Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

inc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 364 posts

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#41

Post by bambax »

new299 wrote: post #30

Counterfeit products seem to becoming a near universal problem. It's not just amazon, but other marketplaces (eBay, taobao etc). Even seems like major electronic component suppliers fall foul of this sometimes (digikey). I can really only see three solutions: 1. We just buy everything direct from the supplier. Companies like amazon manage distribution. 2. We provide tools to allow the consumer to track the supply cha…

> 2. We provide tools to allow the consumer to track the supply chain process. Products shipped with unique QR code, printed at the of manufacture? Users able to verify that this product was actually manufactured by the stated supplier. Could be an interesting startup idea?

Yes, it does sound like a fantastic opportunity! How would it work though? Every single instance of product would have to have its own id that would "expire" as soon as it's verified by an end-user, to prevent counterfeiters from copying a number and running with it?

Even then, it would be possible to copy numbers from products not yet delivered, and use them on counterfeits. Or you have to have a destructive process to reveal the number (like a scratch-off).

There would still be many ways to cheat: opening the boxes and replacing the genuine product with a fake, or the used market, etc.

Still, an interesting problem!

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#42

Post by scurvy »

new299 wrote: post #30

Counterfeit products seem to becoming a near universal problem. It's not just amazon, but other marketplaces (eBay, taobao etc). Even seems like major electronic component suppliers fall foul of this sometimes (digikey). I can really only see three solutions: 1. We just buy everything direct from the supplier. Companies like amazon manage distribution. 2. We provide tools to allow the consumer to track the supply cha…

Even #1 isn't 100% safe. Ubiquiti had counterfeit product get mixed into their own fulfillment chain. Let me repeat that, they had counterfeit product make its way into their own fulfillment chain, which was then sold legitimately to customers.

Then again, this is the same company that fell prey to Nigerian spammers. Wouldn't go near any of their products as they definitely have some roomtemp IQ's in that joint.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#43

Post by jrs235 »

Lasher wrote: post #4

I purchased Quickbooks Pro 2017 (PC) on Amazon last week, said it was "sold by Intuit" so wasn't even supposed to be an FBA (fulfilled by Amazon). Figured if it costs no more I might as well get the physical disk. What showed up was a DVD case with a very clearly photocopied cover for a Mac version with a Verbatim CDR inside and a hacked version of the software. Amazon processed the refund just fine but didn't seem p…

Very pertinent: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13931474

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#44

Post by jrs235 »

Hnrobert42 wrote: post #18
Lasher wrote: post #4

I purchased Quickbooks Pro 2017 (PC) on Amazon last week, said it was "sold by Intuit" so wasn't even supposed to be an FBA (fulfilled by Amazon). Figured if it costs no more I might as well get the physical disk. What showed up was a DVD case with a very clearly photocopied cover for a Mac version with a Verbatim CDR inside and a hacked version of the software. Amazon processed the refund just fine but didn't seem p…

I was a bit confused by the article, but it sounded like unless the seller opts out and pays extra fees, it is always FBA.

Correct to not comingle your stuff with others costs extra.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13932231

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#46

Post by cookiecaper »

phil21 wrote: post #21
dmix wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't the review system help deal with this problem? I always check reviews of the product and vendor to make sure it's legit. Only a few could get burned before the vendor is flagged as a counterfeiter which would stop further purchases. That should reduce the amount of money you could make scamming people and make it a less viable criminal business. Amazon also seems diligent in refunding people as well. So the sol…

The problem is that it can say "Sold by Amazon" and still be co-mingled stock some third party seller tossed the same SKU on. So there is no way to even know who the actual seller is. Amazon could end this particular fraud literally overnight by no longer co-mingling, but I suspect that would be wildly expensive for them to do. Your method is fine for actual accounts selling scammy things - the problem is when those…

FBA sellers can opt-out of commingled stock. If you know an FBA seller sells authentic goods, you're better off buying from them than from Amazon.com or an unknown FBA seller. There is no way to know before buying whether an FBA seller uses commingled stock or not; it would just be a matter of recognizing the merchant from past authentic purchases or credible word of mouth.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#47

Post by Jb611 »

emu wrote: post #13

It's trivially easy to run into counterfeit products on Amazon. Here's an example I pulled up in 2 minutes of searching: https://www.amazon.com/Apple-A1385-Adapter-Charger-iPhone/dp... I see two sellers offering an iPhone charger, ostensibly genuine and new, as low as USD 3.19. Compare with the Apple listing for the same item for USD 19: http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD810LL/A/apple-5w-usb-pow... There is no way…

This is actually a different scam that's been going on recently. These "just launched" sellers show up for about 1/10th the actual price and when you buy from them they just won't ever send anything. Their strategy is to delay as long as possible and hope Amazon gives them their first payment before they finally get shut down.

I sell on Amazon via FBA and the counterfeiting and scamming is unbelievable. I'm glad to see these stories come out to raise some awareness because Amazon has done nothing to fix the problem.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#48

Post by ajmurmann »

Lasher wrote: post #15
dmix wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't the review system help deal with this problem? I always check reviews of the product and vendor to make sure it's legit. Only a few could get burned before the vendor is flagged as a counterfeiter which would stop further purchases. That should reduce the amount of money you could make scamming people and make it a less viable criminal business. Amazon also seems diligent in refunding people as well. So the sol…

You get to review the product but when the sourcing is all thrown together all you're really doing is dragging down the rating for the overall product (Quickbooks 2017 in this case) and not the source of the specific item you were shipped. My issue had nothing to do with the product itself although I suppose if enough 1 star reviews start to build up then Intuit and other larger publishers that might actually have so…

I find the lack of granularity that Amazon allows to define what you are reviewing in general a problem. Good luck trying to give the Kindle or paperback version of a book a bad rating while recommending the book as a piece of writing.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#49

Post by jrs235 »

phil21 wrote: post #21
dmix wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can't the review system help deal with this problem? I always check reviews of the product and vendor to make sure it's legit. Only a few could get burned before the vendor is flagged as a counterfeiter which would stop further purchases. That should reduce the amount of money you could make scamming people and make it a less viable criminal business. Amazon also seems diligent in refunding people as well. So the sol…

The problem is that it can say "Sold by Amazon" and still be co-mingled stock some third party seller tossed the same SKU on. So there is no way to even know who the actual seller is. Amazon could end this particular fraud literally overnight by no longer co-mingling, but I suspect that would be wildly expensive for them to do. Your method is fine for actual accounts selling scammy things - the problem is when those…

If they co-mingle they need to adjust there process and slap a custom tracking barcode or rfid sticker on the items when they arrive to track specifically what seller sent the item in. Then when they ship a co-mingled item, they need to scan the barcode or read the rfid chip to know who's item actually got sent. This won't address fraud by buyers claiming an illegit item though.

Re: Amazon's Tepid Response to Counterfeiters Frustrates Sellers

#50

Post by jdietrich »

new299 wrote: post #30

Counterfeit products seem to becoming a near universal problem. It's not just amazon, but other marketplaces (eBay, taobao etc). Even seems like major electronic component suppliers fall foul of this sometimes (digikey). I can really only see three solutions: 1. We just buy everything direct from the supplier. Companies like amazon manage distribution. 2. We provide tools to allow the consumer to track the supply cha…

A lot of Chinese manufacturers use authenticity codes hidden under a scratch-off panel. The authenticity code can be verified on the manufacturer's website; the website will confirm that the code is genuine and alert the user if it has been previously used. It's a cheap and reasonably effective method.

http://blog.vapeclub.co.uk/how-to-check-your-vape-device-is-... http://www.skyrc.com/antifake/indexen.php http://sjcamhd.com/safe/

Post reply on HN