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Comment by ohgreatwtf | Hacker News Reader

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07B452QQS/

Check this product out. It's made in a chinese guy's garage in northern california using equipment he imported in 2014.

It doesn't have legitimate GMP or FDA licensing.

This is the kind of problem we are talking about.

And the issue is worse than it appears, just as toast0 mentioned, because the same exact product with same product page and AMAZON barcode, NO UPC, is also in the online walmart marketplace now! Amazon so controls the market that the other companies just do whatever amazon does. This is a literal antitrust situation we are in- sherman act violations.

There are international food products on amazon marked "made for/picked exclusively for amazon". That's a violation of the FTC act. We are in a situation where our government is failing to regulate.

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I'm curious, how do you know details about the operations of the seller for the listing? I couldn't find anything with a cursory Google search.

I do a lot of "forensics" style spidering through different information sources, databases, port manifests, registered businesses, etc.

I have long since submitted the evidence involved to the FTC and FCC. They have failed to act on the information. I have stalked down the people who run listings on amazon and contacted them to verify their product is legitimate.

I could not do so with this product, and I assure you, even precursory digging will fully inform you. There is no return policy, the phone number on the product goes to a dead answering system, etc.

https://belivestore.com/pages/about >fda registered facility Contacting FDA indicated they had no knowledge of this. >GMP facility GMP authority I contacted had no knowledge. >search TESS for trademark muliple trademarks found to address in california >search opencorporates for "belive llc"

(California (US), 22 Sep 2017- , 21800 OXNARD ST STE 250 WOODLAND HILLS CA 91367) United States flag inactive BELIVE LLC (California (US), 13 Mar 2017- , 4846 SCENIC AVE LIVERMORE CA 94551) Trademarks: MOON BURN FUSION BURN<another product from belive United States flag branch BELIVE LLC (California (US), 23 Apr 2018- , 30 N GOULD ST STE R SHERIDAN WY 82801)

Word Mark MOON BURN Goods and Services IC 005. US 006 018 044 046 051 052. G & S: Dietary supplements. FIRST USE: 20170101. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 20170101 Standard Characters Claimed Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK Serial Number 87591965 Filing Date August 31, 2017 Current Basis 1A Original Filing Basis 1A Published for Opposition January 16, 2018 Registration Number 5437416 Registration Date April 3, 2018 Owner (REGISTRANT) BeLive LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY CALIFORNIA 4846 Scenic Ave Livermore CALIFORNIA 94551< some lady's house Type of Mark TRADEMARK Register PRINCIPAL Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/Document/RetrievePDF?Id=04...

business owner is weizhen li, goes by john li on facebook. I cant link his social media as i believe that would be a breach of privacy.

I had turned to Target for online shopping, and recommended it to others, but now they’re opening their site to third-party sellers too. They’re claiming they’ll be more selective about who they allow on their platform, but it’s still a worrying development.

>It's made in a chinese guy's garage in northern california using equipment he imported in 2014.

There's nothing on that link that indicates this. So either you're making it up or back up your statement.

It's probably their listing, Amazon factors in product views in the search ranking and if you suddenly start getting a bunch of people clicking...

I wonder if we could catch counterfeits by checking a code against some sort of ledger on the manufacturer's end, and do this at scale.

Amazon has a voluntary program called project zero where a manufacturer can serialize every unit they send in. I'm not sure how widely it's used. For a lot of A-list brands it's almost certainly better if consumers lose faith in Amazon (and buy directly from their sites instead).

Some brands, like FiiO (high end audio gear made by a Chinese company), have a web portal for checking authenticity of UUID "serial" codes

Many pharmaceutical manufacturers offer the same sort of online verification portal, especially for products sold outside the USA.

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