[slackingoff2017]

The problem is massive. Most people haven't noticed yet but it's only a matter of time. Eventually everyone gets burned at least once and Amazon becomes the new ebay.

They need to get a handle on their supply chain and stop outsourcing so much of their product listings to shady third party sellers. Shady third party sellers go hand-in-hand with fake reviews. Most reputable brands don't want to get their hands dirty with that stuff. It's guys making margin on reselling that have all the skin in the game and most of the incentive to manipulate the system.

I've never gotten a fake from any brick and mortar or online merchant that sells direct. Only places I've gotten fakes and been duped by rampant fake reviews are eBay and Amazon. Once a competitor gets their shit together (I'm betting on Walmart) and has an equally convenient online store, Amazon will be the Myspace of online sales.

People have loyatly to brands but not the company that sells them. If something better comes along I'll switch immediately just like I did years ago with ebay

[emh68]

I've actually recently gotten a fake from Macys.com, so it seems to me that sites like Amazon and eBay are saturated with fakes, and the scammers are infiltrating supply chains in general. (They refused to accept the return, however, so I don't think the problem is that widespread, or maybe they're just not aware of the issue yet.)

This might be brick & mortar's last laugh. How do you protect against fake merchandise? Don't worry about it, customers simply won't buy the obviously incorrect items, and you can identify and deal with them when you take inventory.

[astura]

What was the product, if you don't mind sharing.

[emh68]

Clothing item. I received a really cheap item by the same manufacturer, with a tag jammed into it identifying it as the higher-priced item.

[yborg]

Amazon is very aware of this, that is why they are pushing Prime like mad, selling items under their own brand, and now even buying Whole Foods to give them a physical presence (which is hilarious - for years the mantra has been brick and mortar is dead, Amazon will eat the world ... then Amazon buys a brick and mortar chain and it's genius). I could see them spinning off their whole online marketplace as a separate entity.