It's gotten to the point where a product with thousands of reviews and an average 4.5 - 5 star rating immediately raises a red flag with me.
And Amazon appears unmotivated to do anything about it. As a personal example, I had purchased a mouth guard that had over six thousand 5-star reviews. It was listed as high quality, FDA approved, etc. When I received it, it was a piece of plastic junk with inkjet quality instructions in English and Chinese. Along with it came a note promising a $10 Amazon gift card if I left a 5 star review and emailed them proof of it.
I took a photo of the note and forwarded it to Amazon expecting some action - instead I received a canned response about "we take these issues seriously". A year later, that seller is still there with dozens of products, all with thousands of 5-star reviews.
For what it’s worth, and a little off topic, I would never ever purchase a product that went in or closely on my body from Amazon. Jacket? Maybe. Food? Not likely. Mouth guard that sits in my mouth for hours every night? Absolutely not, no, ever.
Too many fake products that look like they’re the real things, and if they’re fake who knows where they come from or what they’re made of.
yeah, it's fucked up that it's come to this but I'm the same way. I don't even really care about reviews anymore on amazon. I just don't believe the star rating.
Reviews with pictures seem better, or like reddit reviews if it's a brand name.
I've started putting these pictures in a review and then give an honest review. This will allow people to decide what to think of all the reviews, including mine, and whether or not they're willing to accept the risk.
I canceled my prime subscription right after receiving something similar
It's just not worth it anymore to buy something on Amazon only to receive a counterfeit and then have to order the same thing directly from the manufacturer anyway; something something poor man pays twice
Aw, man. Here I am working my ass off for The Man when such an easy, obvious, and apparently unchallenged grift is just right there in front of my face:
1. Find some cheap-ass white-label product and order a crap-ton of it.
There is a whole industry around this...and I'd say you (and I) were many years too late. Once you find a good product others will come for it. If I find something "cool" on Amazon I check Aliexpress. If it's a significant savings I'd just buy it from there.
I don't think most of products they sell are actually legal to be sold. If you had these products in your mom and pops shop, the trading standards or whatever agency would shut down your store, but somehow Amazon is allowed to sell all this dangerous junk without consequences and they are even allowed to avoid paying tax. Something isn't right.
I've had a follow up for more information about a specific incident, but I haven't been contacted with concrete results of my reports.
I figure, if anything, my reports might influence investigations or prosecutions later down the line, along with evidence and reports gathered by others. I don't really expect anyone to reach out to me unless they want my testimony, and at that point, I'm sure there are better people they could drag into hearings or court.
And Amazon appears unmotivated to do anything about it. As a personal example, I had purchased a mouth guard that had over six thousand 5-star reviews. It was listed as high quality, FDA approved, etc. When I received it, it was a piece of plastic junk with inkjet quality instructions in English and Chinese. Along with it came a note promising a $10 Amazon gift card if I left a 5 star review and emailed them proof of it.
I took a photo of the note and forwarded it to Amazon expecting some action - instead I received a canned response about "we take these issues seriously". A year later, that seller is still there with dozens of products, all with thousands of 5-star reviews.