A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing • Hacker News Board

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#21

Post by jamestnz » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:00 AM UTC

xvector wrote: post #2

These days I avoid Amazon where possible since so often it's just cheap Chinese knockoffs or obviously returned products sold as new. B&H has been a godsend for tech, especially since there's no tax with their card. Crutchfield/Headphones.com has been great for speaker and audio gear. West Elm has a consistently premium quality for kitchen, home, and furniture items (though furniture is a story of its own, with even…

I stumbled upon an unusual policy when trying to order from B&H the first time. They are not open for business on Shabbat (NYC local time), and this includes their online checkout!

I could fill up my cart, but had to come back later to do my purchase.

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#22

Post by DenverCode » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:00 AM UTC

xvector wrote: post #2

These days I avoid Amazon where possible since so often it's just cheap Chinese knockoffs or obviously returned products sold as new. B&H has been a godsend for tech, especially since there's no tax with their card. Crutchfield/Headphones.com has been great for speaker and audio gear. West Elm has a consistently premium quality for kitchen, home, and furniture items (though furniture is a story of its own, with even…

Regarding headphones.com, I just ordered a pair of HD6xx headphones off drop.com and it was an amazing experience as well.

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#23

Post by xvector » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:03 AM UTC

jamestnz wrote: post #21

xvector wrote: post #2

These days I avoid Amazon where possible since so often it's just cheap Chinese knockoffs or obviously returned products sold as new. B&H has been a godsend for tech, especially since there's no tax with their card. Crutchfield/Headphones.com has been great for speaker and audio gear. West Elm has a consistently premium quality for kitchen, home, and furniture items (though furniture is a story of its own, with even…

I stumbled upon an unusual policy when trying to order from B&H the first time. They are not open for business on Shabbat (NYC local time), and this includes their online checkout! I could fill up my cart, but had to come back later to do my purchase.

True. B&H is sort of unusual in this regards, but from what I hear their employees are treated well, and the lack of tax is well worth it!

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#24

Post by adrian_mrd » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:09 AM UTC

dflock wrote: post #6

That sucks. Nice write-up of how this scam works, I wasn't aware of the details previously. Also, if anyone is unaware, this is this Clifford Stoll: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clifford_Stoll - who wrote this brilliant (and true) book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo%27s_Egg_(book) - which is a really good read and perfect for HN.

Has anyone read his other book ‘Silicon Snake Oil’ [1] from 1995 lately?

Sounds like most of his predictions in it (eg e-commerce will fail, digital books will not be viable, etc) were wildly off the mark - but were any prescient?

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Snake_Oil

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#25

Post by enjeyw » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:09 AM UTC

Nicksil wrote: post #11

This seems completely insane to me. How is this possible? I like Cliff Stoll and have been looking forward to my first Klein bottle purchase for some years now, so I say this without any insinuation Cliff's not telling the whole story: There's got to be more to it than this, right? Can someone really go on Amazon, effectively take over someone's storefront, and completely ransack the place this easily? Because Cliff…

On the bright side, I think I’ve finally manage to internalise the meaning of “Kafkaesque”.

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#26

Post by jcims » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:10 AM UTC

ggm wrote: post #7

Now I'm wondering how blackhead removers work and if I want to even think about finding out.

There's a world waiting for you on YouTube.

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#27

Post by IncRnd » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:11 AM UTC

DaiPlusPlus wrote: post #20

IncRnd wrote: post #18

It seems like going on the Live Chat with Amazon would help Stoll speak with someone. I've used that several times and they always fixed the issue right away.

as a customer or as a seller?

As a seller you can go to the contact us page at sellercentral, select the option on the left, then click phone in the middle and get a call back from Amazon.

For live chat as a seller, follow these instructions from Amazon's Moderator: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/forums/t/wheres-live-chat-s...

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#28

Post by cfqycwz » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:11 AM UTC

xvector wrote: post #23

jamestnz wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I stumbled upon an unusual policy when trying to order from B&H the first time. They are not open for business on Shabbat (NYC local time), and this includes their online checkout! I could fill up my cart, but had to come back later to do my purchase.

True. B&H is sort of unusual in this regards, but from what I hear their employees are treated well, and the lack of tax is well worth it!

Fwiw there has been some history of B&H workers being treated fairly not-well. I encourage reading past the first few paragraphs of this article as it's not all "union stuff"--there are lawsuits, DOL complaints, and OSHA fines as well:

https://gothamist.com/news/bh-photo-workers-strike-on-may-da...

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#29

Post by xvector » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:11 AM UTC

cfqycwz wrote: post #28

xvector wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True. B&H is sort of unusual in this regards, but from what I hear their employees are treated well, and the lack of tax is well worth it!

Fwiw there has been some history of B&H workers being treated fairly not-well. I encourage reading past the first few paragraphs of this article as it's not all "union stuff"--there are lawsuits, DOL complaints, and OSHA fines as well: https://gothamist.com/news/bh-photo-workers-strike-on-may-da...

Interesting, thank you!

Re: A foreign seller has hijacked my Amazon Klein bottle listing

#30

Post by spyspy » Wed, Jun 30, 2021, 5:12 AM UTC

xvector wrote: post #2

These days I avoid Amazon where possible since so often it's just cheap Chinese knockoffs or obviously returned products sold as new. B&H has been a godsend for tech, especially since there's no tax with their card. Crutchfield/Headphones.com has been great for speaker and audio gear. West Elm has a consistently premium quality for kitchen, home, and furniture items (though furniture is a story of its own, with even…

If you’re shopping for furniture I’ve found Room & Board to be head and shoulders above the rest, in both quality and customer care. No questions asked free returns are a godsend.