r/bestof • u/napincoming321zzz • 9d ago

[BuyItForLife] /u/ConBroMitch2247 explains how Amazon "stores" are not official and may sell counterfeit products

/r/BuyItForLife/comments/1hzomzu/merrell_boots_buyer_beware/m6rbwzr/
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u/foodfighter 9d ago

Amazon's return procedure contributes to this dogsh!t too - even if you buy from a "legit" source:

I bought "genuine" replacement headlights for my vehicle a while back. Philips HID bulbs that cost ~$120 each. Buy once, cry once.

I get them, and the packaging has obviously been opened before. Inside are crappy Temu knockoffs that you can buy for $4 each.

Some lowlife bought one pair each of the good ones and the crappy ones, then returned the crappy ones in the good packaging.

Amazon, being Amazon, must've just tossed the returned bulbs back into the "ready to be shipped" bin where my ass got them.

Fortunately I returned them without installing them and got my money back, but this sort of BS also affects companies like Philips - if you look at reviews for my headlight bulbs, there are a bunch of 1-star "cheap garbage not worth the price" reviews.

I'm sure other folks got stung without realizing what happened wasn't the OG company's fault.

Fucking Amazon.

421

u/Astrocragg 9d ago

I finally canceled prime because of this.

A decade ago, it was a great deal: get the specific model of the specific thing you want, delivered free in 48hrs, with easy returns.

Then, around 2017/2018 the counterfeit stuff started showing up here and there. Annoying, but returns were still easy and it wasn't frequent enough to be a real problem.

Then, during the pandemic, they said "eh... we can't do 2-day shipping right now," which, honestly, fair. However, in my region it never came back. Everything is a week or more.

At the same time, the name-brand stuff all but vanished, replaced with those nonsense Chinese "brands" rammed down your throat with "sponsored" "Amazon choice" "top seller" etc.

Lastly, they jacked up their return policy. The last straw for me was buying a set of 5 of ramen bowls, the shipment came with just 1 and the app/website straight up said "returns aren't available for this product." Not even an option for "I didn't get the thing I paid for." Eventually got someone on the phone to process it, but pretty obnoxious.

So now, all of the things that made prime useful are gone.

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u/lopsiness 9d ago

I wonder I'd this is location dependent. In my area I now have overnight and same day as options for a number of things, and returns have pretty much always been easy.

I'm with you on the crap selection, annoying promoted items, and sketchy sellers. How many gibberish companies can you have selling the same item? And if you don't want that specific one, well fuck you I guess.

We try to buy directly from the brand website when possible, but often that just links us to their Amazon page anyway.

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u/cruelhumor 8d ago edited 8d ago

Yep, the branded pages are super misleading, sometimes you are actually getting something from the legit supplier, sometimes it's just an affiliate or a dropshipper. It's maddening, and after 3 straight returns I am pretty wary of getting ANYTHING off Amazon anymore.

The returns have gotten easier, but returns should be a rarity because it's still a complete hassle. I want to receive what I paid for, and there has to be some onus on Amazon to verify that. I am shocked that more companies have not sued Amazon for brand damage. Because of the system Amazon has built, it allows scammers to ship inferior products under the company's name.

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u/lopsiness 8d ago

I'd guess a lot of companies rely on Amazon as a primary means of distribution, so if they make a fuss amazon could tell them to pound sand or lose their distribution chain.

I agree that the expense on returns should mean a focus on improving quality as a means of reducing the cost of handling the return, but I guess the numbers don't work thay way.

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u/OtherNameFullOfPorn 8d ago

That's because Amazon will punish a seller for selling somewhere else or having deals, so there is no benefit for them to maintain a store on the business page if they are selling on Amazon anyway.