[promit]

I bought a gaming console a few days ago from Cloudtail. It was shipped in a torn box with a broken seal. There was no outer box or plastic package.The device and the controller were lightly used. I am baffled as to how Cloudtail sold this piece as new and not as a refurbished piece.

I glanced through the posts on this thread I noticed one common point - to be wary about sellers credentials. While this post doesn't necessarily relate to counterfeit goods on Amazon, I wanted to highlight that blind trust when the seller is their own Cloudtail doesn't mean much. My faith in Amazon is somewhat shattered at the moment - especially for high value items. In my case, product reviews, seller (Cloudtail) reviews proved to be pointless as they were all highly rated. Always take an unboxing video in case of high value items bought online - even if it's Amazon's own - Cloudtail.

Originally Posted by Mr.Perera

One bitter experience I had was when I ordered a vaccum cleaner from Cloudtail and upon receiving I found that the item had already been used and found dust and hair in the dust bag even before my use ! A perfect example of someone using it for 29 days and returning back the item. Poor chap at warehouse repacked it and sent it back to me. So there are many loopholes in the system. But the customer service team is always there to help you and give a solution.

I am honestly quite surprised that such loopholes continue to exist. It appears that returned used/bad condition opened products make its way back to their new inventory and are sold again as brand new.

[Chetan_Rao]

Not just counterfeits, price manipulation is rampant too.

A few years ago, I bought a high-capacity memory card listed at a certain discount.

One receiving the product and peeling back the pasted-on MRP sticker, the actual MRP on the package turned out to be lower than the 'heavily discounted' sale price.

Wrote to customer care, and they offered to refund the difference and a gift card for inconvenience caused. I refused, and insisted they correct the listing. They said they'll notify the seller (don't remember if it was their in-house brand). No response to follow-ups, and it was never corrected.

Not an isolated instance either.

[Pequod]

Originally Posted by promit

I bought a gaming console a few days ago from Cloudtail. It was shipped in a torn box with a broken seal.

In 2016 I bought a PS4 from Cloudtail, and the free games which were part of the offer was nowhere to be found. The box and packaging were in mint condition, but the missing game discs somehow didn’t sit well with me and I requested a return. They did so, no questions asked, and refunded my money plus some small amount as a token of apology. Later on, I understood that free game discs would be separate from the main package, and in this case the seller had probably forgotten to include them when packing.

I agree with the suggestion to record the unboxing of high value items, so that you have proof in case of any unforeseen situation.

Anyway, I assume you have returned the console, how is the refund process going?

[promit]

Originally Posted by Pequod

Anyway, I assume you have returned the console, how is the refund process going?

Surprisingly, a PS4 which is Amazon's Choice and a Bestseller in its category is non-returnable. I had no choice but to raise a replacement request. The replacement went fairly smoothly (albeit took another 2-3 days). Probably good to check return policies in future too. Amazon return policies seem to have changed.

[Anjadekar]

While I do not condone all of Amazon’s business practices and am mindful of the negative impact it has had on many businesses and communities, I have found it to be brilliant and super reliable as a consumer and am hard pressed to think of a company with better customer service. I buy nearly everything (except for books and certain white goods, more on this later) on Amazon and have never had a bad experience.

Of the over 500 orders (including many more items) placed on Amazon.in since 2013, I have had an issue with a counterfeit product only once, when I got greedy and bought a charger for my MacBook Pro at a price that should have raised a red flag and from a seller I shouldn’t have trusted to begin with. However, I was able to return it for a refund without any hassle. On another occasion I received an iPad that was one generation old, which was again returned for a full refund without any issues. That is just two products out of thousands that I have ordered on Amazon.in over the years and which have included everything from stationary and cleaning supplies to phones, tablets, televisions, and other big ticket gadgets. I also extensively use Amazon Pay as a digital wallet, to pay utility bills and make UPI payments and, in the days when one could travel, made heavy use of their flight booking service. If Amazon were to sell cars I would gladly and without hesitation buy one from them!

Here are some thoughts/tips that echo much of what others have already said on this thread.

• Make sure that the seller is either Cloudtail or Appario (in most cases this will be the default selection). Very few products are not available from one of the two. Even if that is the case, if the seller has a large number of good reviews and the product is relatively inexpensive and eligible for Prime/Fulfilled by Amazon I would not hesitate to buy it.
• Amazon’s in-house brands have some excellent products. I particularly like the AmazonBasics line of functional, simple, high quality products and the Presto branded household cleaning and personal care products.
• Amazon’s customer service is fabulous and very accessible. If your concern/issue is genuine and you are polite about it they will do whatever is necessary to remedy the situation. This is in stark contrast to my experience with Flipkart.
• Amazon’s shopping events, such as the just concluded Prime Day, offer shockingly good deals and are a great opportunity to stock up on regularly used products and buy more expensive ones that you may have been eyeing.
• Using certain credit cards, such as the HDFC Infinia card, can result in significant additional savings. Even the ICICI Amazon Pay credit card, which is far more accessible than the Infinia, offers great value for money.
• While I used to buy groceries offline, since the beginning of the pandemic I have switched over to buying these online too. However, for this I find bigbasket more convenient than Amazon/Amazon Pantry.

While I have bought a handful of things from Flipkart over the years, I find their selection, prices, website/apps and customer service to be leagues behind Amazon and, as such, only use it if I cannot find the item on Amazon, which is very rare. That being said, I have bought a few, not inexpensive, things without any issues from Myntra, which is owned by Flipkart. I don’t like Paytm and so have never ventured onto Paytm Mall. Even if there was a great deal to be had there I wouldn’t trust it.

I consciously do not buy books, except ones I cannot find in a bookshop, on Amazon. I gladly pay more for them in a bookshop (in my case the delightful The Bookshop in Jorbagh, New Delhi, which delivers all over the country, or the fantastic Crossword in Ahmedabad) as I think they are a wonderful and integral part of the community and provide an experience that cannot be replicated. For certain white goods that require professional installation, such as washing machines, fridges etc. I rely on a trusted dealer who gives me good deals and reliable service.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by promit

Amazon return policies seem to have changed.

I want to believe that it is more to do with the current covid situation and not a long term policy change. Unfortunately, there are many people who misuse the generous return policies of online retailers which will eventually bite back everyone in the long run.

[Elito11]

Had noticed it more than a year back. Yonex Shuttlecocks, horlicks etc are few things i noticed straight away. In both cases i managed to get my money back or avoid the product by choosing to buy elsewhere. Flipkart makes far more effort to ensure products are genuine and firsthand.

[GTO]

Damn, just got hit by this counterfeit menace. Ordered 2 new external hard-drives - a Seagate & a Western Digital from Amazon - to backup my new Macbook. Any new packages that come home are kept on a different table for 3 days, then sanitized (Covid). I was a bit busy with work so didn't get to the hard-drives before another couple of days. Hooked up the Seagate to the Mac and it backed up fine, but the Western Digital just wouldn't work, whether on the Mac or Dell.

Sent it to Western Digital for repair / replacement. Their response "outer shell is okay, but the insides are fake". Basically, all the parts inside the hard-disk cover are fake.

Passed my return window, so had no choice but to swallow the Rs 8,800 loss.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by GTO

Passed my return window, so had no choice but to swallow the Rs 8,800 loss.

Being a fake product entitles you to a full return and refund. Get the western digital reps feedback in writing and inform Amazon customer service about this. You will get your refund. Being a prime customer helps too. The return period is only for if not happy with the product. A fake product is summarily refunded no questions asked. They can be sued for misrepresentation online.

[dr.aviansh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Passed my return window, so had no choice but to swallow the Rs 8,800 loss.

Sir, report this to Amazon ASAP even if you’re out of return period.
This reminds me of the Nike Shoes I ordered from Flipkart a couple of years ago. Felt something fishy and took them to a Nike Store immediately. The salesperson pointed out atleast a dozen of minute differences between mine and the ones he had in his store on the shoes as well as on the packaging!

Obviously I filed a return under the product being counterfeit. They refunded, no questions asked.

Even if they deny the return, keep writing them emails, with a written obtained from the service centre about yours being a fake one, even a screenshot of your Mac failing to recognise the drive in the attachments and also keep the Head of Amazon India or National Consumer Forum’s email in the CC.

Consumers are very powerful these days.

[Sebring]

Apparently this is a well known problem. Criminals order expensive electronics, replace all innards and return it to the aggregator, citing 'non-working'. Please watch this movie Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal on Netflix (Subtitles option there). It's an accurate depiction of the sorry state of affairs. Amazon knows this issue and will certainly refund your money

Originally Posted by GTO

Sent it to Western Digital for repair / replacement. Their response "outer shell is okay, but the insides are fake". Basically, all the parts inside the hard-disk cover are fake

[deepug]

Had an interesting experience with Amazon to share.

Recently bought a Fujifilm polaroid camera as a surprise gift for my daughter . I selected practicality when choosing a color and went with gray so that it's easy to maintain . Well as you all know color choices of dad's and daughter's necessarily dont match . So had to order one more of a different color. Assumed that a return was possible which was not the case. Had a long argument with the customer support on the case for return being a genuine one .

Fed up with the response send a mail to Jeff Bezos. Within 12 hrs got a call from Amazon customer care and got the extra product returned .

Lesson : there should be an army of people monitoring the various customer feedback globally . so dont hesitate to escalate when required . If it's genuine they will respond favorabily. Note that the cost was only around 5500. So the cost is not a criteria

[nickatnite]

After a couple of disappointing experiences with mail order purchases i have come to the conclusion that rubbish people start rubbish companies employ and exploit other rubbish people especially youths to sell rubbish products to unsuspecting people and make a huge profit since only one in five will take the trouble to return the junk as these rubbish companies will hire the most rubbish people to process these returns making life hellish for the average man who will give up soon enough.

This is the history of commerce and employment in the twenty first century and we wonder why there is a pandemic?. Most of these mail order and IT companies are populated or started by young people and we wonder why the world is in such a sorry state!.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by GTO

Damn, just got hit by this counterfeit menace.

For smaller things like these, you might as well give the business to someone on Lamington Road. You live in a city that is competitive. I am sure there will be someone who can match if not beat Amazon on price and also offer a delivery service. I am sure that once you identify a vendor that is reliable and dependable, warranty repairs or replacements will be a phone call away.

An alternate and reliable online computer hardware retailer is https://www.primeabgb.com/

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by GTO

Passed my return window, so had no choice but to swallow the Rs 8,800 loss.

IMHO, return period is for something you didn't like or you figured it didn't suit your needs. The rigid 8 day window doesn't apply in your case as you have been cheated. I'm assuming you have records of the communication with WD which is adequate proof. Please raise a complaint and get their attention - Amazon should work with the vendor and give your money back. I'd be very disappointed if they didn't.


Even if I discovered that I had been cheated after 6 months, I'd raise a complaint and demand my money back.