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Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

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Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#31

Post by user5994461 »

vec wrote: post #26
ballenf wrote: post #3

When product liability lawsuits start flying, every point the product touches along its route to the consumer gets named. The ones with deep pockets especially. As big as amazon is, this could have been noticeable exposure, especially if they are partially self-insured and/or have other risk-sharing provisions in place. Think: class-action lawsuit on an order of magnitude approaching asbestos. I'm exaggerating a bit,…

I'm not a lawyer, but intuitively it seems like the more control they exercise over their products the weaker the claim that they're just a middleman becomes. Wouldn't a record of being directly involved in quality control significantly damage their case in the event that a lawsuit does occur?

A business is required to do due diligence for the business it does. Doesn't matter if it's a marketplace, a seller, a reseller, or whatever.

Avoiding quality control on purpose is no excuse. That's a proof that you are not following the law and that can be considered as aggravating circumstances if you avoid it on purpose. That's the sort of thing that a judge may consider as a reason to send you to jail for longer.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#32

Post by burkaman »

hyperpape wrote: post #29
burkaman wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put them on and look at a bright light. You shouldn't be able to see anything. It's not foolproof, but cheap fake glasses are usually so bad that you can see household lights through them. You can also see if the brand you have is on this list, although someone could have faked a reputable brand name: https://eclipse.aas.org/resources/solar-filters

I believe that the method of looking at a bright light is not fully reliable: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15006250 . I would love to be told I am wrong, since I have four pairs that pass this test without a problem, and I wish I could trust them.

It definitely isn't, it's just a good quick check. I don't think there's any easy way of testing UV protection at home.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#33

Post by toxican »

Stratoscope wrote: post #23
fny wrote: post #18

Does anyone know of the pros and cons of using these glasses vs using a pinhole camera?

Experienced eclipse watcher here. For the partial eclipse, I recommend a pinhole projector instead of eclipse glasses, especially for children but for adults too. It is 100% safe, because you never look directly at the sun. For the total eclipse during totality , the only way to view it is with no eye protection at all. You won't see a thing with eclipse glasses or a pinhole projector. And binoculars are highly recom…

I was under the impression that the diamond ring is what makes it so dangerous to look at an eclipse with naked eyes. Because your eyes adjust to the darkness and in an instant it's flooded with a fuckton of sunlight.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#34

Post by toxican »

So I bought a pack of glasses off of Amazon a few weeks ago. I made sure they were listed as adhering to the ISO standard before buying, confirmed the ISO logo and # on the glasses themselves once they arrived, and then proceeded to try them out and observe the sun a bit. That evening I then saw an article along these lines about fake glasses flooding Amazon. Curious, I checked my purchase history and the listing had been removed entirely.

so now I'm super worried that I A) Stared into the sun for like 10-15 minutes with sketchy glasses and B) will not be able to use these on Monday. Probably gonna run to Lowes and buy a pair or two there, since I can be reasonably sure they're safe.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#35

Post by icebraining »

QuotedForTruth wrote: post #28
ballenf wrote: post #3

When product liability lawsuits start flying, every point the product touches along its route to the consumer gets named. The ones with deep pockets especially. As big as amazon is, this could have been noticeable exposure, especially if they are partially self-insured and/or have other risk-sharing provisions in place. Think: class-action lawsuit on an order of magnitude approaching asbestos. I'm exaggerating a bit,…

It doesn't seem to me that a single email should be sufficient to remove their liability for selling these things. They have sold thousands of glasses with the description of being ISO certified and safe to use. They've been selling them for months. Then a week before the event they sent out an email telling you it wasn't safe to use them. What percent of their customers will never see that email and potentially ruin…

Well, there are also the multiple news stories in a bunch of different newspapers and (I assume) TV channels.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#36

Post by yahna »

> "After the eclipse these glasses are worthless," says Wright, who invested about $4,000 in cardboard eyewear that resembles 3-D movie glasses. "I’ll just throw them in the trash."

Yeah, and you knew that when you bought them.

This guy got screwed, but this was a risk he should have realized (not being able to clear inventory)

If he flew out here did he bring any with him? I'll give 10 dollars a pair today.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#37

Post by yahna »

j-c-hewitt wrote: post #30

I work with Amazon sellers (including on getting suspended sellers reinstated). I am not sure that his story is the actual story. If the glasses were counterfeit, obviously his suspension was justified and he might have committed a felony. If they were authentic but just unsafe, he was foolish to have listed them when buying in such quantity and it's not surprising that Amazon would suspend him for trying to sell the…

> he was foolish to have listed them when buying in such quantity and it's not surprising that Amazon would suspend him for trying to sell them.

The fuck are you talking about? They operate a business which specifically allows people to sell stuff. Why would he expect to have his account suspended.

Have you been paying attention to these problems? They fucked up by binning counterfeits with real glasses, and now people like this guy got caught up.

It's pretty indefensible when you consider how long they have had a counterfeiting problem they haven't dealt with.

This should end up with them getting sued, honestly. It's ridiculous.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#38

Post by paxy »

toxican wrote: post #34

So I bought a pack of glasses off of Amazon a few weeks ago. I made sure they were listed as adhering to the ISO standard before buying, confirmed the ISO logo and # on the glasses themselves once they arrived, and then proceeded to try them out and observe the sun a bit. That evening I then saw an article along these lines about fake glasses flooding Amazon. Curious, I checked my purchase history and the listing had…

There is no way I'm ever staring directly at the (full, non-eclipsed) sun for 15 minutes, no matter how good the glasses claim to be.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#39

Post by yahna »

toxican wrote: post #34

So I bought a pack of glasses off of Amazon a few weeks ago. I made sure they were listed as adhering to the ISO standard before buying, confirmed the ISO logo and # on the glasses themselves once they arrived, and then proceeded to try them out and observe the sun a bit. That evening I then saw an article along these lines about fake glasses flooding Amazon. Curious, I checked my purchase history and the listing had…

> Probably gonna run to Lowes

If you can find them still.

Re: Amazon's War on Fake Eclipse Glasses Trips Up Newbie Merchant

#40

Post by obsurveyor »

tantalor wrote: post #25
obsurveyor wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming you got paper glasses, on the inside of the arms of the glasses should be information about the ISO certifications and who manufactured it. Compare this against NASA's approved manufacturer list. If there's no info or they're not on the list, don't risk using them. It's weird but I've got a co-worker who bought some cheap Chinese ones and actually block more light from a phone's flash LED than my legit, appr…

Wouldn't a faker just steal the name of a manufacturer on the list?

As far as I understood, the "fake" part of these fake eclipse glasses is calling them eclipse glasses with the implication that they are safe when they are not or not made to the proper standards, not that they were forging real manufacturer information.
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