a lot worse. I bought an RCA minifridge, "sold by amazon." 10 months later the compressor starts clicking. I check the "RCA" manual - it's clearly written by a non-native speaker in broken engrish. Nor does RCA make this model apparently. The listing now has the same fridge with a different logo on it. I complain to Amazon that it's counterfeit, and need a refund despite it being 10 months later. I ship it back,…

On that one I'd suspect RCA, actually. They've become a meaningless sticker on so much generic Chinese lowest-bidder trash that I would not be surprised if they'd lost track of several SKUs they supposedly sell.

Re: Counterfeits on Amazon cost Warren bird feeder business $1.5M

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution is to buy local. That gives the Home Depot guy an opportunity to tell you, “you know, the internals are all the same”, and the pharmacists lady can say “the generic Tylenol/Advil is called this”.

What town do you live in where big chain store employees are knowledgeable and have worked there for longer than a few months?

I live in Canada and all the old guys working at Home Depot seem like they know their crap, although their knowledge is often dated - I get the impression they're ex-contractors.
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