I really only buy stuff from Amazon that is unlikely to be counterfeit. I haven't even had great luck with that approach. Better to go through the manufacturer's site, or a more reputable site.
Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
51–60 of 133 posts
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd like avoiding the flea market, but all the reputable vendors either only sell via flee market or have egregious policies like "fax in your request in triplicate, wait three weeks, we'll ship something, you can't return it". The problem here is a near-monopoly enabling a flea market that skirts just this site of legality. Sure, it's a lookalike, not a counterfeit, but with misleading copy to make sure people fall…
It’s nowhere near a monopoly. You can go to hp.com or epson.com or staples.com if you want to avoid the flea market.
But I want flea market prices!
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#53Packaging meant to emulate a brand’s design without using its logo can be a violation of copyright laws. HP actually won a federal court case in March against a Chinese manufacturing company called Ejet, which HP accused of infringing upon its “trade dress,” the technical term for packaging design. The linked court case says nothing about copyright. And as far as I can tell, 'trade dress' protection isn't rooted in c…
You're thinking trademark for the USA, which is a MUCH stronger protection and rules, and quicker to prosecute too.
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#54Is amazon's model even profitable for these low-price high-volume parts without its binning system? I literally do not buy things off amazon that fall into these "binning problem" categories, or anything easily counterfeitable. I'll buy from amazon for things that essentially cannot be counterfeit (GPUs, hard drives, things where counterfeits would be more likely to be a brick of the same weight rather than something…
> GPUs I wouldn’t be so sure, a good friend of mine ordered a GPU and it was an older and much cheaper model with the shroud replaced and flashed to call itself the newer model in windows. He would not have found out except he immediately ran a benchmark that returned an extremely low score and then investigated from there.
>GPUs
Additionally, there is fear that you receive the "actual item," but it has been used detrimentally (usually: operated 24/7 too hot) for cryptomining or genAI.
This actually happened to me once (VEGA64) and I was surprised when Amazon authorized a full refund after the GPU failed.
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#55[dead]
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#56I recently ordered a bag of candy from Amazon. It arrived inside a closed Amazon package, but was opened. I’m guessing the packing person was hungry that day.
(Amazon refused to accept a return as it was foodstuff and I didn’t have the energy to spend 45 minutes on the phone/chat arguing with them.)
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#57This why I buy Brother cartridges from Staples, and one of the reasons I cancelled Prime. Amazon can’t be trusted thanks its inability to manage 3rd party sellers and grey market inventory.
I guess they have a "counterfeit crimes unit" now, news to me but I abandonded Amazon over 5 years ago.
> “if we find them”—neatly describes the problem.
Doesn't pass the smell test. Amazon has more compute than almost anyone and could easily afford to run AI or heuristics to find and shut down these stores the moment they pop up.
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#58Louis Rossmann just released a video on this about Toshiba hard disks [1]. I canceled my Prime account in 2018, after my last online order for memory. Now, I only purchase in-person from large vendors with direct-from-manufacturer custody [this costs more, obviously]. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeUNC7z5MM0
I wouldn't even know where to buy RAM (good RAM, at online prices) in person...
Here is the link to Crucial, which is the customer selling division for Micron Memory.
https://www.crucial.com/products/memory
It works well. They are competitive in pricing, and have a good lookup system to make sure you get the correct type of RAM( and SDD). Free shipping USA and Canada. (Been using that for over a decide.)
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#59None of the examples given in this article are counterfeit. A counterfeit HP ink cartridge says it's HP, but it's not. None of these products claim to be HP. One bears no brand mark at all. One is "Ankink" brand. Same for Epson: we have "MYTONER" and "LEMERO". Amazon is a flea market trafficking in huge quantities of suspect goods. When I go on there I know to be on guard. But the article is wrong when it says that g…
I looked into the fake issues while looking for Mitutoyo tools for our friends kid that started first year engineering. This is difficult as the counterfeits look almost identical. 1. went to Mitutoyo website to get list of authorized sellers 2. surprised Amazon itself is on the list 3. Purchased a number of authentic Mitutoyo calipers and micrometers from Amazon itself 4. Ran down Clough42 list of 17 signs to double…
As clough say, if you can accept the counterfiet why not but the shars brand instead for less and no wondering
Re: Amazon Still Has a Counterfeit Problem
#60Louis Rossmann just released a video on this about Toshiba hard disks [1]. I canceled my Prime account in 2018, after my last online order for memory. Now, I only purchase in-person from large vendors with direct-from-manufacturer custody [this costs more, obviously]. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeUNC7z5MM0
The only downside about canceling Prime is that you can only do it once. I canceled prime because they started putting ads in their video service, despite the fact that I was paying for it. That was a fun one. Now it’s like, well, what else can I do? I guess I’m boycotting Amazon, but is it really boycotting when their store is “here’s a random electronic device, maybe it is what you ordered,” I mean, why would I pla…
The ads thing is unreal. "Customer obsession". I pay the extra 2.99 and still see pre-roll ads, but those apparently, according to customer service, don't count as ads. Oh, and part of the platform is under "freevee," which is an ad-based service, so "obviously" the fee for removing ads doesn't apply to that one. Prime started out great. I still like that I can pay money in exchange for watching something, but ham-fisting of ads fills me with contempt for the entire thing.