It’s horrible and they won’t do anything about it despite contacting them via help requests and Twitter.
3 of the top 5 listings are total scams.
And Amazon’s choice for 1TB flash drive is a scam: USB Flash Drive 1TB, Flash Memory Stick for PC/Laptop, Ultra Large Storage USB Drive, Portable Thumb Drives (Black) https://a.co/d/cTi7XqZ
I stopped using amazon around 2 years ago. If i want to buy "Chinesium" i use aliexpress and save a lot of middlemen in return for a long shipping time.
I've been burned by fake products a few times and learned my lesson long ago. Sure, amazon does make it easy to return them, but going to a real store avoids it all-together.
If you shop around for prices, it is rare that amazon's prices are even competitive vs an actual physical store these days.
this makes little sense, the store has employees and high rents, what are amazon's reasons?
Genuine question, what store is this that:
1) has inventory in store of items like this
2) doesn’t also ever have fake merchandise on their shelves
The problem isn’t just Amazon, Walmart, or other large online retailers, it’s issues throughout the supply chain because of the lack of enforcement by all actors (retailers, distributors, shippers, manufacturers, customs agents, government agencies, etc).
So I’m not finding the news article at the moment on counterfeit electronics goods re: Target, but there’s been a couple I remember.
here’s one on makeup that I found searching though:
Fry's used to be good for that sort of thing on the West coast too, but they're long dead.
I'm Canadian so "Canada computers" comes to mind. They are almost always price-competitive with Amazon, and you can check their stock online before you go (they do ship as well)
They have been around for a long time and built a reputation of not selling crap. You can go there and know that what you buy will be a decent product. Maybe not as wide a selection as "amazon" but they carry the top of almost any category.
Newegg has been great for at least a decade as well?
The fake stuff isn't amazon or walmart, it is almost always "third party sellers" which many stores dont offer for obvious reasons (reputation damaging fraud).
What makes you trust a brick and mortar store's supply chain more than an online store? There are counterfeit items everywhere.
Number of fake/counterfeit items i have gotten from a bricks and morter store : 0
Number of fake/counterfeit items i have gotten off amazon prior to giving up on it : 6
Dig into this counterfeit items issue more deeply, it is almost always "third party sellers" and amazon's commingling that is causing these problems. Don't allow third party sellers, don't commingle your inventory and it is a LOT harder to introduce counterfeit items into your stock.
I would guess it adjusts for shipping time and result relevance weighted by previous usage. For me, the choice 1TB flash drive is a PNY thumb drive.
At the very least, it seems brave to assign your company’s endorsement automatically based on an algorithm.
I believe it is the same for all users for a given keyword search, but it is also dynamically changing.
From [1], the algorithm itself is a black box though:
> One innovation the company devised is “Amazon’s Choice,” a distinctive black badge typically bestowed on a single product per search term. The company says the award is given to “highly rated, well-priced products available to ship immediately.” But for many categories, dozens of options fit that description. How does Amazon choose its choices? Do humans have a hand in the decisions, or are they governed by an algorithm?
> The company won’t say. “Amazon’s Choice is just our recommendation, and customers can always ask for specific brands or products if they choose,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
[1]: https://www.wired.com/story/what-does-amazons-choice-mean/