Amazon Announces Plan to Fight Counterfeits

So this

Will be easier to initiate more often. Hmmm.
There's Walmart.com.
 
Businessman Bob has a widget. He wants to produce the widget. Sadly, Bob has to have it manufactured in China. (If the widget is produced in USA, it'll cost too much and Bob's Widget Company (BWC) will not sell enough. That means their production run will need to be lower...thereby fueling a spiraling cost increase. Hence, China.)

In China, Bob meets Mr. Tso. Mr. Tso's General Manufacturing Plant agrees to make the widget for the price Bob needs.

Bob is relieved. BWC will be able to manufacture, ship, distribute, and sell 10,000 widgets a month to the domestic market. Bob's kids can go to college. Bob's wife can get the boob job he's been after. BWC workers can buy groceries. Everything is good. Or is it? (Cue ominous music...)

Back in China, as agreed, Mr. Tso's factory produces widgets from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. But, unknown to Bob, Mr. Tso's GMP stays open 24/7. They're pumping out widgets. They give 10,000 a month to Bob...and 25,000 a month to Mr. Tso's friend and business acquaintance, Mr. Wang Chung.

Wang Chung enjoys being busy at night, so the late shipments don't bother him. He sends his widgets throughout the world. The 25,000 widgets are cheaper than the price quoted to Bob for his 10,000.

BWC sees their sales plummet. His price for his widget is HIGHER than the price Wang Chung pays for that same widget. (Volume and preferential deals. After all, Bob paid for the extra capital needed at Tso's General Manufacturing. Wang Chung gets it for free...and he gets more of it.)

BWC cannot compete...with their own product made in their own licensed factory.

The result?

Bob's kids become dropouts. Bob's wife is mad that he doesn't love her for who she is and divorces him. The BWC workers don't have to worry about obesity.

Mr. Tso gets rich. Mr. Tso's workers dare not complain: social scores, donchaknow.

Wang Chung gets rich.


Was this a counterfeit or a knockoff?

Shrug. Either way, it was stealing.

This is exactly what China does.
 
kju1 said:
Stop buying from RandoTheChinamen seller and buy from amazon instead? I’ve literally never gotten a fake.

But then I pay attention. Here’s a hint: if it’s too good to be true it probably is. That $2000 TV you found on RandoTheChinamens store for $800? Fake or stolen.

Imo this will solve nothing except to provide an avenue for abuse.
Click to expand...
Yup. I have a rule of thumb...never buy from the cheapest guy. While I'm sure it has cost me some money that I didn't need to spend, it has likely saved me a lot of time and headaches.
 
c3k said:
The first thing they should do is look at anything imported from China as being suspicious. Assume it's counterfeit and only offer it for sale after it has been deemed legitimate.
Click to expand...
SamuelL421 said:
They should do exactly that, but they won't since scrutinizing Chinese sellers goes against making money for Amazon.
Click to expand...
That's why it's called Project Zero: Amazon gives zero fucks about counterfeits.
 
DukenukemX said:
I generally go for the lowest priced part cause often one website wants twice as much as another for the same part. RockAuto wanted $120 for a Denso O2 while on Ebay it was $50. Says Denso on the sensor and the box says Lexus/Toyota, so I figure it was genuine. If it said something like China #1 instead of Denso then at least I knew that I was getting a cheap Chinese sensor and treat it accordingly. I wouldn't care as long as it worked but I spent months diagnosing the issue and avoided looking at the sensor cause it was brand new.

I did make a video explaining the whole ordeal and warning others not to fall into this trap.
Click to expand...

I almost looks like a different part altogether, for a different car but being sold for the the model you have (or a bad fake of course).
Sucks either way.
I know it happened to me with roof racks. I realized it after purchase, and digging a bit more into ebay listings.. I think there's vendors selling the same bars and just making different ebay listings that have different model cars regardless if they work or not I mean.
Assholes.
The quality of the bars was actually fine, strong even (plasticized metal bases, thick aluminum, stainless steel screws which surprised me), but it would never work properly in my car, I was just sold some generic bars, with an Ebay listing saying for the model car I was looking for.
Jackasses.
I wonder if your sensor would actually work properly, perhaps in a lower end Toyota or some crap.
I too am a generic part guy, most work just fine.
My old corolla, I shoved a Chinese generic AC compressor, it worked very well, it was less than 200, or some such (very low $$ for an AC compressor).
 
c3k said:
Businessman Bob has a widget.
Click to expand...
Well businessman Bob just learned a very important lesson. If his widget was indeed unique, it takes money to protect it, a LOT of money, getting a patent costs considerable resources, as well as defending your patent. Bob also needs to understand how patents work, if he wants to circle his horses in just the US or if he wants to protect it world wide, doing research on which areas your widget might be coveted is key... and it costs money. Now true patents are all but useless in China unless you know or pay high ranking officials, but as long as you defend your patent in the countries you want to sell in you possibly could make out ok and prevent Wang Chung's products from infiltrating your area with threat of legal action.

Bob also fell into another trap, he assumed the cost to produce was too high in the US because most everything is in fact made in China, so he used China's price as a baseline ignoring all other factors. Bob did the same thing that a lot of consumers do, they see two similar items they buy the cheaper one not knowing the potential ramifications of it, in the case of the consumer it may not be as sturdy and last nearly as long as a "brand name" version but most people let pricing dictate their choice more so about potential quality. For Bob if his widget is unique what's to say manufacturing in the US is too expensive? It's a unique widget! Hence he gets to set the price, we've already concluded Bob is a cheap ass which means he didn't spend money on research figuring out what people would pay for his widget so this is all on Bob. As as we see Bob's cheaper price for production ends up with less sales as well, which makes the cost of production have a lot high value associated with it since his return on investment is much smaller.

Now if his widget wasn't unique, then there are plenty of US companies who will manufacturer their version as well either, this isn't a China-centric problem it's just seen more there because everyone is making their crap their.

Bottom line is too many companies are hiring a fox to guard their hen house, and then the rest of us are some how supposed to feel upset when they wake up the next morning and have no chickens left.
 
c3k said:
Businessman Bob has a widget. He wants to produce the widget. Sadly, Bob has to have it manufactured in China. (If the widget is produced in USA, it'll cost too much and Bob's Widget Company (BWC) will not sell enough. That means their production run will need to be lower...thereby fueling a spiraling cost increase. Hence, China.)

In China, Bob meets Mr. Tso. Mr. Tso's General Manufacturing Plant agrees to make the widget for the price Bob needs.

Bob is relieved. BWC will be able to manufacture, ship, distribute, and sell 10,000 widgets a month to the domestic market. Bob's kids can go to college. Bob's wife can get the boob job he's been after. BWC workers can buy groceries. Everything is good. Or is it? (Cue ominous music...)

Back in China, as agreed, Mr. Tso's factory produces widgets from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. But, unknown to Bob, Mr. Tso's GMP stays open 24/7. They're pumping out widgets. They give 10,000 a month to Bob...and 25,000 a month to Mr. Tso's friend and business acquaintance, Mr. Wang Chung.

Wang Chung enjoys being busy at night, so the late shipments don't bother him. He sends his widgets throughout the world. The 25,000 widgets are cheaper than the price quoted to Bob for his 10,000.

BWC sees their sales plummet. His price for his widget is HIGHER than the price Wang Chung pays for that same widget. (Volume and preferential deals. After all, Bob paid for the extra capital needed at Tso's General Manufacturing. Wang Chung gets it for free...and he gets more of it.)

BWC cannot compete...with their own product made in their own licensed factory.

The result?

Bob's kids become dropouts. Bob's wife is mad that he doesn't love her for who she is and divorces him. The BWC workers don't have to worry about obesity.

Mr. Tso gets rich. Mr. Tso's workers dare not complain: social scores, donchaknow.

Wang Chung gets rich.


Was this a counterfeit or a knockoff?

Shrug. Either way, it was stealing.

This is exactly what China does.
Click to expand...


I read it all and left with this:

 
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sfsuphysics said:
Well businessman Bob just learned a very important lesson. If his widget was indeed unique, it takes money to protect it, a LOT of money, getting a patent costs considerable resources, as well as defending your patent. Bob also needs to understand how patents work, if he wants to circle his horses in just the US or if he wants to protect it world wide, doing research on which areas your widget might be coveted is key... and it costs money. Now true patents are all but useless in China unless you know or pay high ranking officials, but as long as you defend your patent in the countries you want to sell in you possibly could make out ok and prevent Wang Chung's products from infiltrating your area with threat of legal action.

Bob also fell into another trap, he assumed the cost to produce was too high in the US because most everything is in fact made in China, so he used China's price as a baseline ignoring all other factors. Bob did the same thing that a lot of consumers do, they see two similar items they buy the cheaper one not knowing the potential ramifications of it, in the case of the consumer it may not be as sturdy and last nearly as long as a "brand name" version but most people let pricing dictate their choice more so about potential quality. For Bob if his widget is unique what's to say manufacturing in the US is too expensive? It's a unique widget! Hence he gets to set the price, we've already concluded Bob is a cheap ass which means he didn't spend money on research figuring out what people would pay for his widget so this is all on Bob. As as we see Bob's cheaper price for production ends up with less sales as well, which makes the cost of production have a lot high value associated with it since his return on investment is much smaller.

Now if his widget wasn't unique, then there are plenty of US companies who will manufacturer their version as well either, this isn't a China-centric problem it's just seen more there because everyone is making their crap their.

Bottom line is too many companies are hiring a fox to guard their hen house, and then the rest of us are some how supposed to feel upset when they wake up the next morning and have no chickens left.
Click to expand...
Pretty much... The fact that " The Chinese" do copies and what have you, doesn't mean other countries arent doing the same or will do the same given their manufacturer capacity... These things are as old as the wheel.. the only thing that has changed is that we are undergoing a cycle of propaganda, and it's working quite well.
 
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