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Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

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Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#181

Post by javajosh »

fassssst wrote: post #77
barbOzon wrote: post #33

The author writes: > how can you protect yourself as a consumer? Followed by a tedious list of hoops to jump through around verifying authenticity to a point where you might not get stung. At this point, is it not better to just give up on Amazon and use a retailer that takes its product sourcing more seriously? Continuing to use Amazon when you know how full to the brim of scams it is, just seems to me like rewardin…

My solution was to buy most stuff from Costco/Target/Best Buy instead. Their buyers do good enough vetting that it saves me a bunch of time.

Well, you could also use newegg, bhphoto, alibris, discogs and etsy (gifts) - which are all, like Amazon, purely online retailers. Each of the alternatives beats Amazon in its particular niche, and pretty much always has. But Amazon is convenient because it sells everything.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#182

Post by dreamcompiler »

lph wrote: post #10

Pro tip: If you absolutely must buy the junk being sold by MOFFBUZW and other randomly generated drop-shipper brands, the exact same product is usually available on AliExpress for 10% the price.

You've answered a question I've been asking myself for the past couple of years: Why is Amazon trying to become AliExpress? AliExpress already does a good job of being AliExpress.

The answer is that Amazon has quietly pivoted: Their new business model is

1. Buy stuff from AliExpress.

2. Mark it up 5x-10x.

3. Profit!

Amazon probably hopes their customers don't notice they can get the same stuff from AliExpress much cheaper. Which they won't because only about 1% of Amazon's customers have even heard of AliExpress.

Even with speedy free delivery, Amazon's profit margin by marking up AliExpress stuff is probably quite a bit higher than it was for the old Amazon.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#183

Post by fmajid »

MerelyMortal wrote: post #155
samstave wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was an amazing radio piece a while back about an outfit in NYC of a guy who had a very lucrative Aamazon copy-cat service: it was run by a family of Hassidic(sp?) Jews in (brooklyn?) -- and what they did was have a bunch of them scour Amazon for top rated items - then have their connections do quick knock-off and sell them. it was a fascinating story... Ill see if I can find it. They were on the early side of t…

I'm not sure what the family's religion has to do with anything, but I was curious about the spelling and put it in my search bar and it's spelled, 'Hasidic'.

Well, I distrust Amazon for anything electrical or buy my electronics and optics from the fine folks at B&H Photo, which is owned by a (Satmar) Hasidic family. Sure, that means I can’t shop on Saturdays and have a much deeper knowledge of the Jewish high holidays calendar than I’d normally care to develop, but I don’t worry about a counterfeit battery blowing up in my face or a SSD upgrade for my computer being a 16GB flash card fraudulently reprogrammed to advertise itself to my computer as a 1TB one.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#184

Post by 0xfeba »

samstave wrote: post #107
callahad wrote: post #20

The New York Times did some decent reporting into the pseudo-brands which comes closer to answering the question in the title: having a registered trademark unlocks a lot of on-platform seller tools (predictive analytics, early review program, etc.), and the easiest path to a trademark is to have an utterly unique, nonsense name. Some Chinese municipalities were also offering cash incentives for citizens who obtained…

There was an amazing radio piece a while back about an outfit in NYC of a guy who had a very lucrative Aamazon copy-cat service: it was run by a family of Hassidic(sp?) Jews in (brooklyn?) -- and what they did was have a bunch of them scour Amazon for top rated items - then have their connections do quick knock-off and sell them. it was a fascinating story... Ill see if I can find it. They were on the early side of t…

Amazon itself does that with "Amazon's Choice" brand or whatever. They use the stats of top selling items, clone it for cheap, and take all the sales.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/amazon-i...

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#185

Post by decafninja »

heliodor wrote: post #180
decafninja wrote: post #171

I’ll be the odd person out and say that whatever it’s faults as a company, my shopping experience on Amazon has been great. Not perfect, but nearly so. Certainly better than most other online retail channels, plus the convenience of Prime, and being a “one stop shop” certainly is super useful. I don’t know what everyone is shopping for, But I’ve bought tons of items across a wide variety of categories. I usually avoi…

That kind of unimportant stuff is usually found on ebay for much cheaper. Usually things that cost no more than $10 or $20 on Amazon sell for much less on eBay. The trinkets category. I make a point of not engaging with that category on Amazon. It's the least I can do to feed the monster less.

eBay is also significantly more difficult and annoying to use than Amazon Prime.

I don't disagree with the morality argument, but Amazon has made things so incredibly convenient for the consumer.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#186

Post by Sebb767 »

samstave wrote: post #175
MerelyMortal wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what the family's religion has to do with anything, but I was curious about the spelling and put it in my search bar and it's spelled, 'Hasidic'.

I KNEW people would ask this ; it was a major aspect of the story for some reason. They kept making reference to how these "ultra orthodox jews in brooklyn" were doing some revolutionary marketing/profiteering on the interenet/amazon specifically and how they were making a fortune doing so... It was _fundamental_ to whomever wrote the piece... So I mentioned it here. Sorry I failed your "anti-semetic triggers" - FFS.

Well, to be fair, if "these scammers are ultra orthodox Jews" was central to the piece "for some reason", the author might've been a tad on the antisemitic side. At least your (in this context overstated and seemingly unnecessary) mention of their religion makes it sound like it.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#187

Post by madaxe_again »

bmitc wrote: post #123
protastus wrote: post #105

I no longer have the patience to navigate Amazon's terrible search results and have lost trust in the quality of their inventory. Nowadays I only order from Amazon if the order is a time critical item that only they can deliver on time for a reasonable price. That's less than 5% of my purchases in dollar amount. I've been a customer since 1997. Amazon has impressed me with their ability to play the long game, and I d…

I too have stopped buying on Amazon. I did so a while back after being concerned about counterfeits, safety issues, etc. I had this talk with my wife not too long ago about a mirror she ordered from Amazon, clearly made in China by a no-brand manufacturer. We discussed about how, yes, it looks nice, but we have no idea what quality of glass they used. So if it falls and shatters, it could be very dangerous. It also c…

The example given of silicone spatulas could be particularly egregious - are they even RoHS or REACH compliant? They could be chock full of SVHCs that you serve to your family every supper.

I might send some of our Amazon stuff for testing for phthalates and find out.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#188

Post by spicymaki »

The scam is enormously profitable for Amazon and the Chinese black hats. You can tell it is really profitable because Amazon will compensate you for up to $1000 for damages caused by this junk. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-58163915

I believe that Amazon probably could not turn the screws on these companies even if it wanted to. It would be a massive loss to their revenue and share holders would revolt. It would bring prices up in aggregate if these companies could not sell junk on the platform.

The best they can do is play coy and hope the US government or EU does not crack down hard on them. Caveat Emptor my friends!

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#190

Post by fmajid »

shantara wrote: post #131
Nexxxeh wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It is fine for, like, getting an HDMI cable. Only true for what are, now, low-end HDMI cables. Really difficult to get a good one that's actually within spec for high-bandwidth applications.

I highly recommend Blue Jeans Cable - https://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/hdmi-cables/hdmi-cable.... Their cables were the only ones that consistently delivered full promised bandwidth and stable connection even at long cable lengths. Plus, their email support has been very helpful, and had the same “quality cables, no bullshit” attitude as the rest of the website. No affiliation, just a happy customer of 5+ years.

+1, BJC is the place to go for custom AV cables not tainted by audiophile snake oil.
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