Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Amazon... A warning.

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Amazon... A warning.

Old 07-05-21, 11:32 AM
  #101  
unterhausen
Randomhead
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Happy Valley, Pennsylvania
Posts: 24,364
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Liked 3,664 Times in 2,497 Posts
Originally Posted by Mark Stone
Do you have documentation?
there are actually apps now that will check how many reviews are fake on an amazon listing.
unterhausen is offline  
Old 07-05-21, 12:50 PM
  #102  
Nyah
QR-disc must die!!!
 
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Shenandoah Valley, Northern Virginia.
Posts: 703

Bikes: '99 Trek 520, '20 Kona Sutra (FOR SALE 48cm), '21 Simon-Bikes mini-velo and a chromoly-framed folding bicycle with drop-bars and V-brakes, that rolls even while folded.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 397 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 199 Times in 147 Posts
Death to Amazon .com. Also, sanction Bezos, and claw back all the taxes that he has avoided paying.
Nyah is offline  
Likes For Nyah:
Old 07-05-21, 12:56 PM
  #103  
bikebikebike
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: TX
Posts: 518

Bikes: Downtube IX NS&FS, Dahon Speed8Pro/Matrix/Curve, Brom S2L,Montague Para, ICE-XL w/Rollie/Schlumpf, Trident Spike, ebikes, BFSatRDay

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 172 Post(s)
Liked 94 Times in 80 Posts
Originally Posted by Mark Stone
I've never had a problem with Amazon, and buy a lot of stuff there. As a matter of fact, I bought my Meridian Trike there --

You can tell the BS listings from the legit.
Maybe you could in the past. Much harder now.

Fake / paid / manufactured reviews are a big problem.
Plus many of the "Ask a Question" comments are from totally unknowledgeable sources,
along the lines of "I don't have one but it might fit.."resulting from Amazon soliciting comments without vetting who they are asking , answers, or respondents.

Erroneous Pictures, bad descriptions, irregular pricing , shipping outside of Amazon , and counterfeits are growing.
The whole Fulfillment By Amazon process is poorly monitored to prevent problems, and may encourage them.
Even with trying to be cautious it appears a crapshoot.

? Documentation?
80% of the Shimano Acera RD I just searched for were copies, conspicuous counterfeits, mislabeled, were sold outside of Prime with delays and/or high shipping or priced as 4-5X retail gotchas. Run the search, yourself and see.
The faux Customer Service is generous, because their monitoring of vendors is so bad, like they are just in on the game.

This is driving out good vendors, who get doubly stung.
It's getting to be as risky as Alibaba, which appears to be their model for the future.

Last edited by bikebikebike; 07-05-21 at 05:22 PM.
bikebikebike is offline  
Old 07-05-21, 01:10 PM
  #104  
Squeeze
High Plains Luddite
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 681

Bikes: 3x8 & 3x9

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 215 Post(s)
Liked 92 Times in 54 Posts
I don't do business with Amazon for several reasons.

The reason I get a daily reminder about is how poorly their delivery drivers drive and especially how they park. They regularly block narrow streets in the city. They often stop their truck in the middle of the road so no cars can pass. Where streets are wide enough for them to pull over to the curb or sidewalk and park, they often don't pull over far enough. They just stop wherever they want to and get out with no attempt to get out of the way of other drivers. Where streets are wider, they routinely park on the wrong side of the road. I don't mean once in a while either; I see this crap EVERY SINGLE DAY in the neighborhood where I live in the suburbs and in the urban neighborhood twenty miles from home where I work. It happens everywhere and 99% of the time it's a blue Amazon truck. Rarely is it a FedEx or UPS or USPS vehicle.
Squeeze is offline  
Likes For Squeeze:
Old 07-05-21, 03:36 PM
  #105  
randallr
Full Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Broomfield, Colorado
Posts: 491

Bikes: 2017 Gunnar CrossHairs Rohloff, 2022 Detroit Bikes Cortello

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 131 Post(s)
Liked 155 Times in 89 Posts
I choose not use my money to support Amazon's desire to take over all retail.
randallr is offline  
Likes For randallr:
Old 07-05-21, 03:57 PM
  #106  
Hiro11
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 2,608

Bikes: 2022 Specialized Allez Sprint custom build, 2019 Giant Defy Advanced Pro 0, 2018 Seven Mudhoney Pro custom build, 2017 Raleigh Stuntman, various others

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 782 Post(s)
Liked 475 Times in 238 Posts
Originally Posted by Mark Stone
I've never had a problem with Amazon, and buy a lot of stuff there. As a matter of fact, I bought my Meridian Trike there --

You can tell the BS listings from the legit.
Came here to say this.

Also, maybe I've had good luck but I've purchased stuff (not much bike stuff, but lots of other stuff) from all kinds of sketchy vendors on Aliexpress over the years and never had a problem. I've also had good luck with various potentially "questionable looking" European bike-specific websites (example, lordgun.com) that have had surprisingly good service.
Hiro11 is offline  
Likes For Hiro11:
Old 07-05-21, 04:12 PM
  #107  
Jax Rhapsody
Rhapsodic Laviathan
 
Jax Rhapsody's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 1,003

Bikes: Rideable; 83 Schwinn High Sierra. Two cruiser, bmx bike, one other mtb, three road frames, one citybike.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 222 Post(s)
Liked 123 Times in 91 Posts
I guess I'm the only one who realized a lot of amazon sellers are the same ones selling on wish?
Jax Rhapsody is offline  
Old 07-06-21, 06:11 AM
  #108  
Sy Reene
Advocatus Diaboli
 
Sy Reene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Wherever I am
Posts: 8,613

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene, Nashbar steel CX

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4717 Post(s)
Liked 1,526 Times in 997 Posts
Originally Posted by PoorInRichfield
As Amazon is often times just a store front to an unknown seller, you are right in that it can be risky to buy just about anything on Amazon. Pay attention to the "Ships from and sold by" reference below the buy button on the right. That'll show who is really selling the part and you can investigate the company a little. If the "Arrives" date is several weeks to several months, you can be sure the merchant is in a foreign country.

I ordered Ultegra SPD-SL pedals on Amazon earlier this Spring w/o issue and they sure look legit. I am waiting for XTR brake rotors purchased on Amazon to arrive tomorrow. I noticed the rotors are coming from a bike shop in Florida via FedEx, so they're obviously not being stocked by Amazon.




The good news about buying on Amazon is that returning an item should be pretty easy... you can return items at your nearest Kohl's Department Store or through certain UPS Stores (if you're in the USA). Now that Shimano put the crack-down on gray market parts a few years back, I've found that Amazon usually has the lowest prices on brand name parts like Shimano. I used to buy my parts from UK bike shops but now the over seas shops will no longer sell to customers in the USA or their prices are no better than what we can get from US based stores.
Typically I'll only purchase Prime qualified stuff, even if the seller isn't Amazon (but fulfillment is by Amazon). Additionally, I put a preference on items that have have this indicator re: returns:
Sy Reene is offline  
Old 07-06-21, 07:25 AM
  #109  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,844

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,639 Times in 822 Posts
I have built quite a few bikes from the frame up. I have done so without using Amazon. I buy largely from reputable ebay sellers in the USA, most of whom have a physical store front.
Paul Barnard is offline  
Likes For Paul Barnard:
Old 07-06-21, 08:27 AM
  #110  
mstateglfr 
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,538

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10902 Post(s)
Liked 7,391 Times in 4,148 Posts
Amazon is the new Monsanto or Walmart when it comes to the emotional outbursts and inconsistencies displayed by consumers. Good lord.

I use Amazon from time to time when it is advantageous. Otherwise I just use any number of other retailers. Making it a moral decision just opens up way too many inconsistencies. Declaring you wont buy from Amazon due to warehouse worker pay or knockoff products while you impatiently wait in line at McDonalds for a meal so you can then run over to any number of clothing retailers that sell fast fashion is flippin hilarious. <--this very real scenario and countless others similar to it play out over and over again every day in families across the country(and world).

I bought a Brooks c17 saddle a few months ago off Amazon for $79. Cheaper than anywhere by $25-50 and delivered in 2 days.
I bought half a dozen helmets over the winter because of free returns. Super simple and convenient for figuring out what I wanted.
mstateglfr is online now  
Likes For mstateglfr:
Old 07-06-21, 07:46 PM
  #111  
BikingViking793 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 527

Bikes: 2015 Felt Z75 Disc, 2008 Fuji Cross Comp, 2010 Trek Navigator 1.0, 1974 Raleigh Sports, 1974 Schwinn Le Tour, 1981 Schwinn Super Le Tour, Surly Cross Check, 2021 Giant Talon 2

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 202 Post(s)
Liked 71 Times in 60 Posts
They are a last resort for me. Usually easy to find cheaper elsewhere.
__________________
check out the Frugal Average Bicyclist
Frugal Average Bicyclist – The goal here is to help you keep cycling on a budget.
BikingViking793 is offline  
Old 07-08-21, 08:20 AM
  #112  
coffeesnob
Senior Member
 
coffeesnob's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Va
Posts: 707

Bikes: Trek DS 8.3 - cannondale M500

Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2634 Post(s)
Liked 141 Times in 82 Posts
Amazon makes a ton of money from third party sellers and also back charges them for advertisements. So I doubt they care much about counterfeit things of any kind. I listened to a podcast once about amazon and it's scary how much they own, control, manipulate etc....
coffeesnob is offline  
Old 07-08-21, 11:04 AM
  #113  
Mark Stone
Tractorlegs
 
Mark Stone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: El Paso, TX
Posts: 3,185

Bikes: Schwinn Meridian Single-Speed Tricycle

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 119 Post(s)
Liked 60 Times in 42 Posts
Originally Posted by coffeesnob
I listened to a podcast once about amazon . . . . .
I hear that you can't say anything untrue on podcasts. 🤣🤣🤣
__________________
********************************
Trikeman
Mark Stone is offline  
Old 07-09-21, 06:00 AM
  #114  
shelbyfv
Expired Member
 
shelbyfv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,460
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3638 Post(s)
Liked 5,315 Times in 2,700 Posts
Originally Posted by mstateglfr
Amazon is the new Monsanto or Walmart when it comes to the emotional outbursts and inconsistencies displayed by consumers. Good lord.

I use Amazon from time to time when it is advantageous. Otherwise I just use any number of other retailers. Making it a moral decision just opens up way too many inconsistencies. Declaring you wont buy from Amazon due to warehouse worker pay or knockoff products while you impatiently wait in line at McDonalds for a meal so you can then run over to any number of clothing retailers that sell fast fashion is flippin hilarious. <--this very real scenario and countless others similar to it play out over and over again every day in families across the country(and world).

I bought a Brooks c17 saddle a few months ago off Amazon for $79. Cheaper than anywhere by $25-50 and delivered in 2 days.
I bought half a dozen helmets over the winter because of free returns. Super simple and convenient for figuring out what I wanted.
Wasn't that a great find! I got one too. I'm happy to have Amazon as a shopping option.
shelbyfv is offline  
Old 07-09-21, 06:30 AM
  #115  
Bill in VA
Senior Member
 
Bill in VA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 727

Bikes: Current: 2016 Bianchi Volpe; 1973 Peugeot UO-8. Past: 1974 Fuji S-10-S with custom black Imron paint by Stinsman Racing of PA.

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 215 Post(s)
Liked 204 Times in 142 Posts
Originally Posted by montanasoftware
This is a good thread. I've bought auto and bike parts on eBay and Amazon without trouble, but there are YouTube videos of people unboxing obvious fakes. There are a lot of counterfeit high-end spark plugs on Amazon ... selling super super cheap. I agree with the people who emphasized how important it is to look into who you are buying from. If it is shipped by Amazon, it should be fine. And there are a lot of LBSs who have turned to eBay and Amazon to help keep their business afloat. My wife and I sell jewelry on eBay and etsy, and we are able to make a great income, and put our kids through college. Best bet is to read the feedback carefully.
My largest beef with Amazon is that the ratings often include ratings for items that are not for the exact product you are buying. I have looked at items where the ratings reference features not available on the actual item being listed. In some cases it is a higher or lower level item by the same manufacturer and even may include ratings of discontinued products. I have gotten counterfeit DVDs from Amazon, but they did refund the money.
Bill in VA is offline  
Likes For Bill in VA:
Old 07-09-21, 10:53 AM
  #116  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by Bill in VA
My largest beef with Amazon is that the ratings often include ratings for items that are not for the exact product you are buying. I have looked at items where the ratings reference features not available on the actual item being listed. In some cases it is a higher or lower level item by the same manufacturer and even may include ratings of discontinued products. I have gotten counterfeit DVDs from Amazon, but they did refund the money.

It's even worse than that. If you are going by ratings, you definitely need to look beyond the number of stars. Sometimes, not only is it not the exact same product, they had a rash of listings where they actually weren't even for the same kind of product because they kept the 4-5 star review rating but completely changed the product description. So, for example, you could see that a lawn mower had a 4 1/2 star rating, only to look at the reviews and find out they were actually discussing a crock pot.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 07-09-21, 11:34 AM
  #117  
2manybikes
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 18,138

Bikes: 2 many

Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1266 Post(s)
Liked 323 Times in 169 Posts
No problems here with Amazon. (while reading this tread, USPS dropped off a package for my daughter, Amazon made a delivery across the street, and FedEx just dropped off something for me). My order was placed yesterday.
2manybikes is offline  
Old 07-30-21, 12:11 PM
  #118  
bikebikebike
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: TX
Posts: 518

Bikes: Downtube IX NS&FS, Dahon Speed8Pro/Matrix/Curve, Brom S2L,Montague Para, ICE-XL w/Rollie/Schlumpf, Trident Spike, ebikes, BFSatRDay

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 172 Post(s)
Liked 94 Times in 80 Posts
Agree with most all the above.
Burned on Ebay for COUNTERFEIT SHIMANO ACERA. RD
To be honest I would have been OK with a decent copy, but this was pictured labeled and advertised as real.
This was not as pictured with poor finish, machining and tolerances. That is simply FRAUD
AMAZON made it hard to vet their stock, packed with more red flags than Red Square on May Day
Cost of weeding through scams is added to the cost of real deal, and if they were in stock would have been the better deal up front.

Ebay counterfeits on my watch ˜ 50%.. AMZ running 25-80%
bikebikebike is offline  
Old 07-30-21, 06:28 PM
  #119  
Paul Barnard
For The Fun of It
 
Paul Barnard's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,844

Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2131 Post(s)
Liked 1,639 Times in 822 Posts
Originally Posted by bikebikebike
Agree with most all the above.
Burned on Ebay for COUNTERFEIT SHIMANO ACERA. RD
To be honest I would have been OK with a decent copy, but this was pictured labeled and advertised as real.
This was not as pictured with poor finish, machining and tolerances. That is simply FRAUD
AMAZON made it hard to vet their stock, packed with more red flags than Red Square on May Day
Cost of weeding through scams is added to the cost of real deal, and if they were in stock would have been the better deal up front.

Ebay counterfeits on my watch ˜ 50%.. AMZ running 25-80%

In hindsight, could any additional diligence have weeded that out?

US based seller?
Long Seller history?
Someone advertising themselves as a US based seller but showing long ship times?
Feedback score?
Language issues in description?

The last item I ordered from Ebay was advertised as being in Connecticut but was shipped from China. It took much longer than advertised. When I went back and did my homework on the seller, I realized I had been lazy with my diligence.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/privatecapi_0
Paul Barnard is offline  
Old 07-30-21, 07:41 PM
  #120  
bowwow
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: Michigan
Posts: 113

Bikes: Miyata, Bridgestone, Trek

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 68 Post(s)
Liked 16 Times in 13 Posts
Originally Posted by jack pot
there is no cure for impulse & there is no substitute for convenience, hence amazon always seems best from from 9pm to 4am
Wow, that's great!
bowwow is offline  
Old 08-01-21, 08:54 PM
  #121  
bikebikebike
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: TX
Posts: 518

Bikes: Downtube IX NS&FS, Dahon Speed8Pro/Matrix/Curve, Brom S2L,Montague Para, ICE-XL w/Rollie/Schlumpf, Trident Spike, ebikes, BFSatRDay

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 172 Post(s)
Liked 94 Times in 80 Posts
Originally Posted by Paul Barnard
In hindsight, could any additional diligence have weeded that out?
US based seller?
Long Seller history?
Someone advertising themselves as a US based seller but showing long ship times?
Feedback score?
Language issues in description?
I have used eBay a lot, and the scammers are getting better. When the vendor purposefully misleads , it is fraud, not clumsiness.
I would have given this last one a C+ on listing clues, a few hints, but you would have had to look real real close,
and a big overlap with the better, but not crisp, vendors. Mostly one maybe two words out of place , and one misleading inconsistency in descriptions
"ÜS based", high volume , no recent bad feedback of 96% overall
He flipped into a total refund at the first complaint, which is prolly how he keeps his feedback.
buyers don't want to get into a flame war in feedback, so he banks on being under reported.
Soft clue in that most other items in recent feedback were low priced.
I am out time and hassle
bikebikebike is offline  
Old 08-02-21, 03:12 PM
  #122  
restlessswind
Senior Member
 
restlessswind's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 458

Bikes: 2017 Surly Cross-Check. 2020 Specialized Turbo Vado 3.0, 2002 GT Dyno Roadster, 2002 Rans Stratus, 2020 Giant Fathom 2, 2011 Trek Pure Sport

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 171 Post(s)
Liked 85 Times in 62 Posts
I recently Prime-purchased some combo shifters that looked like Shimano, but were no-name on the description or pictures. What I got in the mail was counterfeit Shimano labeled shifters of really bad quality....brake levers wobbly, barrel adjusters wonky, etc. I sent them back. Easy lesson learned without the cost of owning them.

I have made a lot of purchases on Amazon, and I usually have no regrets. When you need to sell a bike, Saddles and grips are very cheap and of decent quality (but not so comfortable) I found decent brake pads too that seem to hold up just fine.

On the other hand, pre-pandemic, I would almost always find what I was looking for in the cheap at my LBS that sells UltraCycle parts. No frills, cheap, and decent...not pro stuff, but you get the drift.
restlessswind is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.