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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

#191

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.

Blue Jeans seems to have pretty reasonable prices, too, although I didn't look at shipping.

I've found Monoprice's higher-end HDMI cables to be reliable.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#192
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 ch…

It’s AliExpress with 2 day shipping for people with poor impulse control. The “free shipping” that costs 900%…

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#194
post #124

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 wonder if Amazon has reached a point where they have eliminated all competition at least at a scale to no longer worry about this especially since their only competitor Walmart has similar cheap stuff that will require a drive to the store. And targeting volume based sale where a lot of Americans especially in rural or suburban areas don't really care about the quality-read Walmart crowd. Also targeting other count…

> don't really care about the quality-read Walmart crowd.

I mean, in 2000, Walmart was where you got junk for cheap. In 2022, Walmart is where you know the supply chain is vetted. Everything on their shelves has been cost reduced to an inch of its life, but they also have a good handle on where it came from. It's a little bit easier to stay away from the marketplace garbage on walmart.com than on Amazon, IMHO, but I'd still rather shop somewhere without a marketplace. Unless I'm looking for stuff you can only find in a marketplace, and then you may as well go to ebay or aliexpress.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#196
The long twitter message list doesn't contain an actual answer to the question. Just a rant everyone likes to agree with and would like to see solved and that's why this is on the top 3 front page, no actual interesting content (stay for the discussion, though, but save some time reading the OP).

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#198

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…

Looking at the name of the company, reading recent reviews, and ensuring there is a non-obviously-fake address associated with the business doesn't sound like a tedious list of hoops to jump through to me. You should do all this stuff on any marketplace, Amazon or elsewhere. Honestly, if we're talking about convenience, Amazon is pretty much the best game in town. They have many documented failings and faults, but be…

if Amazon just wants to be the market, that's one thing. but they're also trying to position themselves as a brand name with notion of value attached (e.g. amazon basics).

I value my time and don't want a 'caveat emptor' market experience, so I've largely given up on Amazon as a reliable market browser.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think "onn" is just Walmart's "store brand" for generic electronics[1]. Kind of like "Insignia" and BestBuy. The design and manufacturing is all outsourced and these are usually quite crappy as one would expect. > Walmart is Onn’s parent company. Onn is Walmart’s generic brand electronics label, and Onn products, including Onn TVs, are only available in Walmart stores. [1] https://sycamorenet.com/blog/who-makes-onn…

Regardless, the last time I went into a Wal-Mart where my parents live, it wasn't just that they were prioritizing the onn brand stuff: it was literally all they had. Reliable third-party brands like Anker weren't even on the shelves anymore.

I have a hunch this might be Walmart's finely tuned supply chain figuring out that Onn is what sells best at that location so they overstock that particular store with them.

Last time I was in Walmart (2 days ago) I picked up a SanDisk SD card specifically because I've had good luck with them. All the other brands were there and Onn was just the stuff on the bottom shelves.

Re: Cheap junk flooding Amazon has brand names like MOFFBUZW

#200

Is it correct to say that when you get something "shipped and sold by Amazon.com", it really comes from them? It's the "fulfilled by Amazon" (the infamous FBA) that you need to watch out for. It's a bit screwy, but you can filter by seller by clicking into a specific product category, and then selecting Amazon.com in the bar on the left. Then all the items should be "shipped and sold by Amazon.com". But I've been sor…

OP here - no. "Shipped and sold by Amazon.com" items can be sent to Amazon's fulfillment centers by anyone with a Vendor Central account. There is still plenty of fraud going on there.

In general I would say it is safer than an FBA or FBM offer, but not totally safe.

Vendor accounts are highly sought after by black-hatters because:

1. It's much harder to track down shenanigans you run on them (since as you said the only public seller info is "Amazon") 2. They generally have higher authority for editing listings, so if you want to change a competitor's images it's more likely to stick from a vendor account

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