Amazon copied products and rigged search results to promote its own brands, documents show

Emperor

Emperor

Skilled
It is pretty evident with their 'Solimo' range of products.

1634138149892.png
1634138167971.png
1634138217757.png
 
Not only copy, they make/promote "duplicate" product of the same and sell it fro exponential high profit margin.
most of the people who are in retail business knows it, but there are far many small player who are getting benefit form this 2-number business, so all are happy.
And customers who are getting cheated 90% times doesn't even aware that they are getting counterfake product.
Example imagine a tier-3 city which never has a reebok showroom, and now someone got fake reebok shoes from amazon -- will consider that as original.
 
This has been going on for years. Initially it was just basic stuff, but very soon got into electronic items and everyday gadgets. If you are a seller and are in a successful niche market, remember your happiness won't last long.
 
That is why I never bought any Amazon Basics . I know those guys were systematically trying to source knock offs . Only good thing is that the real deal products are now forced to review their pricing strategies and we customers get better prices .
 
These brands know what they are doing inside out. They have a top of the line legal team who gives them clever tricks to what we see as copy other products. So nobody has a chance against them for any legalities.
yugaaa said:
That is why I never bought any Amazon Basics . I know those guys were systematically trying to source knock offs . Only good thing is that the real deal products are now forced to review their pricing strategies and we customers get better prices .
Click to expand...
Amazon basic audio cables are very good for the price.
 
Most of the times when I search something on Amazon, I get 100 results which seem to be the same Chinese product from Alibaba. Half of the positive and negative reviews seem fake. I feel it definitely has become tougher to find the right product. Many times I end up buying from Amazon basics. For example, their USB cable works fine while the one from BOAT was garbage.
 
r19 said:
Most of the times when I search something on Amazon, I get 100 results which seem to be the same Chinese product from Alibaba.
Click to expand...

Today I found out that google is a better search engine for Amazon than Amazon's own search.

Rockfella said:
Most of the amazon basic stuff is really good no what whom they copy it from.
Click to expand...

Most times, yes. Every now and then, they'll push out the original manufacturer/seller and sell their copied version at a higher price.
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2021-10-14 at 7.54.29 AM.png
    Screen Shot 2021-10-14 at 7.54.29 AM.png
    25.5 KB · Views: 145
  • Screen Shot 2021-10-14 at 7.55.01 AM.png
    Screen Shot 2021-10-14 at 7.55.01 AM.png
    508.5 KB · Views: 143
yugaaa said:
That is why I never bought any Amazon Basics . I know those guys were systematically trying to source knock offs . Only good thing is that the real deal products are now forced to review their pricing strategies and we customers get better prices .
Click to expand...
I find Amazon basics to be far more reliable than other brands in the range.

Afaik many copies are just rebranding done for amazon at volume discounts. Irrespective of tax effects many brands have different selling price in different countries. Amazon is able to bring that down in lot of places with their volumes .

All this support for Indian sellers will be vocal as long as everything goes smoothly. Once you make any claim you will understand the difference between Amazon and vast majority of them. Try returning a damaged good delivered by an Indian major like Myntra (with proof) and you will realise what shady practices actually mean.
 
rsaeon said:
Today I found out that google is a better search engine for Amazon than Amazon's own search.
Most times, yes. Every now and then, they'll push out the original manufacturer/seller and sell their copied version at a higher price.
Click to expand...
Yes they do.
 
Rockfella said:
Most of the amazon basic stuff is really good no what whom they copy it from.
Click to expand...
That's the end game, isn't it? Place their private labels in all popular categories, crowd out competitors and slowly increase the prices once competition is out. What is unethical and anti-competitive is them using their platform data to kill competition, which is not available to anyone else.

Have seen it happen within Amazon Basics products over time where the quality has reduced and prices have increased. It is because Amazon just contracts out the manufacturing and they can change it anytime they want. That is what you get with a private label.

People will just buy whatever is cheaper for comparable products as long as the quality is okay and that is what they are aiming at. Once they have well established products in a category, they will even start blocking competitors altogether.
 
rsaeon said:
Today I found out that google is a better search engine for Amazon than Amazon's own search.
Click to expand...
Exactly, but you need to know a little more details. I've been searching best rated, most popular etc. double sided tape on Amazon for a week. I didn't get a clue 3M tapes also exist. Google can't help if you don't know what you want. After you sent me a link for 3M, Amazon shows that product to me as "Best seller".

This is not stupidity, but bad intentions.
 
kiran6680 said:
Exactly, but you need to know a little more details. I've been searching best rated, most popular etc. double sided tape on Amazon for a week. I didn't get a clue 3M tapes also exist. Google can't help if you don't know what you want. After you sent me a link for 3M, Amazon shows that product to me as "Best seller".

This is not stupidity, but bad intentions.
Click to expand...
They are systemically killing Brands... their deep discounting policy may lure customers in short term but in long term it will be CUSTOMERS who will pay double for their products to settle all deep discounting (loss)..
 
Emperor said:
They are systemically killing Brands... their deep discounting policy may lure customers in short term but in long term it will be CUSTOMERS who will pay double for their products to settle all deep discounting (loss)..
Click to expand...
I was looking for some wall clocks and it was so irritating to see Solimo clocks at the top of the list, as a recommendation on any product page and also as a recommendation for related purchases. It is extremely irritating and predatory to the point where I hope they are sincerely reeled in for a more equitable marketplace.
 
kiran6680 said:
Exactly, but you need to know a little more details. I've been searching best rated, most popular etc. double sided tape on Amazon for a week. I didn't get a clue 3M tapes also exist. Google can't help if you don't know what you want. After you sent me a link for 3M, Amazon shows that product to me as "Best seller".

This is not stupidity, but bad intentions.
Click to expand...
Well, the 3M tape shows up as the second search result on Amazon, the first is some sponsored bs. 3M owns the Scotch Tape as a trademark and I thought it was a well known fact. I, however, agree that we cannot rely on Amazon search results for everything as it's all riddled with the sponsored nonsense. It helps if you do some research on the product before hitting the Amazon search and including the brand name you want. While I recognize that it's copying and promoting its own products, the choice ultimately lies with us, consumers. As a consumer I do not have an alternative to the level of convenience and hassle free experience Amazon brings. I was surprised when I was able to get hold of customer care at 11pm for a prompt replacement of a damaged item. So far, thankfully, I have not faced any of the horror stories with them unlike FK where I have faced many.
 
ibose said:
Well, the 3M tape shows up as the second search result on Amazon, the first is some sponsored bs.
Click to expand...
Search results vary a lot by your history. Yes, customer service has been exemplary with Amazon.

I didn't search with Scotch tape, but "double sided tape" and "adhesive tape wall". This was all without being logged in, in an incognito browser. That way, for my IP address, even now, 3M is nowhere in the first 2 pages.

I think you do understand, but just to emphasize for someone else who reads this, 3M is just a small example, we are not obsessed with 3M appearing in search results :) .
 
Back
Top