Anyone Have Good Tips on How to Avoid Buying Fake Merchandise from Amazon?

I was reading an article last week that said it's not wise to buy N95 or KN95 masks off of Amazon. Many of them are not authentic and Amazon does nothing to police merchants who peddle fakes as the real deal. So beware.

Amazon needs to stop the "ships from Amazon" crap because it gives cover to the false sellers. It should only be "Sold by aodikleiojlsjfioejfdlsjfioejf" (which is almost literally what some of these Chinese false sellers use as their store names...at least the stupid ones).

Make sure it says "Sold by Amazon.com" and don't buy shit from third party sellers. Sometimes it's okay if it's shipped from Amazon even if it's not sold by them because counterfeiters can be afraid to send their products to Amazon warehouses where it can be inspected.

A lot of times it's just stuff they buy at wholesale clubs and then mark up for profit, anyway.

Amazon goes out of its way to make it almost impossible to find the honest sellers. When leaving reviews, they have blocked any mention of the seller's store name (which I have tried to include in the past because I am well aware of the counterfeit problem on that website and wanted to help others ID a seller selling authentic goods) so no one reading the review can have any idea which specific seller is receiving the positive review.

My solution has been to stop buying almost everything on Amazon, except for a couple of very obscure items that only have a single seller that I already trust due to past experiences with them.

Do not in any way buy N95 masks from Amazon, R1 is right. Also, the "Sold By Amazon" is no longer a guarantee of anything at all, including authenticity.

I recently tried to purchase a cleaning product from Amazon (couldn't find it locally) and half the reviews were saying it was fake/smelled weird/not the same efficacy as that purchased in a store. Fucking cheap ass cleaning products are being counterfeited! I'm genuinely not sure how long Amazon can go on like this. Probably for awhile, they really built up consumer trust there for a good number of years, but they're a really shitty, unreliable place these days, for even the cheapest, most basic goods.

R4 Sold By Amazon is a guarantee that Amazon sourced and sells the items through their site.

You may be confusing it with the fact that third party sellers can have items handled by Amazon fulfillment, in which case it will be "Sold by (seller), shipped by Amazon".

[quote]Sold By Amazon is a guarantee that Amazon sourced and sells the items through their site.

How is this a guarantee that an item won't be counterfeit? What does it mean that Amazon "sourced" it?

And what you are talking about with the reviews, r4, sounds like Amazon sells the item but some of the reviews are referring to the third party seller products.

That's definitely a big issue, the reviews are all over the place and could be referring to Amazon as the seller or any of the other sellers listed now or in the past.

Amazon needs to handle reviews a lot better. Right now I think they just check them manually for offensive stuff and don't really do any sort of other verification.

The problem is a lot of their data is bad, especially the Q&A on a lot of products, because they don't seem to vet those hardly at all. They need a massive cleanup effort and it's gonna need to be manual.

R6 the same reason anything you buy at any major store that is sourced by the store is unlikely to be counterfeit. They know who they are buying from in large quantites and who makes the items. Sometimes major stores can get fooled but it's rare because they procure products in such large quantities.

There's a Chrome extension that helps spot suspicious sellers and listings with suspicious reviews.

As others have mentioned already, Amazon allows for third party merchants to sell via their web site. The merchant can either ship to the customer directly or send their inventory off to Amazon and let them handle the storage and shipping. The later is known as their Fulfillment by Amazon (or FBA) program.

Walmart also allows third party sellers on their site too.

Considering how gigantic this company is you would think a lot of this would be common knowledge but I highly doubt most consumers are aware of it. Shit!

Or, you could just buy it locally, or order it online from the manufacturer/designer. Everyone bitches about Amazon, but you all continue supporting them. 🤷🏼‍♂️

So depressing when a good reliable company goes to shit. I will have to think about whether I want to continue my prime membership.

[quote] I will have to think about whether I want to continue my prime membership.

When you have to do 10 minutes of research before you order a $10 item it kind of takes the fun of shopping away.

R9 Speaking of Walmart, they are worse because the filters reset with every search you do and so you constantly see items with totally ridiculous prices mixed in with normal ones. Amazon, despite its flaws, is far less confusing.

It's a lot easier to order third party crap from Walmart without realizing it, I mean.

R9 Amazon despises Fakespot and claims their review system is robust. I haven't seen evidence Fakespot does a better job, unfortunately.

There's some specific items where there are a LOT of variants (like anti dog bark devices) where Chinese sellers have flooded the market so you see a lot of the same item (resold or white labeled from Alibaba) where it might be useful but it's really all over the place, from my experience, and I order a lot from Amazon.

OP, what kinds of items are you looking for?

Another problem with Amazon is expiration dates of products.

Anyway, even though I have a Prime membership, I check the original source's website. IMO, you're more likely to get an authentic, not expired product from the original manufacturer. If it's a smaller business, they probably appreciate you buying directly from them as well.

R16 You have to be careful ordering food or candy from Amazon - THAT is one of the trickiest things to get there because a lot of it is from third party sellers and you will have problems as you said with expiration dates and things.

I really wish they hadn't nixed their Amazon Pantry offering, it helped offset a lot of the bad food products.

Where is a good reliable place, other than Amazon, to buy KN95 masks? I google and I get articles and reviews that usually lead to Amazon. There's so many that it's confusing.

R18, this NYT article from last February may be of some help:

Thank you R19.. :)

Someone on one of the old threads emotions Canopus for masks and I’ve ordered from them twice now. I like that they are made in the US.

*mentioned

R18 any chance you can copy and paste that NYT article. I'm not a paid customer and don't want to join even free just to read on article.

Thanks in advance!

R23, I couldn't read it either, as I'm not a paying subscriber, either. Sorry....

..as I'm not a paying subscriber...(eliminate either)..

My employer now requires N95 "respirators" at work. Not KN95 of N94, etc. They're providing them at no cost to employees.

Hecho en México

Dunno if I trust them.

R26 remember that Mexican hand sanitizer that poisoned all those people? 😳

[bold]How to Buy a Real N95 Mask Online[/bold]

[bold]Fakes and little-known brands still abound, even as health officials have advised us to up our mask game. Here’s what to do.[/bold]

A year into the coronavirus pandemic, buying a heavy-duty medical mask online remains downright maddening.

The most coveted mask to keep safe against Covid-19 has been the N95, the gold standard for pandemic protection because of its tight fit and 95 percent efficiency in filtering airborne particles. Then there’s the KN95 from China, a mask for medical workers, which also offers high filtration and is somewhat looser fitting.

But these masks have been far from easy to buy on the internet. When the pandemic hit last year, they immediately became scarce as health care workers and governments rushed to obtain them. The demand was so intense that a gray market sprang up for them.

Yet even after supplies have improved, it is often not easy to find authentic N95s and KN95s online. That’s because there are few brand-name makers, so it can be hard to know which of the dozens of manufacturers are reliable. And counterfeiters continue to flood the market, even on trusted sites like Amazon.

The result is frequently frustration, when wearing a heavy-duty mask is more important than ever. Last week, federal health officials emphasized the need for all of us to have tightfitting masks because of new fast-spreading coronavirus variants.

“People don’t know what’s legit, and they don’t know which suppliers are legit,” said Anne Miller, an executive director of Project N95, a nonprofit that helps people buy protective coronavirus equipment. “We’ve had that issue since the very beginning of the pandemic.”

I recently spent hours comparing masks online and almost bought a pack of counterfeits on Amazon. Thankfully, I avoided falling into the trap and eventually found legitimate, high-quality masks from a trustworthy online retailer.

Along the way, I learned plenty about how to spot fraudulent mask listings and how to sidestep fake reviews. So here’s how to home in on real medical-grade masks that will keep you and your loved ones safe.

[bold]Pick a mask[/bold]

My journey began on the website for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There I found charts of N95 and KN95 masks that the agency has tested, including the make, model number and filtration efficiency.

After some reading, I learned about the trade-offs between the two types of masks. The N95s typically have bands that strap over the back of your head, which is what makes them snug. They can be uncomfortable to wear for long periods.

The KN95s, which the Food and Drug Administration has approved for emergency use by health care workers, have ear loops for a tight fit that is slightly more comfortable than an N95. The downside is that the KN95 leaks a bit more air than an N95.

If you are often in high-risk areas like hospitals, N95s may be more suitable. But if you just need a protective mask for more casual use, like the occasional trip to the grocery store, KN95s are probably sufficient.

After doing the research, I decided a KN95 mask from Powecom, a Chinese brand, was best for my purposes. The mask scored 99 percent filtration efficiency in the C.D.C.’s tests.

From there, I visited Amazon, where I buy everything from dog food to batteries in the pandemic. That’s when things went awry.

[bold]Beware of Amazon[/bold]

When I typed “Powecom KN95” into Amazon’s search box, the masks instantly popped up with a rating of 4.5 stars. I quickly clicked “Add to Cart.”

But before checking out, I scrolled down to read the reviews. There were about 130 — including a handful of one-star reviews from aggrieved buyers who said the masks were most likely fake. I emptied my shopping cart.

How had I almost bought a counterfeit? Saoud Khalifah, the founder of Fakespot, a company that offers tools to detect fake listings and reviews online, said a third-party seller had probably taken control of the product listing and sold fakes to make a quick buck.

KN95 are Chinese masks, just fyi. N95 are American. And the Europeans have a version that is called FFP2.

“It’s a bit of a Wild West,” he said. “The normal consumers that shop on Amazon do not know that they just bought a fake mask. This is the biggest critical problem: You think it’s real, and suddenly you get sick.”

Mr. Khalifah presented other examples of questionable masks that were being sold on Amazon:

* A pack of 50 masks was highlighted on Amazon this week as the No. 1 new release in women’s fashion scarves. Obviously, masks are not scarves, which was a giveaway that something was off. The listing description also replaced all of the letter A’s with accented characters. This was a technique used to bypass Amazon’s fraud detection systems, Mr. Khalifah said. Amazon removed the listing after I called about it.

* Another pack of 20 masks looked attractive and was described as approved by the C.D.C. It even had positive reviews with an average of 4.4 stars. But the reviews revealed that most customers had received the masks for free, probably an incentive to leave positive feedback. One lukewarm review from someone who had paid for the product noted that the masks were “thin and very, very big.”

* Mr. Khalifah’s software also detected that the reviewers of another pack of 100 masks, which had unanimous five-star ratings, had a history of writing promotional reviews for other brands.

Amazon said in a statement that it prohibits the sale of counterfeit products and invests to ensure its policy is followed. It said it had specific policies for N95 and KN95 masks, including a process for vetting inventory and taking action on those who sold fakes.

Amazon also said it had addressed the questionable Powecom mask that I nearly purchased, as well as the mask advertised as a scarf. It added that there was no evidence that the pack of 20 masks was counterfeited and did not comment on the pack of 100 masks.

Mr. Khalifah cautioned that the fakes he spotted on Amazon could just as easily be on websites for other big retailers, such as Walmart and eBay, that allow third-party sellers to ship products. To buy authentic masks, he said, I should take a less traditional approach to shopping online.

[bold]Order from an authorized source[/bold]

Armed with this advice, I continued my search for the Powecom mask.

I visited the manufacturer’s website, which listed steps for verifying that a mask is real. That involved scanning a bar code on the package with a phone camera. Then I did a web search for the mask, which brought me to bonafidemasks.com, an online retailer that shows documentation stating that it is an authorized distributor of Powecom masks in the United States.

I dumped my Amazon stock in this weeks tech bloodbath (at a good price too before it dropped 2%). It’s been stagnant for about a year and I had made my big returns in the 5 years before this. Why? I still think the cloud business is awesome, but the e-commerce business has turned to utter shit, for the reasons you all mention. While others are improving.

That was more reassuring. So I ordered a pack of 100 for $99. When the package arrived in the mail, I scanned the bar codes to confirm their authenticity. They were the real deal.

Another path I could have taken was to order masks directly from the manufacturer. Verified mask producers like DemeTech, in Miami, and Prestige Ameritech, in Texas, sell N95s through their websites.

But ordering directly from a manufacturer presents other challenges. Often you have to buy a large quantity to reduce the cost.

So what if you just want to buy a few to try on? Ms. Miller’s nonprofit Project N95 buys bulk orders of masks and breaks them up so people can buy smaller batches. “It’s a very painstaking process to go through,” she said.

No kidding.

R36 is the end of the article.

Also, R32 and R35 are other posters and not part of the article.

Appreciate posting the entire article R19...thank you, again. It's crazy out there. The market is flooded with these masks and you have to research and do your homework, which is annoying. I did order N95 masks on Amazon. The manufacturer is Aegle, USA made (in TX?) and have anti-counterfeit packaging. I think there's a bar code on the package to scan, using your phone, to authenticate it. I bought a package of 50 at $65.99. They are pricey, but I feel I have a good supply, which I won't use these masks to just make a run to the supermarket (will use a surgical mask). They would be good in crowded conditions...inside and outside. They are NIOSH approved...that's good. That rating is only for the N95 masks....not for KN95 or KF94 masks.

I found two online sites. One was already mentioned here...bonafidemasks.com The other one is....shop@projectn95.org They both deal with PPE equipment and seem to have the real deal, in masks.

I have no real advice OP, yet wanted to share that I've been recently burned. I ordered Vicks Vapo Rub, and believe I've been shipped counterfeit product. Let me first say I have no reservations using certain products from India, i.e. Chandrika soap, Navratna Oil, other Ayurvedic items...but was not expecting this Vapo Rub to be imported from India.

It's a very tiny pot (I've never seen them so tiny on offer before) sold for a wee bit more than the regular size, and is labelled as made under licence...in Gujarat. It hardly has any Eucalyptus or Menthol scent, let alone any vapours to offer!

They're excellent at refunding when problems arise, but am disappointed this was the selection offered for free shipping with Prime, or the top of the list. Bummer.

R37 those articles usually need to be trimmed to remove the prelude and "scene setting" especially when the point is "WHERE DO YOU GET GOOD MASKS".

I decided to switch out my smoke detectors from the 9V battery kind to the ones that reportedly last 10 years. I ordered 3 of the First Alert ones which was the Amazon #1 Choice and there were hundreds of reviews with an average review of 4.5 stars. So they arrive and they look like generic detectors. They look exactly like the First Alert ones in terms of the design but no FIrst Alert logo on them. So I dig into the actual reviews and see contradictory info: one guy says he called First Alert and confirmed this generic brand is indeed theirs but it is their "commercial brand". Another guy says First Alert told him there they have nothing to do with this generic product! Some reviewers said they installed them and within a year they were chirping like they needed to be replaced. UGH!

And then get this: I tried to return them and it says "This product is Not returnable"!

This all happened very recently and they are still sitting on my dining room table. I haven't decided what to do yet.

R42 check to see who you got them from, was it Amazon or was it from a third party seller? If they're from Amazon they are likely fine.

As explained above, the problem is almost always people ordering things and not realizing that it's a product from a third party seller, and in which case the reviews may or may not apply.

[quote]Sold By Amazon is a guarantee that Amazon sourced and sells the items through their site.

I have gotten a few items sold and shipped by Amazon that came from third-party sellers. Here's one I just got a week ago, it says sold and shipped by Amazon but the envelope wasn't an Amazon envelope, and the label had the name and return address of some place like WholesaleBargainDude.

R42, get on Amazon chat and tell them you received another brand and would like to return them. Tell them there's no First Alert brand name on them. If you're a Prime member they'll almost certainly let you return them for a refund, if you're not it's still very much worth a shot.

R44 then you did not get "sold and shipped by Amazon". It's pretty straightforward.

People make mistakes. It is very easy to, which is one of the issues I have with Amazon's interface.

If you get on a product and change ANY criteria, even if it says "sold and shipped by Amazon" at first, it can change depending on the quantity, color, etc. and it can be another product sent by a third party seller. The information about this will update too but you have to be paying attention.

The only thing you can safely change is the "subscribe and save" offering.

Note I have been an Amazon customer since 2000 (over 20 years) and a Prime member as long as they've had that. I am very familiar with how it works as well as all the little changes they make to their interface and how easy it is for even me to not notice that they've ordered something from a third party seller.

Incidentally, never use "buy now" because you can't tell if it's from a third party seller, it just uses whichever one is cheapest at the time you place the order.

If you get a shipping estimate with a date range (such as "Arrives between Sept 9 - 18") then you have chosen a third party seller.

Capitalism in action.

R48 the point of that throwaway slogan?

R46, it's not a mistake on my part, the receipt says it was sold by Amazon but it wasn't.

What's your deal here? Why are you defending a corporation that doesn't care if you live or die? Just trying to be an irritant on DL?

Here is the link to the aforementioned smoke detectors. Note you can't tell they are not returnable unless you click on the link that says "Refund or Replacement Available". If you've been shopping at Amazon for years you glance at that and think it's returnable just like anything else.

If what you got doesn't look like what's in the photo, and it doesn't have First Alert on it, then tell them that in a chat r51 and tell them you want to return them. Seriously, I think it'll work for you.

Why don't you people stop ordering shit on Amazon? Then you won't have to worry about this nonsense. Order your smoke detectors from Home Depot. Order or masks and Neosporin Lip and Vicks from CVS or Walgreens. Jesus.

R51 I'm trying to provide accurate information so people don't make the same mistakes as myself and others.

I'm sorry that makes you suspicious, however Amazon does NOT ship things from "Wholesale Bargain whatever" in third party packaging so either you confused some packages or there was some weird mistake along the chain and you didn't get the right item.

I realize you are apparently infallible though, so "something else happened".

I only buy on Amazon when I can't find something anywhere else, r53.

Honestly what the fuck is the point of this thread if posters like r51 get bitchy over someone ANSWERING THE QUESTION IN OP? Just to vent? Vent away then.

"Just trying to be an irritant on DL". Really, just fuck you, asshole.

Knock it off, r54/R56. You're wrong. You're happy to tell a whole bunch of people on here that they make mistakes, but someone points out that you made one, and you pitch a hissy fit about it.

Amazon makes mistakes. They listed a product as sold and shipped by Amazon when it wasn't. You refused to believe it and got accusatory, insufferable and snobbish about it, which was entirely unnecessary.

[R42] dispute the charge with your credit card issuer. You were not sent the product that was advertised. Fuck Amazon; they're trash. They're down the street from where I live. I hate them.

R57 Or more likely, you are wrong, or you made a mistake, or Amazon made a mistake. I SAID they could have made a mistake, although you seem to have missed that in your rage. In which case you can and should return the item if you're unhappy.

You attacked me for no reason and now you're trying to pretend like you didnt, while still lobbing insults and little comments at me and then acting as if I'm being unreasonable.

I wish you many years of success buying from another "company that doesn't care if you live or die", and many more years of being an irritant on the DL. You're doing a great job thus far.

Oh, and r56 et al? Speaking of mistakes, you screamed at and insulted r51 in two posts in a row, when you meant to insult me at r52 instead.

Oops, r60. Unlike you, I can admit when I made a typo. Good job at pointing that typo out, I'm sure it made you very gleeful. Good job, I say!

[quote]Amazon made a mistake.

That's what I've been saying this whole time.

[quote]I SAID they could have made a mistake, although you seem to have missed that in your rage.

No, you never said that once, and you're the one with the rage problems.

Apologize to r51 for screaming at him -- he's going to get notifications and see you telling him to "fuck off, asshole" when you meant it for me at r52, Mr. Neverwrong -- and then move on with your life. You were wrong, but this is an anonymous board. No one knows who you are or what you did, your embarrassment is unnecessary.

R62 don't tell me what to do, troll. Clearly r51 knows I wasn't talking to him as it didn't make sense in context.

I'm blocking you now because nothing you have to say has any value whatsoever to me, so you may continue arguing into the darkness. You seem to have nothing better to do, and I guess you're happy you have someone to argue with (problems at home, perhaps), so rather than indulging that psychological damage of yours, I'm cutting you off.

Here’s a site that gets you past paywalls. That’s all I’ve got.

Uh, you got R62 grayed out just because they pointed out that Amazon screws up? That's messed up.

Definitely either take it up with your credit card company or with Amazon r51, their page says refunds and returns are available in some circumstances and this qualifies! Good luck!

Of course Amazon makes mistakes, r65, no one was claiming they didn't. The likelihood that it's user error, though, is much higher than the other way around, that's all. Doesn't mean it never happens though.

Never buy anything from Amazon, then you don't have to worry if the item is real or fake!

Is the Amazon defender on here posting from up Bezos' asshole?? You sound like a paid shill for Amazon. A bad one.

[quote]but was not expecting this Vapo Rub to be imported from India.

I saw a post recently somewhere that said Vap-O-Rub was just spicy Vaseline!

Your post reminds me of when I was shopping for a throw, I noticed that a lot of international sellers were selling miniature versions of regular throws. I was looking for a 50x60 inch throw and got results for a lot of 50cm x 60cm throws from other countries, I got the impression it was on purpose. Like r68 suggested, I ended up going elsewhere.

[quote]If you get a shipping estimate with a date range (such as "Arrives between Sept 9 - 18") then you have chosen a third party seller.

Absolute bullshit.

Smoke Alarms.

That is really weird that those smoke alarms are both sold AND shipped by Amazon, yet they say you can't return them. The whole appeal of Amazon was their returns policy.

I agree with the poster(s) above that you should still ask for a refund. Take a screen shot of the Amazon page with the alarm and the obvious branding (First Alert). Take a photo of what you received. They didn't send you what they advertised.

Also, for the future. Something like a smoke alarm is so important, I'd buy from the manufacturer or at least somewhere like Home Depot / Lowe's.

yeah, why the fuck would you buy smoke alarms from Amazon? Go to Home Depot or order from them online!!! You can return 100%

Some people are really stupid. you deserve to be stuck with the fake items.

[quote] yeah, why the fuck would you buy smoke alarms from Amazon?

Why wouldn't someone? R73 is posting with the benefit of hindsight. What a ridiculous comment. If it says they are First Alert and is a #1 seller and has positive reviews, why wouldn't you?

First Alert has sold detectors at Walmart for decades, so why not on Amazon, too? Those aren't items you necessarily have to get at a hardware store.

R74, you are so naive and gullible. You can't believe everything you see/read on the internet. Anything can be faked esp reviews!

I would buy from retailers directly rather than Amazon. they are a shit company who treats robots better than humans. fuck them!

[quote] I would buy from retailers directly rather than Amazon. they are a shit company who treats robots better than humans. fuck them!

This is sort of a different issue but go ahead and feel smug and superior.

The reason you can still receive a fake product that’s sold and shipped by Amazon is because Amazon combines their items with the third-party seller’s items. When an employee is picking an order they most likely grab the first item on the self. They’re not paid enough to care.

^^ oh, dear.

OP, you need to start shopping at Bergdorf's.

Marvelous merchandise. Simply divine.

Walmart would be an OK source. They're a huge buyer. Plus, you could definitely return (for refund) at Walmart.

If given a choice, I shop at Target, but Walmart has been helpful during the pandemic.

Another good source for N95s.

r10 so, inform them

but all the big names have this problem. r81 online, walmart is the same

of course, if you want change... then an organized tiwtter campaign can be effective.

but you have to treat it like seo and use the buzzwords of the day, inspire the loudest and bitchiest, and fuel the media.

leftists: exploit China's reaction to LGBT but likely more focus on the anti-kpop sentiments while dragging in other sociopolitical issues.. which means you need a couple popular obnoxiously twinky influencers where the youth gather. tiktok should attract a few wanks. the tankies are hard to avoid, they're quite delusional and brigade as well as the massive amount of chinese bots and agents, also much harder to exploit using services like tiktok. so, it has to be with coded language there. other services, the older crowd, obviously making it a result of the previous administration and the failure to act leaving China (and other aggressive militaristic nations) with greater power nearing to ww3, likely another war for oil even as we prepare to leave it behind and the increased rise of fascism in an attempt to roll back our civil liberties in freedom loving nations. pull in other news items and accounts of China's big business destroying the small and perhaps the ties to universities donations with strings attached student costs & loans and the propaganda distilled from within. to balance out the hate it might attract, highlight leftwing dissidents.

rightists: you could use or bypass the usual bigotry and anti-vax paranoia with American exceptionalism, focusing on small businesses in the nation & its allies negatively impacted by the shutdown (may have to play the china covid card) and push an anti-corporate agenda especially those fueling an aggressive military state, you'd do well to pull in the Indians (also, take a look at the the anti-anti-hindu campaigns for that one & WION is a good source of news) and Aussies (surrounding areas, too, examine the China related news of the last two years) into the mix as while as highlighting the stress on Taiwain & Hong Kong among other social justice issues (to save your soul and wash the taste out of your mouth), like the treatment of the Uighurs. and of course, throwing in something negative about the current administration.

could also likely fuel the trolls on various forums if you've got a simple but wicked meme plan that exploits whatever group you don't like into making a big ol' public arse of themselves. arise, shitl0rds.

By Rolexes only from Authorized Dealers in Geneva.

^^^^^Buy, not By

R78 is right. Another posted posted that photo proof of having received a counterfeit item after buying one of the 'sold and shipped by Amazon' items the one poster keeps saying 100% guarantees you won't get a counterfeit. It does not guarantee any such thing. It used to. It no longer does. You also used to be able to return anything bought on Amazon for a refund. That is no longer the case, and they're shady (as yet another poster has pointed out) about making clear which items are not refundable and which are.

It is VERY strange that the one poster defending Amazon (and refusing to engage with the photo/receipt proof) is upvoted and the person they were patronizing about being at fault for their counterfeit item was so ff-ed they were grayed out. I, too, have been on Amazon for almost 2 decades. I remember buying books from them when books was all they sold! It is not the same place it used to be. Not even close. To all the WELL WHY DON'T YOU STOP SHOPPING THERE?!? types - I have! I have stopped shopping there except for a single item I can't get anywhere else and that I stock up on once a year. I went through a period there of buying upwards of 80% of everything I bought from Amazon. Their shittiness lost that business. Counterfeits and a refusal to issue refunds for obviously damaged items did it for me.

Lastly, the person saying Walmart is the same is right. Buying online from Walmart is now exactly the same situation as Amazon - the website is awash with third party sellers selling shitty Chinese goods (and I mean a level of shitty Chinese goods that makes the in-store shitty Chinese goods look OK by comparison).

These days, if I can't get something locally I order it from the manufacturer's website. It's not as convenient as Amazon used to be, when you could place an order for multiple items, trust that all would be authentic and any problems would be swiftly dealt with via refund etc., but I feel a lot better about it and no longer have to worry that I've received a fake product.