what to do if you get scammed on amazon
Amazon, for all its conveniences, isn't like walking into a traditional retail store. Amazon is a full marketplace that connects you non only to their ain store, but to third-party sellers. This was driven dwelling for me when I recently bought i of the top mini PCs on Amazon and found it came with a pirated Windows license.
The lesson: Be careful with third-party sellers on Amazon. Annihilation not sold by Amazon itself has not been thoroughly vetted by them, and could exist a counterfeit or pirated production. That's true even if a production is marked "Prime"–just considering something ships from Amazon's warehouses doesn't mean the production is legitimate, or sold by Amazon themselves.
How I Got Burned
I wanted a cheap mini PC to use as a media center for my TV, so I headed to Amazon–where I practice a lot of my shopping–and searched for ane.
What I didn't realize at the time was that three of the top 6 search results for "mini PC" on Amazon come with pirated Windows licenses. (The other 3 results are a Chromebox and 2 barebones PCs that come without Windows licenses.)
The particular PC I purchased was sold by "MarsKing". Sure, that'south a Chinese manufacturer I've never heard of, but it's solid Intel hardware inside. It was also marked by Amazon as the "#1 New Release" in this category and had solid 4-to-5-star reviews at the time. It even had a "Prime" logo, which meant that it would be shipped to me from an Amazon warehouse.
Looks legit, right? Nope! The PC came with a KMS Loader activation crack installed and was using a KMS key–a common way to activate pirated Windows licenses. Windows Defender found the KMS activation scissure and complained about malware equally presently equally Windows Update ran automatically.
After I left a bad review and returned the product to Amazon, MarsKing contacted me through Amazon with an offer: "We would like to sell you a new pc box with legitimate [Windows license] at 50% money off as apologize." I didn't take them upwardly on it.
Other manufacturers are sneakier. PowerLead, which makes the top mini PC on Amazon, describes its product equally such: "This PowerLead Windows ten Smart Television receiver Box Mini PC is with trial win 10 operating arrangement. If y'all need to purchase the original version, delight update online". Merely someone in the comment helpfully notes that the PC seems to activate anyway. It's unclear every bit to how.
The Problem: Amazon.com Isn't But One Store
Near people don't realize this, simply Amazon doesn't really sell most of the products on Amazon.com. Instead, most products sold on Amazon.com actually come up from "third-political party sellers". Amazon just functions as a market place, connecting y'all and the seller. Fifty-fifty if a product is marked as "Prime" and is from Amazon's own warehouse, it may be simply "fulfilled by Amazon": a seller ships its products to Amazon'south warehouse and then Amazon ships them to you lot. Amazon isn't actually selling the product, and hasn't vetted it. In 2015, a RW Baird report plant that 83% of the products purchased from Amazon.com were sold by third-party sellers.
Surprised? Then was I. Amazon doesn't do a ton to brand the distinction betwixt tertiary-party sellers and sold-by-Amazon products. And, apparently, they don't vet third-party-sold products very closely either, fifty-fifty if Amazon's doing the shipping.
In July 2016, CNBC wrote that counterfeiting on Amazon.com had "exploded" in 2016, according to many Amazon sellers. The problem, often, is that 3rd-political party sellers will list cheaper options on the very same product page, but those cheaper options will exist counterfeits. Merely, as we saw with PCs, it'south possible that manufacturers might actually assemble products with pirated software and other flaws and market them every bit legitimate.
In 2013, the Daily Dot purchased a counterfeit charger from Amazon. Information technology melted the first fourth dimension it was connected to a power outlet. We'd be particularly worried about buying telephone and laptop batteries from 3rd-party sellers on Amazon, as counterfeit phone batteries are a serious danger that could crusade explosions and fires.
How to Avert Counterfeit Products and Pirated Software on Amazon
We wish Amazon would practice more to gainsay this trouble. But in the meantime, how canyous avoid situations like this when shopping on Amazon.com? Hither are a few tips.
Know Who's Selling the Product
At that place are three types of products you'll see on Amazon.com, and you should be aware of the difference. They are:
- Ships from and sold past [Proper noun of Third-Party Seller]: When you purchase this production, Amazon gets a cut–just Amazon isn't otherwise involved in the transaction. The product is sold by the third-party seller and is shipped from them directly to yous, non dissimilar eBay and other online marketplaces. Most counterfeit and pirated products will probably be shipped direct from a third-party seller.
- Sold by [Name of Third-Political party Seller] and Fulfilled by Amazon: Products that are "fulfilled by Amazon" may have the "Prime" logo that makes them await like they're sold by Amazon–but they aren't. You're still buying a production from a third-party seller. The 3rd-political party seller ships that product to Amazon'south warehouses and Amazon ships it to you. However, Amazon doesn't necessarily ostend that the product is legitimate before shipping it to yous.
- Ships from and sold by Amazon.com: The production is really sold by Amazon.com, and it should almost certainly be legitimate.
Scout out for products sold by third-party sellers when shopping on Amazon.com. Non every 3rd-party seller is bad, of form, and many are selling legitimate products (I've bought many of them in the past). Only be conscientious, especially if the product's price seems a little as well good to be truthful or the reviews betoken a trouble. Speaking of which…
Read the Reviews (merely Know What You're Looking For)
This should go without saying, but bank check out the reviews–not simply the v-star rating–for any production you buy on Amazon, especially if it's from a 3rd-party seller. Many reviews volition specifically call out a apocryphal product, which should immediately exist a red flag.
That said, proficient review scores don't necessarily indicate a product is legitimate and authentic. A product may take a bunch of fake 5 star reviews to make information technology look more legitimate, non real reviews from actual customers. While bad reviews are obviously bad, very good reviews can too be suspicious. If you see many five star reviews without much explanation or very similar writing, that suggests the positive reviews may be fake.
Be certain to check the contempo reviews, too–not just the overall product reviews. A product may have a lot of positive reviews from past transactions, just a few recent negative recent reviews may advise that they've changed something almost their product.
Narrow Your Searches to Products Sold by Amazon.com
You lot can besides cull to search for products sold by Amazon itself, although Amazon doesn't arrive easy.
After searching Amazon for a product, whorl downwards in the left sidebar and notice the "Seller" section. Click the "See More than" option and then select "Amazon.com" to run across only products sold past Amazon.
Of class, this volition go rid of a lot of products from your search results too. In a lot of cases, this may not exist a problem–but for certain categories that Amazon doesn't sell a lot of products for (computer parts, lawn & garden, or cosmetics, for instance), this tip may not exist also useful.
What Amazon Says
We reached out to Amazon, who declined to comment on this story in detail. They did, nevertheless, point us towards its official policies: The A-to-z Client Guarantee and Amazon Anti-Counterfeiting Policy.
The A-to-z guarantee guarantees purchases made from tertiary-party sellers, entitling you to a refund if the seller ships y'all a product that doesn't friction match the description, fails to ship you the product within the advertised transport time, or won't accept the product for a replacement.
The anti-counterfeiting policy forbids the selling of counterfeit products on Amazon and says that Amazon may terminate seller accounts and destroy inventory in Amazon fulfillment centers if information technology discovers apocryphal products.
Amazon does however seem to have good customer service. I was able to return the PC to Amazon with no issues–all I had to practice was fill up out a quick online grade and say the product wasn't what was advertised. I then shipped it right back to Amazon's return department using a gratuitous mailing characterization Amazon had me print out.
Just these policies are after-the-fact protection. Shopping on Amazon isn't the same equally shopping at Best Buy or another brick-and-mortar retail store. It's more like shopping on eBay–Amazon.com is ofttimes the middleman that connects you lot with a seller, not the store itself. Amazon doesn't necessarily examine or vouch for the products being sold on its website before they reach you. That's something most people don't understand nearly Amazon, but should.
Source: https://www.howtogeek.com/267701/i-got-scammed-by-a-counterfeiter-on-amazon-heres-how-you-can-avoid-them/
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