Comment by Guest0918231 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Guest0918231 | Hacker News Reader

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Agreed, they need to curate their store, and take some responsibility and pride in what they sell. Need a battery tester? Take your pick from...

* VTECHOLOGY Battery Checker - https://www.amazon.com/Battery-VTECHOLOGY-Batteries-Requires...

* D-FantiX Battery Tester - https://www.amazon.com/D-FantiX-Battery-Universal-Checker-Ba...

* SURDARX Battery Tester - https://www.amazon.com/SURDARX-Battery-Universal-Checker-Bat...

* The Battery Organizer - https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Organizer-TBO30343-Universal-...

* Amprobe BAT-200 Battery Tester - https://www.amazon.com/Amprobe-BAT-200-Battery-Tester/dp/B00...

* Battery Tester Checker by WeePro - https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tester-Checker-WeePro-Monitor...

I'll stop there, but there are probably 20 brands selling the same Alibaba battery tester on the first few pages with the only difference being the name stamped on the side. This is why I don't shop at Amazon. I don't trust their reviews. I don't trust that I'll receive a legitimate product. I don't trust that anyone cares about the quality of products being sold.

I wanted to find another example of the lack of quality control, so I just searched on Amazon for full grain leather belts. I opened one of the cheaper options for $10 and the description says "100% Full Grain Leather". That seems unlikely given the price, so I checked the reviews and there are photos of the belt flaking and peeling, which makes it quite clear it's not full grain leather. One of the reviewers also says the belt is stamped with "Genuine Leather", which once again confirms it's not full grain leather.

So, Amazon sells a belt that is literally described as "100% Full Grain Leather", but it's simply not. But, somehow that's fine.

It's worth mentioning that the housings of many products are frequently sold to multiple manufacturers as components ( though in this case I suspect it's probably the same product ). I've also seen suppliers change the contents of batches of products once an order has been placed ( I'm talking palette loads of products that land with changes to the electronics - even as a single importer specialising in a given product it can be impossible to guarantee continuity of supply from the east ). This makes any attempt to police this kind of re-branding highly impractical since you need to disassemble any given product to verify it's contents, even within the same order.

My concern is why they need to sell them all. Take those 20 battery testers that all cost $7 and look identical, test them out, and sell the best one.

As the consumer I'll save time, receive a better product, and likely be more confident and satisfied with my purchase.

The only way for Amazon to do what you ask is to not allow third parties to list products in their system at all, and to verify continuity of supply by continually spot checking product, and penalising vendors for changing spec on them.

I think that's the point. Most retailers do exactly what you describe, and I prefer buying things at those stores instead of Amazon because of it. But that's just me.

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