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0 pointsfunction_seven3y ago0 comments

I saw your edit, and I vehemently disagree. Amazon is the scammer here. They know damn well these things can't be real, but they can't be bothered to crack down. It is perfectly kosher to agree to their offer and get a $70 16TB drive. Either it's a legitimate 16TB, which means you got a great deal, or it is not 16TB, and you can undo the transaction. The costs of these returns can be passed to their supplier.

OP didn't profit from this exercise, so "fraud" doesn't enter into the conversation. If more people did what OP is doing, incentives would maybe finally align for Amazon to do the right thing, if for purely financial reasons.

As it stands today, apparently there's more profit in ignoring these scams then there is preventing them, so Amazon doesn't apply effort in that direction.

Was OPs purchase in good faith? No, I guess it wasn't if they were certain it was a scam. But it sure isn't fraud.

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5 comments · 2 top-level

ajross3y ago· 3 in thread

Scamming a scammer may Feel Like Justice, but it is still fraud. That is my point. I'm sorry if it's not possible for you to see two bad guys in one transaction.

In point of fact, of course, neither side is a "scam" here and you know it. Amazon had an automated system that got exploited, the only human being deliberately trying to cheat was their supplier. And the above poster was just idly trying to probe the exploit and not get a free SSD. But all the same, demanding a refund (of a product that you knew was going to be fraudulent!) is a little sketchy.

winkeltripel3y ago

There are in fact 3 bad guys in this transaction: the manufacturer, the merchant, and amazon. All of them knew or should have known that this is a scam. It isn't the buyers fault that amazon has no humans in the loop. Infinite, perfect scale isn't a right. It's an ideal that amazon is welcome to strive towards within the bounds of the law. Amazon shouldn't kill people with fake safety equipment, nor should they sell fraudulent merchandise.

bb883y ago

Years ago I pointed out that Amazon wouldn't sell you a Google Chromecast (because Google was competing with an Amazon product at the time), but they would sell a fake one.

But this scam has been going around for a while. I remember hearing about a scammer pawning 8-track tapes as hard drives back in the day.

theamk3y ago

No law, rule, or custom was broken by the buyer, so this is not fraud on his side.

The seller on the other hand has lied to customers - they claimed it was 16TB drive and it was not. This is 100% definition of the fraud, and ideally seller would be penalized for that.

kraussvonespy3y ago

It does feel short sighted for Amazon to allow these issues to dilute their brand. They lost money FOREVER to develop a strong and loyal customer base. Now with less online programming,worse physical goods delivery, AND lots of merchandise, vendor and review scams like these, it feels like they're rapidly headed for a crash with enshittification. https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/

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