"I Called Out a Counterfeit Item on Amazon. Then They Banned Me"

Megalith

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How-To Geek editor Chris Hoffman says he was banned from making product reviews on Amazon after making a single post about a cheap mini PC that “shipped with a pirated Windows 10 license, which did not activate properly.” Hoffman says this happens silently without any warning or notification; he didn’t even realize his privileges were revoked until last month when he, presumably, tried to review another item.

Two years ago, I got scammed by a counterfeiter on Amazon. I left a review on the product warning others about my experience. Eventually, Amazon deleted my review and banned me from leaving reviews for “violating Community Guidelines.” Has Amazon banned you for leaving a bad review? You probably think Amazon hasn’t—but are you sure? Amazon doesn’t even email you to let you know that they’ve banned you and deleted all your reviews. Amazon does it silently.
 
Within the past month we've had to get four different things replaced because they either sent the wrong thing or they sent something that was obviously used/open box (2700x with the box seal ripped open) when we ordered new. All through Amazon as the seller/shipper. They are absolutely getting worse.
 
I don’t buy the cheap Chinese obvious knocked off items from Amazon but I have left plenty of 1-star reviews. I even got contacted by one saying I was over reacting lol.
 
While I don't know what kind of reviews were left, my Father told me he was banned from leaving reviews on Amazon after getting a clearly counterfeit item and stating as such in the review; This was probably 2 months ago. Kind of sad that their response to poor quality seems to be silencing anyone who says so.

Edit: And this was an item fulfilled by Amazon, not a 3rd party through Amazon.
 
I will say that banning folks from leaving poor reviews because of shipping/handling/amazon issues kind of makes sense. The reason being that the reviews should be there to judge the product itself - Not reviewing the fuck up on Amazon/Vendors part.

The problem is that they almost need a second review system where you can judge the quality of handling/fulfillment of each product. So if a bunch of 2700x's folks are receiving are counterfeit/open box from Amazon then they'd know. Of course, Amazon will never do this because it will open themselves up to less business. They already let you review the shipping/handling, but none of this is information is exposed to the public.
 
"At the time, MarsKing sent me a message through Amazon offering to sell me a new PC “with a legitimate [license]” for 50% off. I did not accept the offer, but I imagine MarsKing would have expected me to pull down the negative review if I did."
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me......
$10 says MarsKing was going to give him another pirated Win10.
Dick move on Amazon for banning someone over a review without questioning it.
 
"At the time, MarsKing sent me a message through Amazon offering to sell me a new PC “with a legitimate [license]” for 50% off. I did not accept the offer, but I imagine MarsKing would have expected me to pull down the negative review if I did."
Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me......
$10 says MarsKing was going to give him another pirated Win10.
Dick move on Amazon for banning someone over a review without questioning it.

I bet the ban was automated somehow, lol.
 
Bad reviews are bad for business at every level.

I'd expect this behavior in most places where you are reviewing something the place hosting the reviews is selling.

I usually shop by quantity and quality of the positive reviews. If it's expensive, I'll go after indy reviews on a third party site first. I've never had a problem with Amazon and I've been shopping there since before prime started
 
Yeah.
I bet the resellers can petition to have you banned.
They're probably pretty good at working the system.

Most of what Ebay does is in a timely mediated response program. If you don't email them back within at times 24 hours they will automatically rule against you. I've had this happen to me before because I didn't check my mail account associated with ebay for 2 weeks when I was on a vacation and came back to a crock of shit. Most people aren't aware of this. If you sell or buy on ebay, you must check that email account EVERY DAY or risk being scammed/burned by some shitbag ebay supports.
 
thats funny i was also banned from giving product reviews when i wrote a review complaining about an obviously used item being sold as new.
 
I don't have problems with Amazon banning people for reviewing a product, when those people should be reviewing the seller. It's not the product that has a problem. Clearly, they don't understand the purpose of a review system.

If you look at a product and it's rated as 3*, but it's a 5* product, that's unfairly hurting the manufacturer. You should be reviewing the seller.

Now if Amazon is selling a used/counterfeit product - sure - go ahead and post a negative review on the product page.
 
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I don't have problems with Amazon banning people for reviewing a product, when those people should be reviewing the seller. It's not the product that has a problem. Clearly, they don't understand the purpose of a review system.

If you look at a product and it's rated as 3*, but it's a 5* product, that's unfairly hurting the manufacturer. You should be reviewing the seller.

Now if Amazon is selling a used/counterfeit product - sure - go ahead and post a negative review on the product page.
That doesn't work since it is both common and easy to create multiple "companies" that sell the same product, but are actually the all the same seller. These are the same Chinese companies that PM people on slickdeals and beg them to write reviews for products and talk about "deals" while paying them $1-$2 a pop. Fakespot helps, but certainly isn't perfect in this situation.
 
Amazon is a cesspool of counterfeit goods. I will never order anything there again and cancelled my prime membership years ago. It used to be good too.
Considering most of it is crap people get from Chinese factories, not surprising. Then in addition to the counterfeit stuff, it's a cesspool of rebranded garbage that again all comes from the prior mentioned Chinese factories. Go to someplace like Alibaba Need a footmassager? yes we can get you 1000 of them at this price and put your own brand name on the unit. Then they import, and resell on Amazon it's just... fuck I don't know anymore. And Amazon just cares about their bottom line, and they've literally become the Walmart of online sales in that they have so many people addicted to their cheap products that people don't want to go elsewhere because it costs more.
 
Within the past month we've had to get four different things replaced because they either sent the wrong thing or they sent something that was obviously used/open box (2700x with the box seal ripped open) when we ordered new. All through Amazon as the seller/shipper. They are absolutely getting worse.

Yeah out of my last 5 or so orders, I've had 2 late, 1 lost never to be seen again, and an expensive collector's set shipped in an envelope to be smashed.

All of the late/lost stuff was with Amazon's in-house shipping service. Heck one of my kids ran downstairs to get me the other day b/c some "scary man" was loitering outside my house smoking cigarettes. It turned out to be an Amazon delivery person dicking off out front, after he dropped off a package. It wasn't a delivery van or anything, so it looked like a lower end Uber driver.
 
my wife left some honest "negative" reviews of products she has bought and they turned out to be garbage quality or didn't work at all .. they mysteriously disappeared .. on the plus side though, she has always been fully refunded on said products.
 
Counterfeiting is not Amazon's or eBay's, or anyone else's problem. While companies do address it, they do so in terms of what's going to get the most attention if the shit hit's the fan. The smaller players are making them a ton of money. So it's easier for them to turn a blind eye. I remember a time when all you could get on eBay were counterfeit Otter Box phone cases. Counterfeit memory cards are all the rage now. It's so bad that people are selling them all over Faceboook Marketplace now.

The best thing to do is leave bad feedback and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You can also submit the sellers name to a handful of Counterfeit Watchdog web pages. There are a lot of nasty things you can do.
 
My last Amazon order was placed at a certain time to get the option for Saturday delivery. I specifically ordered the item for Saturday delivery and all status updates reflected that. It was shipped using Amazon delivery according to the tracking number

Order Status stated: Saturday Delivery by 10am
Then by Noon
Then by 4pm
Then by 5:15
Then by 9pm

at 902PM I get on chat and "dimples" (yeah...that's the chat reps name) says that they can get it to me Monday.

I said nope, and told her to cancel the order.

She responded in chat she would make a 1 time exception and cancel the order. I told her it won't be one time exception if you're late again.
 
My last Amazon order was placed at a certain time to get the option for Saturday delivery. I specifically ordered the item for Saturday delivery and all status updates reflected that. It was shipped using Amazon delivery according to the tracking number

Order Status stated: Saturday Delivery by 10am
Then by Noon
Then by 4pm
Then by 5:15
Then by 9pm

at 902PM I get on chat and "dimples" (yeah...that's the chat reps name) says that they can get it to me Monday.

I said nope, and told her to cancel the order.

She responded in chat she would make a 1 time exception and cancel the order. I told her it won't be one time exception if you're late again.

Their in-house shipping pretty much does whatever the hell it wants.
 
Was burned by what turned out to be a Chinese scammer on eBay about a dozen or so years ago. Both eBay and PayPal were worthless in helping.

As for Amazon, I make sure to only buy products sold by either:
1. Amazing themselves
2. The (reputable) manufacturer, such as Crucial or WizDice, through their Amazon storefronts.

Counterfeiting is not Amazon's or eBay's, or anyone else's problem. While companies do address it, they do so in terms of what's going to get the most attention if the shit hit's the fan. The smaller players are making them a ton of money. So it's easier for them to turn a blind eye. I remember a time when all you could get on eBay were counterfeit Otter Box phone cases. Counterfeit memory cards are all the rage now. It's so bad that people are selling them all over Faceboook Marketplace now.

The best thing to do is leave bad feedback and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. You can also submit the sellers name to a handful of Counterfeit Watchdog web pages. There are a lot of nasty things you can do.


Indeed.
https://www.stopfakes.gov/article?id=Report-Fake-Goods
 
"We may restrict the ability to submit a review when we detect unusual reviewing behavior, or to maintain the best possible shopping experience."

And their guidelines clearly state not to post any defamatory or libelous reviews, or anything "otherwise injurious to third parties or objectionable..."

Sure, it's bullshit, but that's Amazon. Free speech only works when its convenient to all parties. Follow the correct procedures and report copyright infringement here.
 
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Most of what Ebay does is in a timely mediated response program. If you don't email them back within at times 24 hours they will automatically rule against you. I've had this happen to me before because I didn't check my mail account associated with ebay for 2 weeks when I was on a vacation and came back to a crock of shit. Most people aren't aware of this. If you sell or buy on ebay, you must check that email account EVERY DAY or risk being scammed/burned by some shitbag ebay supports.

That's one of the reasons I won't sell ANYTHING on ebay anymore, besides their 30% cut. They leave sellers out to dry. Now if I have anything I don't want I'll give it away or light it on fire.
 
I know they delete things without telling you. I bought a bluetooth tile a year ago and the company sent me a knockoff. I sent it back and left a bad review. I checked back a few days later and it was gone. I complained to Amazon and asked why it happened and they couldn't tell me. It seems they have some back channel shenanigans to clean up shit.
 
Their in-house shipping pretty much does whatever the hell it wants.

Yep. I just learned that the [H]ard way, lol.

In all the time I've been a prime member, this was my very first experience with their shipping. I hope it's the last.
 
PayPal is part of the equation on forums too, so is shipping. They aren't exclusive or part of eBay.

eBay also charges you a percentage of what you charge for shipping what you sell.

So, if you charge $10 to ship an item, eBay charges you $1.00.

You have the scammy/scummy people to thank for this that used to sell items for 0.99 and put the shipping super high in order to avoid eBay fees.

If you have an eBay store (any but the very lowest level of store), you get about a 40% drop in eBay fees which completely makes it worth it if you are selling enough.
 
Just like all the other private corporate platforms people think should be "fair"...why? You clicked to be in the human centipede, get over it.
 
That's one of the reasons I won't sell ANYTHING on ebay anymore, besides their 30% cut. They leave sellers out to dry. Now if I have anything I don't want I'll give it away or light it on fire.

If you combine ebay tos with paypal, you have 0 leverage as a seller. You could sell something brand new, in a box, sealed, and say clearly no returns in your listing, and paypal will let the buyer file against you for any lying reason and get a full refund without returning said product. It's a shit system that has straight jacked me many times. You literally have no protections, and it all comes down to some random person (probably in India) who gets to decide 90% of the time against the (reputable 100% positive feedback over 15 years) seller. It's a shitshow.
 
As for Amazon, I make sure to only buy products sold by either:
1. Amazing themselves
2. The (reputable) manufacturer, such as Crucial or WizDice, through their Amazon storefronts.

99% of my purchases are "Shipped & Sold by Amazon." I've had fantastic luck following this pattern. I think a lot of people see "Fulfilled by Amazon" and think it's some sort of mark of quality, but any 3rd party seller can have their items shipped by Amazon. Just make sure Amazon is the seller, or as you said, the 3rd party seller has a good reputation.
 
Was burned by what turned out to be a Chinese scammer on eBay about a dozen or so years ago. Both eBay and PayPal were worthless in helping.

As for Amazon, I make sure to only buy products sold by either:
1. Amazing themselves
2. The (reputable) manufacturer, such as Crucial or WizDice, through their Amazon storefronts.




Indeed.
https://www.stopfakes.gov/article?id=Report-Fake-Goods


Yeah. Got burned by an EBay seller with an IBM laptop years ago.
Bought it, was supposed ot have the balance of a warranty on it.
Noticed cracking in the body panels around the hinges.
Called for service.
Got WEIRD run around.
And the cops showed up at work the next day looking for the laptop.
It'd "fallen off a truck" in Virginia.
When I contacted the fucker, he tried telling me "Liz Taylor has stolen pictures in her collection"...
????
EB and PP didn't give a flying fuck. Their response was "We got our shekel."
Finally tracked the sonofabitch (through his shipping cut-out in Kentucky to his home in Ohio).
Sued him in small claims court, won, and never got a payment out of him.
 
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