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by frognumber 1351 days ago
I don't find returns to be helpful at all.

- If I buy medicine, and it's fake, that's a serious problem.

- If I buy a bottle of vanilla, and it's tainted, that's a serious problem.

- If I buy a piece of electronics, and it's a piece which was returned for working intermittently, that's a problem too.

- If I buy clothing from brands I trust, and I get a knock-off which falls apart in 6 months, that's a problem.

Unless Amazon can get supply chain issues under control, it's too risky to buy most of the stuff I used to buy there. I find eBay and Aliexpress to be more reliable, probably due to reviews sticking to sellers.

I think it's a matter of time before someone starts selling ransomware on Amazon. You plug in a device, and your computer is compromised. The device is a buck cheaper.

2 comments

Because of all these reasons I have stopped purchasing almost anything at all on amazon. Also, it's been like this for YEARS, they clearly don't have any interest at all in fixing it. They make more money the way it is. Nowadays, I try mostly just to buy direct from the company selling the product. Usually the cost is the same. It's slower, yes, and returns are more difficult, yes, but at least I know I'm getting the actual product and not a cheap ripoff that'll either fall apart or poison me.
And the great thing about an Amazon ransomware attack is that if your implant waits long enough to trigger, you can probably get the customer to return the device to Amazon where they'll dutifully stock it back in their warehouse ready for another victim. So efficient.
I doubt they bother to restock most items, unless maybe they’re sufficiently expensive. For example, see https://pirscapital.com/blog/amazon-liquidation-buying-retur...
1. Customer: buys USB drive, plugs in

2. USB: infect, report wrong size

3. Customer: returns USB drive

4: Amazon: restocks USB drive

Goto 1