How Scammers in China Manipulate Amazon [video]
The video is must-watch for those who are unfamiliar with the many ways in which shady vendors game Amazon's systems to scam customers.<p>Speaking as a longtime Amazon customer:<p>* I do feel the authenticity of products in some categories can no longer be taken for granted on Amazon.  For example, if I search for electronics, the search results look like "a sea of endless crap," full of the kinds of products you might find at a counterfit-goods store in a shady part of town.<p>* Product search no longer works as well as it did in the past for me.  Frequently, I find myself having to invest time and effort to identify which items are of decent or good quality in that "sea of endless crap."  I find myself having to click on results and scan descriptions to find products that are sold "by Amazon" instead of third parties, to minimize worry.<p>* Product reviews and ratings no longer seem trustworthy. It's not just that there are large operations cranking out fake reviews every day,[a] but that I often find it time-consuming to sort out which reviews are true versus fake.  Fake reviewers seem to be getting better and better at fooling human beings.<p>Over the past year, I've started going to local "brick and mortar" retailers like Best Buy more and more, because I find they provide a better-curated shopping experience.  There are fewer products from which to choose, but I feel more certain that they're authentic and of known quality.<p>I'm hoping Amazon will address all these issues... soon.<p>[a] For example, see <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18262101" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18262101</a>