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Comment by delfinom | Hacker News Reader

Pretty much. I absolutely fucking hate Amazon now. It's full of white label products. You can tell the seller does no real safety testing of any kind from their broad array of random shit. You can't even trust the kitchen equipment for chance they made the steel with lead or the silicone is mixed with something toxic, etc. Completely unregulated market place of stupid. And this is on top of Amazon's counterfeit problems they half ass enforcement. I'm surprised nobody has died yet from counterfeit or substandard automotive goods of all things.

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I work in automotive parts (ASE Parts Specialist Cert.) and Amazon carries all the same substandard automotive goods Autozone and the other Mexican car parts stores have. Valuecarft line is dangerous Mexican made remans, duralast same crap. Most the time you go to one these Mexican car parts stores to get hard parts your getting something marked up 200% and searching it on amazon gets you same identical part. Your right it's amazing that even more people don't die from crap parts.

So where should I be buying my automotive car parts?

I like RockAuto. But since I had a bad run-in with a supposedly-quality oil pan for an Aisin transmission, I've increasingly been using OEM. Like, from the local dealers. But, there's always things like brake calipers from TRW which are identical to the VW-branded ones (but far cheaper). Anyway, I avoid Dorman and a whole host of other parts manufacturers. If I need to get it done in one day, OEM helps...

I had one bad experience from RockAuto and haven't gone back. One OEM lists a part as compatible for a Honda Accord 2006 V6 belt tensioner when it is basically incompatible it comes in as the pulley's are different sizes from factory (and you can't tell in their images). They made it incredibly difficult for me to return it for god knows what reason.

A different OEM sourced elsewhere was the correct kit out of the box :/

From the OEM as much as possible. I know their parts are "expensive" but nobody debates that they have the best fitment and quality compared to places like AutoZone, O'Rly, etc.

The only other option is to look for the company who builds the OEM parts and find their suppliers. For example, you'll find Exedy builds clutches for companies like Honda. So if you can get an Exedy clutch from your local parts store, it's usually the same as the OEM part.

If you do research too, you'll find that there are a lot of high-quality aftermarket parts suppliers too. If you are looking for bearings, you can usually look for places that sell SKF bearings (or whatever you prefer), and measure and cross reference the sizes to find what fits your application.

So what it comes down to is, it depends on the part, and it depends on what is available from where. It's basically a giant research project for every part.

>from the OEM as much as possible

I think I'll take my chances with the "Mexican" parts you've described as I have seen them installed in countless cars and road deaths have only been dropping year over year.

There is no need for me to crucify myself financially because German plastic is supposedly better than Mexican.

Honestly, there's nothing wrong with "Mexican" parts specifically just "aftermarket" quality outside of known aftermarket brands.

For example, an after-market engine mount isn't going to kill you when it goes bad, but your wallet is going to be a lot emptier compared to just buying the factory part after you replace the damn thing every year. (I've had the experience, I tried a few aftermarket brands, I've since gone exclusively to factory and haven't replaced an engine mount in years)

>I'm surprised nobody has died yet from counterfeit or substandard automotive goods of all things.

I've been told this will self-regulate in a truly free market.

I 100% guarantee someone has died from substandard automotive goods. Not sure when or where, but mechanical failures contribute to accidents all the time.

> I absolutely fucking hate Amazon now. It's full of white label products.

So is Walmart and Dollar General. It's always been the customer's responsibility to buy the product they want, not the store's. Don't want counterfeit crap? Don't buy IFONE FROM APPEL in the listings. I don't know when the last time I got counterfeit crap from amazon is because I look at what I buy before I buy it.

White labelling and counterfeiting are two different things.

White labelling is just rebranding; I go to Home Depot and buy some screws, print out a label that says "jrockway's miracle fasteners", slap it on top of Home Depot's label, and sell them to you, that's white labeling.

Counterfeiting is when you inject seemingly-identical goods into the supply chain. You mix up some soap and blue dye in your bathtub, pour it into some recycled Tide bottles, and ship them off to Amazon's warehouse as "Tide brand laundry detergent". Now you are selling them to customers seeking a genuine product, but they're not getting the real thing.

White-labelling is a perfectly legitimate thing. Counterfeiting is a crime.

To be extra clear, your "I look at things on Amazon before I buy them" technique is exactly the sort of procedure that won't protect you from counterfeiting. The counterfeiters already fooled Amazon. Amazon thinks they're selling you genuine merchandise. But they're not. That's what upsets people.

> Amazon thinks they're selling you genuine merchandise.

I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't believe this anymore either.

What Chinese companies actually do is both really. They take an order of 1000 say Apple iPhones then actually produce 2000, keeping 1000 for themselves. They then sell the knock-offs themselves within China or into the U.S. on e-bay and other 'used' sites.

1. The commenter I replied to was talking about white label, they didn't mention counterfeiting.

2. I doubt Amazon purposefully sells counterfeit goods.

I wouldn't blame the consumer on this. Retailers are responsible for the things they sell. That includes if it's low quality or if it says it's something that it isn't (counterfeit etc). Also hosting fake reviews etc is also something they are responsible for.

Normal retailers are responsible. Amazon hides behind the veil of "third party sellers".

Is it a veil? Imagine you are a landlord and you rent to a Walmart. Are you as the landlord responsible for all of Walmart's products? It is the same thing but Amazon owns a virtual high traveled location instead of the landlord who owns a place on a busy street. Amazon shouldn't be responsible for the third party seller, but it should be extremely clear that it is a third party seller, like the sign on the side of a building.

Caveat emptor has to have limits. If merchants can just write whatever on whatever package and sell it, how the hell are consumers supposed to function as informed or responsible? How long until every transaction turns into a sketchy used car buy, having to take my package of fucking toilet paper to a maid so she can use her expertise to make sure they didn't make the paper out of razorblades and carbon fiber?

I'm all for free markets but merchants have proven time and again, and long before China for that matter, that they can't be fucking trusted with anything. Sure, some are good, but the vast majority especially online will do any damn thing they can to increase bottom line.

So blame the seller, not the store, unless you really think Amazon is trying to sell counterfeit goods.

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