[Animats]

A real reason to avoid Amazon is fake merchandise. I'd been buying a vitamin supplement from them for years. Then they sent me a notice that it was being recalled as a fake.[1] (Archive [2]) They paid a refund for the last purchase. But that's all. Amazon won't respond to questions about what was in it or who the real seller is.

I no longer buy anything from Amazon that could be faked.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx2Q5O0C84HF1GU/

[2] https://archive.is/rN8B9

[SoftTalker]

Good rule of thumb is that if it goes on or in your body do not buy it from Amazon.

[nextos]

I think it's even worse. They have a completely chaotic returns policy meaning they re-sell used things pretending they are new all the time. I stopped buying from Amazon UK after I received 6 opened and used items in just 20 orders. Some were even missing components. I even received used underwear (yuck!) from a brand that sells boxers inside sealed packages and doesn't allow returns. I heard some scammers were exploiting this returns policy by purchasing phones, installing malware, and sending them back to Amazon.

[QuantumGood]

I received only one part of a chair, repackaged in a box much to small to hold the entire chair (which I received when seeking replacement)

[sharkweek]

I’m about to start grad school to get my clinical mental health counseling licensure, and Amazon has multiple fake/counterfeit DSM-5s (basically the holy grail of recognized mental disorders and their insurance billing codes) on it, so much in fact that my program director mentioned the Amazon problem in the orientation.

So I’ll add “if you need to guarantee the accuracy of the information in whatever you’re buying… avoid Amazon as well”

[GuB-42]

What is a "fake DSM-5"? It is a book, anyone can copy it, legally or not.

Why would someone go out of their way to produce different content if they are going to violate intellectual property anyways, be it trademarks or copyright?

[sharkweek]

Sorry, counterfeit is more accurate (edited original comment) - director mentioned a number of previous students who ordered their copy from Amazon and got DSM 4s or copies missing huge sections of diagnostic criteria, etc.

[recursive]

Or if it's electronic. Fire risk.

[blibble]

the fact legitimate electricians buy fuses/wiring/circuit breakers/crimps off amazon thinking they're as advertised is actually terrifying

all the buildings you enter: houses of friends/family, supermarkets, hospitals, transport, restaurants, offices, all with potentially fatal fake electrics

hopefully the fire door and extinguishers weren't bought from amazon

[SoftTalker]

I recall reading about some counterfeit circuit breakers that were basically just toggle switches. They had no "trip" mechanism at all.

The few tradespeople I know don't even shop at Lowes. They have accounts at supply houses that don't even offer public retail sales.

[quickthrowman]

It’s usually homeowners buying and installing crappy electrical products off Amazon, or ‘handyman’ types who don’t have a license. I sell and run commercial electrical work at a union shop and we buy electrical material from supply houses, not Amazon.

You certainly could buy material off Amazon but if you’re passing the cost onto the customer, why not just buy the real thing?

[_DeadFred_]

People buy fuses from Amazon for the cars/motorcycles not understanding it can kill them. They are actually evil at this point for doing nothing about any of these ongoing issues. They can't be unaware if us rando consumers are aware (or if they are doing recalls for fake products).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B90_SNNbcoU

[encomiast]

I wonder if this applies to Amazon Pharmacy — seems like maybe this might have a bit more governance.

[throwup238]

Amazon Pharmacy is its own regulated pharmacy with licenses in all of the states, not a marketplace/platform like Amazon.com.

It’s really a renamed PillPack [1] which they acquired in 2018 with (I assume) Amazon Pharmacy launching on top of their licenses in 2020

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PillPack

[mandeepj]

>Good rule of thumb is that if it goes on or in your body do not buy it from Amazon.

If I do that, I always make sure I'm buying from the seller and not a reseller or distributor; I meant to say no other party besides the Seller and Amazon.

[opo]

If it ships from Amazon, you can still run the risk that you get a counterfeit item since Amazon will co-mingle the inventory. Safer to only buy from the seller and is shipped by the seller.

[mandeepj]

Good point! But it's very rare to see Seller shipping the product, as Amazon likes to control the inventory itself. Also, I believe Amazon encourages sellers to ship the products to their warehouses for faster delivery to customers, and they'd cover all the costs within their 15% fees.

[parhamn]

Where's the best value & quality for that sort of stuff? It's insane what some sites charge for seemingly simple supplements.

[toomuchtodo]

I recommend now.

https://www.nowfoods.com/

(no affiliation)

[BobaFloutist]

If Costco has what you want, it's decent value and a pretty good source.

[7speter]

Vitacost.com has worked well for me.

[chillingeffect]

When I tried to buy quercetin from Vitacost recently, they dropped a second, unwanted item into my cart. I noped right out of there. Turns out they were acquired by notorious lawbreakers Kroger.

https://lawyerinc.com/biggest-kroger-lawsuits-in-company-his...

[bapak]

Needless to say, take this sort of advice with a grain of salt.

[davidw]

I know it's not a very popular cause these days, but "Democracy" seems like a real reason too.

[UberFly]

You mean the system of government in which political power is vested in the people who freely elect representatives? Not sure how it applies.

[lanfeust6]

Not sure either. Even Bezos' Washington Post has been pretty critical of the current administration.

[davkan]

Bezos personally blocked the WaPo editorial board from endorsing Kamala resulting in multiple resignations and a 10% loss in subscribers. A paper that adopted the tag line “Democracy Dies in Darkness” bending the knee to an authoritarian who committed election fraud would be hilarious if it weren’t so depressing.

But we shouldn’t be surprised that these liberal journalism outfits consistently fail the public. The same thing happened in Germany in the 20s and 30s with Ullstein. And in Italy with their liberal papers. And with the Times running cover for Hitler’s regime under Ochs.

[lanfeust6]

It's his paper. Not great, but by definition still not anti-democratic.

[davkan]

I would consider the capture of journalist outfits by billionaire capitalists who kowtow to authoritarians to be an erosion of our democracy. They call it the fourth estate for a reason.

[freeone3000]

I bought a book. A literal book. And it was wrong size, wrong paper, printed on a 5 degree skew including the cover. It should have been from Simon and Schulster, but despite Sold and Shipped, it just wasn’t.

It’s all fake. Every bit of it.

[mandeepj]

> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJUK8HS/ref=ask_ql_qh_d...

PreserVision -> I've never heard about that brand, so I would have never bought it. What was the reason behind your purchase decision?

[bilsbie]

I’m having trouble finding alternatives. Do I really have to go to four or five different websites to buy my supplements.

[goshacmd]

I've switched to iHerb for my supplements about a month ago after reading a handful of stories about non-genuine supplements being sold on Amazon. It's been a good experience so far, even next-day (sometimes 2-day) deliveries. And the search/discovery on their website is superior.

[wredcoll]

Um. Exactly how many supplements do you need?

[bilsbie]

I don’t mind sharing in the interest of discussion:

600mg tongkat Move free advanced 3 pills 1700mcg l-5 methyltetrahydrofolate Zinc picolinate 22mg Taurine 3g Copper 2 mg Selenium K2 mk7 45 mcg Creatine monohydrate Magnesium as needed Sunbathing for vitamin d

Going for general health/longevity, joint health, and fighting high homocysteine (mthfr homozygous)

[junon]

Why is that any of your business?

[margalabargala]

I think the earlier person made it everyone's business, when they posted on a discussion forum about it.

[grantith]

What makes anything another person's business? They asked a question out of curiosity and were replied to.

[immibis]

have you tried a physical pharmacy

[PenguinCoder]

My rule is anything that goes on or in my body, I don't buy form Amazon for that reason.

[sokoloff]

Is clothing really that big of a risk?

[margalabargala]

Depends how much confidence you have that it wasn't soaked in something nasty that doesn't easily wash out.

[dolebirchwood]

I ordered replacement earpads from Amazon for one of my headphones. Ended up developing a rash around my ears. So it's not just about clothing, and, yes, you should be concerned.

[ttoinou]

Dangerous material being in contact of your skin all day and night long does seem risky

[apt-apt-apt-apt]

How do you know what cannot be faked? Is shipped and sold by Amazon enough?

[GuB-42]

All products can be faked, but I thing that GP means "cannot be faked without being obvious". Obvious fakes are not as much of a problem since Amazon has a pretty good return policy.

In the "cannot be faked" category, you can have:

- products so cheap that making a fake wouldn't make sense. for example an unbranded glass jar won't be faked because anything that looks like a glass jar but isn't a glass jar will be more expensive than a glass jar.

- products too complex and/or too low margin to be worth faking. For example, you will probably never find a fake desktop printer, as even the most simple printers are hard to make and sold at a low margin, maybe even at a loss. However, consumables are (very) high margin and you will find fakes, lots of them.

- products that have effective anti-counterfeiting systems. For example, Nintendo Switch games.

[nurettin]

I understood fake as physically harmful.

[qgin]

It is, people are being ridiculous. The third party stuff is where the fraud is.

[onli]

No, that is not correct or at least it has not been. Amazon was said to intermingle the inventory in the warehouses, mixing third party products with those shipped and sold by Amazon. So that gave you zero protection.

I read that they made internal changes to tag shippings properly to reduce the risk of that behaviour, but am not sure it is true or has been effective.

[phil21]

Has this co-mingling of sold by Amazon ever actually been documented at any scale beyond “extremely rare stock/pick” mistake? I am of course aware of the option for manufacturers to enable this for their registered products on FBA - and it may not have been optional at one point in time.

When I researched this a while ago I was unable to come up with much compelling evidence that it was an actual thing. It certainly has not happened to me over thousands of purchases - or anyone I know for that matter. Of course a fake could have been so good none of us could tell, but I do actually attempt to inspect carefully.

I have found counterfeit items from other web stores not on Amazon so it’s not like my detection skills are zero. Third party marketplace of course is different.

Heck, even Costco sent me an unsolicited refund for a counterfeit item they unknowingly sold me - so supply chain issues are bound to happen.

I don’t want to defend Amazon too much here, but this one is almost at urban legend status to me. Likely happened at limited scale some time ago, but it’s strange everyone says it’s endemic but no one IRL I know across probably tens of thousands of purchases has noticed it.

[khuey]

I don't think Amazon has ever outright admitted that they do, but Amazon's own terms give them the right to commingle their inventory with those of third party sellers.

F-4 Storage

We will provide storage services as described in these FBA Service Terms once we confirm receipt of delivery. We will keep electronic records that track inventory of Units by identifying the number of Units stored in any fulfillment center. We will not be required to physically mark or segregate Units from other inventory units (e.g., products with the same Amazon standard identification number) owned by us, our Affiliates or third parties in the applicable fulfillment center(s).

https://sellercentral.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/external...

That combined with years and years of anecdotal reports of this happening certainly suggests a "where there's smoke there's fire" situation to me.

[phil21]

Right, that’s FBA. I’m talking about sold by Amazon. I’m specifically talking about a case where a sold by Amazon item came from co-mingled inventory from a FBA seller.

I also know from direct second party experience (I also personally saw the terms) that at least at a certain level of “brand” you can decline this option with Amazon for your registered product skus/ASIN even for FBA. I don’t know if this is offered to everyone though - I know it went through some sort of “deal reg” process in the one case I saw. I imagine this came through some sort of lawsuit or threats of one for a major brand at some point - but that is speculation on my part.

[ranger_danger]

I have absolutely bought multiple hard drives that were "shipped & sold by amazon" which turned out to be fake/counterfeit in some way. The serial numbers did not verify on the manufacturer's website either and they were completely DOA.

[sheepscreek]

Was it “Sold by Amazon” or a third party marketplace seller?

[zargon]

It doesn't matter. Amazon co-mingles product they sourced themselves with product from all the marketplace sellers. They also resell returns, which could have been swapped with something else.