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Amazon without the knockoffs

knockoff.shopping

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Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#71

Post by esafak »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #12
Cyberdog wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going by the "How it works" section of the GitHub page (not the web site), it appears to be both whitelists and blacklists, plus heuristics for unknown brands to flag the keyboard-mash brands that are almost certainly junk.

I wonder why in the age of LLMs these brand names continue to exist. I just prompted deepseek in Chinese to give me some novel brand names in english for a lighted dog collar (something I recently searched for and saw the crazy brands), and it gave me a bunch of plausible sounding names. Granted, not particular inspired, but names that an English speaker would recognize as reasonable brand names

Don't give them ideas.

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#72

Post by mindslight »

Auracle wrote: post #44
mindslight wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you enjoy eating just rice wrapped in a tortilla or something? Burritos are a harsh illustration of the economy of scale. Doing a quick tally with sale prices, and I'd think buying all the ingredients to make one single burrito would be upwards of $20-25, at least. Never mind the time to cook each ingredient that needs to be cooked. And most of these supplies and prep are going to last what, ~4 days before they sp…

> And most of these supplies and prep are going to last what, ~4 days before they spoil? Rice lasts a very long time. Tortillas last a long time in the fridge (you can probably freeze them?). Freeze the meat. Beans last forever. Sour cream and cheese last a long time in the fridge and you'll certainly use them for other things. Guacamole/avocados/other veggies are potentially harder to deal with for long term storage…

You're expanding the scope to a much larger process and pattern of behavior that has to be undertaken and managed. Sure it's doable, and you can save a bunch of money that way. But as a one line throwaway comment it's still nonsense.

Also freezing things or letting them sit in the fridge for weeks tends to change the texture. A main point of a burrito shop is the fresh ingredients.

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#73

Post by lenkite »

These vibe-coded, LLM-generated websites look ALL the same, lol. They have the exact same tells nowadays. The output of LLM's in web-site generation used to vary quite a bit last year but now they all produce the same generic soup. Some sort of weird model collapse is happening.

After 30 years of the web, a "common" component model and "UI standard" is now inadvertently metastasizing into existence. Sadly, it is a crappy standard with many of the UI decisions (cards with icons on their own line) being utterly brain-dead.

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#74

Post by jerbear4328 »

IncreasePosts wrote: post #12
Cyberdog wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going by the "How it works" section of the GitHub page (not the web site), it appears to be both whitelists and blacklists, plus heuristics for unknown brands to flag the keyboard-mash brands that are almost certainly junk.

I wonder why in the age of LLMs these brand names continue to exist. I just prompted deepseek in Chinese to give me some novel brand names in english for a lighted dog collar (something I recently searched for and saw the crazy brands), and it gave me a bunch of plausible sounding names. Granted, not particular inspired, but names that an English speaker would recognize as reasonable brand names

They want to sign up for the Amazon Brand Registry[1], which requires a valid US trademark, and these crazy names are approved faster because they're obviously unique. See NYT[2]

[1]: https://sell.amazon.com/brand-registry

[2]: https://archive.is/IQs4i / https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/style/amazon-trademark-co...

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#76

Post by BeetleB »

I should check my purchase history, but I probably use Amazon more for buying stuff that they would classify as a "Knockoff", but isn't (i.e. there is no established brand they are knocking off). Because for legitimate brands, I try to simply buy elsewhere.

This is an example: https://www.amazon.com/MiiKARE-Universal-Rotating-Adjustable...

You'll find lots of different manufacturers selling this on Amazon, but there is no well known brand that makes these.

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#78

Post by jareklupinski »

BeetleB wrote: post #76

I should check my purchase history, but I probably use Amazon more for buying stuff that they would classify as a "Knockoff", but isn't (i.e. there is no established brand they are knocking off). Because for legitimate brands, I try to simply buy elsewhere. This is an example: https://www.amazon.com/MiiKARE-Universal-Rotating-Adjustable... You'll find lots of different manufacturers selling this on Amazon, but there…

> This is an example: https://www.amazon.com/MiiKARE-Universal-Rotating-Adjustable...

i wonder if it would be faster to 3d print that gadget than amazon prime it

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#79

Post by mrweasel »

mikert89 wrote: post #67

I stopped buying from amazon unless its a known brand, anything random I am just buying from costco instead. Had enough of the trash, or used product i keep getting from amazon

The fact that Amazon doesn't care enough to implement this filter themselves is a strong indicator to just not buy of the site.

Amazon doesn't give a shit if you're being hustled. If they have to issue a refund, that's the sellers problem, in all other cases they make money. There is so much junk of Amazon that's just not worth it. The only reason I ever shop at Amazon is if I truly cannot get the item elsewhere. They aren't cheaper, they're certainly not faster (in my area) and with every purchase you're at a much greater risk at getting scammed, compared to shopping at sites that don't do the marketplace crap.

In a sane world Amazons customers would be leaving in droves, and I cannot figure out why they don't.

Re: Amazon without the knockoffs

#80

Post by iLoveOncall »

It's funny but their homepage exemplifies why one may actually want the "knockoff" brands.

$39 instead of $224 for a pet bed. I know which one I'll buy.

There are plenty of categories of items where the cheap knockoff is perfectly adequate.

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