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Comment by ConcernedCoder | Hacker News Reader

counterfeit stickers...

Single-use stickers, sent as a roll to the supplier at their registered address. Like a one-time pad of proofs. Each sticker would just be a QR code containing an HMACed {shipper ID, sequence #} string.

When Amazon receives the stock, it adds the sequence # to the set of sequence #s used/acknowledged for that shipper. If there’s a collision, the shipper gets a strike against it (because it’s their responsibility to protect their sticker roll from copying) and the item itself is returned-to-sender as undeliverable (because it was very likely a counterfeit.)

A date string and or a string specified by amazon at the time of shipment creation signed with some sort of private key should fix this I think.

You're assuming they want to fix the problem

Not sure that level of snark is appropriate for HN. Not that I explicitly disagree with you, of course. It's just we gotta have a higher bar around here. I'd love to see substantial elaboration on the topic that adds to the discussion.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

> Be kind. Don't be snarky. Have curious conversation; don't cross-examine. Comments should be more thoughtful and substantive, not less.

> Eschew flamebait. Don't introduce flamewar topics unless you have something genuinely new to say. Avoid unrelated controversies and generic tangents.

You're assuming snark was implied. I honestly do not believe that Amazon feels that this is a problem that needs to be solved. Before Amazon bans sellers/buyers, it needs to have total control of the market. At that point, it can decide what it wants to do.

I've seen you post this reply several times lately (even today alone). Maybe you should attempt to contribute more to the conversation yourself rather than being a 6 month old account playing hall monitor.

Including supporting facts in the original comment would make it read more in the spirit of the guidelines, in my humble view as a non-moderator. It's reasonable to say Amazon may have no reason to change problem X due to Y and Z. But seeing the problem alone makes it read in a somewhat emotionally charged manner.

I don't know enough about Amazon's fulfillment to know if this is possible, but maybe the sticker is unique to that seller. Meaning if it isn't their sticker that is scanned during fulfillment, they don't get credit for the sale.

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