Amazon Returns, How Can My Scummy Mate Get Away with This?

bluejeans on 22/05/2022 - 14:51

Buys a $150 fibre hdmi cable and "returns" it with an equal length copper cable in the packet instead. Or an expensive hdmi 2.1 cable and returns a 1.4. Or… you get the idea. I asked another friend about it, he said that amazon make some money out of it by selling them as second-hand items? And in fact the guys' refund doesn't even get issued once they receive it, it's issued the moment the return label is scanned! He could put a bunch of rocks in the parcel if he didn't care about them banning him from the site!

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  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 22/05/2022 - 14:59
    +50

    This is why we can’t have nice things/ once easy processes become needlessly convoluted.

  • foxmulder on 22/05/2022 - 15:01
    +1

    Are those things you said really happening? Personally I do not have those kind of returns. If you sell items directly from your end, customer tend to hesitate to return things, even I do easy return. If it's FBA, most of the time they are just the same items but opened, regardless the reason. Easier if they specifically said it was change of mind rather than defective for a change of mind.

  • Hybroid on 22/05/2022 - 15:02
    +8

    It'll be a small minority that abuse the system which doesn't even register as a drop in the ocean for Amazon.

    Most Amazon returns actually go to landfill anyway via third parties.

    Eventually they'll cotton on and blacklist him from the site. Hopefully people don't keep doing this and ruin things for the rest of us that don't abuse the system…

    • WT on 23/05/2022 - 08:45

      I was under the impression they just chuck it in a pallet box then auction it off with a basic description/pic of the top. That is what they previously did in the US as it was a thing to buy the pallets and resell the working items for a profit.

      profit was anything from +10k to -1k but the average was probably 2-3k, it was a long time ago but you can search youtube for it

      You have to look at it from their POV, they would need atleast 10x more people in their returns dept if they had to "test" and then that person would have to know what they are doing/looking at. They would pay min wage for this position but the people capable of being in this position arnt on minimuim wage so why would they work there. So then what, resell it 2nd hand? This is not economical on a large scale so they just write it off and get some cash back from selling pallet loads of returns.

      OP's friend is a POS but he probably wont get caught. The guys returning rocks 100% will get caught as you can imagine it disrupts their system. They cant be seen selling "rocks" etc top people as customer returns

  • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2022 - 15:22
    +2

    because amazon are too big to care. the only thing that will happen is that he will lose his account if he returns too many items, regardless of what the items are, they don't like serial returners.

    • HairyChickens on 22/05/2022 - 15:29

      Yep banned account is pretty much all they will do. Anything more is just a waste of resources and money.

    • bluejeans on 22/05/2022 - 15:51

      What's to stop him making a new amazon account? I mean I had two of them (I think because I needed an account registered in uk/usa for certain prime videos, don't remember now) and never had any issues in having two.

      • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2022 - 15:57

        little to nothing. if the payment / address details are the same, they might catch on and ban the new account too, but it would be pretty easy to get around.

        he could also just make a new account before his old one gets banned, so that the counter for returns resets and his payment / address details aren't blacklisted.

        amazon are largely apathetic unless you start costing them a lot of money. i heard a story about a guy in Hawaii who took advantage of prime shipping to ship a bunch of the heaviest items he could find on amazon to his house in Hawaii, those items ended up becoming ineligible for prime shipping because of him. he didn't even want the items if i recall correctly, he just wanted to see if he could do it.

        • bluejeans on 22/05/2022 - 17:15

          Someone in Alaska also did that! https://www.reddit.com/r/alaska/comments/3ukw30/how_i_ruined…

          • WT on 23/05/2022 - 08:51

            @bluejeans: it sounds like most of the savings he made were for the company he worked for which is the worst part. Maybe that table was the only thing he ordered for himself lol

            You have to be careful here, some of the prime items are priced higher then what others sell for to factor in the shipping.

        • WordsToSayIt on 22/05/2022 - 19:51

          How does the counter for returns resets if you create a new account?

          • HairyChickens on 22/05/2022 - 22:11

            @WordsToSayIt: Correct me if I am wrong but I guess it's the return counter for the address. Not everyone at the same address is a scummy mate. (Roommates, your nan, your dog, etc.)

  • El cheepo on 22/05/2022 - 15:22
    +7

    Is this a on the DL way to see if it’s possible to do and fish for responses of how people were caught/with what repercussions?

    • Heaps for Cheaps on 22/05/2022 - 17:46
      +1

      Yes, definitely. Possibly wants to build a PC and is seeing how he can build it for free by doing fake returns and 'items not received' across multiple platforms.

      • El cheepo on 22/05/2022 - 20:00
        +2

        After seeing this thread develop more, it seems to be the case haha.

        • Quantumcat on 23/05/2022 - 14:32

          the case

          That might be the one item that is hard to do this scam on!

  • dust on 22/05/2022 - 15:33
    +2

    I believe Amazon sells returned items in bulk as "mystery boxes" and resellers can break them into individual items to get some value from it. There's a good Planet Money episode about it.

    • TEER3X on 22/05/2022 - 17:55

      There's Amazon warehouse deals which sells returns directly to anyone with an Amazon account.

      The stuff you're talking about probably isn't good enough to resell to consumers so they probably chuck it in a large bin and sell it as you said.

  • brad1-8tsi on 22/05/2022 - 15:55
    +1

    Why would u bother for a HDMI. I would have thrown 6 of them in my scrap bin yesterday just because they were used.

    • bluejeans on 22/05/2022 - 15:56
      +1

      15m fibre 2.1 cables?

      • brad1-8tsi on 22/05/2022 - 16:03
        +3

        The cables just say HDMI 2.1. I doubt they are fibre.

        I clean crap up for an AV company and keep all the de-install wires for the scrap yard. All dirty so not worth trying to re-sell for a few dollars. You waste hours with enquiries and no-shows.

        I even chuck brand new cables still in plastic as the amount of time you waste selling something for $2 isn't worth it. Easier to get $1.50/kg for attachment wire or $4.30/kg without plugs

        • bluejeans on 22/05/2022 - 16:09

          If they're not fibre, they're the thinnest hdmi cables I've ever seen. Just as thick as a 3.5mm audio cable. Even if I'm wrong and they're copper, there's no way that copper can transmit 4k120 over 15 metres reliably.

      • TEER3X on 22/05/2022 - 17:56
        +1

        Pretty sure bluejeans is a well regarded HDMI cable supplier/maker in the US.

  • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2022 - 16:25
    -5

    I had a warning email a month ago about too many refunds/returns, and account could be banned. Was after I went on chat to complain about something I bought for about $120 and was told I could keep it and they refunded. Was their choice I never asked.

    • hasher22 on 22/05/2022 - 16:38
      +5

      How many items are you unhappy with or returning to get that warning? Seems like a you problem if you keep returning or complaining about stuff you're buying online.

      • [Deactivated] on 22/05/2022 - 20:12
        -8

        Can’t you read, it’s not the returns it’s getting a refund and not having to return that triggered the email. If they don’t want returns they wouldn’t have a 30 day return policy just like Apple 14 days.

        • Heaps for Cheaps on 23/05/2022 - 06:40
          +6

          The way you act here shows why they don't want you as a customer.

  • rektrading on 22/05/2022 - 17:37
    +2

    It's socialism.

    The collective pays for your frens.

  • CyberMurning on 22/05/2022 - 17:49

    And here someone like me, who afraid to return a stuff because amazon had replaced it once already…

    Nov 2021 bought oculus vr,
    Jan 2022 proximity sensor got busted, got a replacement from amazon
    May 2022 proximity sensor got busted again.

    I can cover the sensor with piece of tape so it is fine but wonder if i should get it replaced again

  • Miss B on 22/05/2022 - 17:50
    +2

    Amazon are contributing to the problem, they should be checking returns. Doesn't make your mate any less scummy, just Amazon should take responsibility for their own actions too. They've made the decision not to check returns because it obviously wasn't financially worth it. They knew it would make fraud easy and didn't care.

    • TEER3X on 22/05/2022 - 17:58

      I purchased a new item from Amazon and it arrived used and the label was one Amazon use for returns (LPN label). So who knows wtf is going on there at the best of times.

  • Nutrino on 22/05/2022 - 18:50
    -1

    I wouldnt loose any sleep over this.

  • tonka on 22/05/2022 - 19:23

    Sounds like e-shoplifting

    • bluejeans on 22/05/2022 - 19:26

      If shoplifters see physical shoplifting as a victimless crime, does that mean e-shoplifting is a super-victimless crime?

      • TheOtherLeft on 23/05/2022 - 10:13
        +1

        Jeff Bezos cries himself to sleep at night due to the amount of scummy returns. He's the real victim.

        • tonka on 23/05/2022 - 19:22

          Imagine if it was Gerry, he'd be crying on the news.

  • garetz on 22/05/2022 - 19:43
    +1

    This is how you get your amazon account perma banned, it will happen sooner or later.

  • Savas on 22/05/2022 - 20:20
    +2

    This has been happening for a long time. My mum bought a second hand TV and the box was filled with rocks.

    • HairyChickens on 22/05/2022 - 22:12
      +3

      Lucky! Must have been some solid entertainment.

      sorry

    • bluejeans on 23/05/2022 - 14:25
      +1

      How did they go with proving that? Similar happened to me on ebay, I had to make a stat dec signed in front of a JP to get my money back.

      • Savas on 24/05/2022 - 14:52
        +2

        she couldn't do anything.. this was in the 1970's

  • Brian McGee on 22/05/2022 - 20:40
    +1

    I’ve seen the US returns pallet buyers find a few spicy items, like a 2x8gb ram kit that had a perfectly cut piece of decking wood in it. Or an i7 10th gen laptop box with an i3 2nd gen laptop inside.
    How important is this “mate “ to you? Or is he a mate starting with c?

  • billdsl on 23/05/2022 - 07:49

    A friend of mine writes off every car in some fashion and has suncorp new for old insurance so he gets a new car every 6 or so years, plus claims more on insurance than i could even contemplate, hows he get away with that? That gets my goat. Goes through life stealing and thieving things. I dont believe Kharma actually exists

    • kyle on 23/05/2022 - 08:28

      And still a friend?

      • billdsl on 23/05/2022 - 08:29
        +1

        Linked by family so it’s not really optional. Great guy otherwise though but this is too far!

        • CyberMurning on 23/05/2022 - 09:10

          Hopefully he is not ozb member and reading your post hehe

        • WT on 23/05/2022 - 09:25
          -1

          Honestly once they brought this out I thought a lot more people would abuse it.

          Im guessing insurance fraud is a deterrent for most. I recall when this became an option that I mentioned it to dad, he grumbled and said that it is insurance fraud, is it worth it over a few thousand every year (depreciation/use)

          I believe your family friend will sooner or later become uninsurable, but you can expedite the process by calling suncorp and tipping them off. Sometimes you just have to make your own karma

          • billdsl on 26/05/2022 - 14:06

            @WT: Yeah its nuts but this isnt something they worry about. Id never call and mention it just hope there's some recourse

            Knowing the way life works Id end up with issues not them…..

    • bluejeans on 24/05/2022 - 21:38

      Suncorp doesn't have an excess? I had to claim 10k contents insurance and my premium went from 0 to 400.

      • billdsl on 27/05/2022 - 08:16

        Yeah it will have an excess, i think they pay half of their wages in insurance, but they make sure they use it like a health fund and claim constantly :-)

        Plus any other shonky ways to leach cash out of as many people and organisations as possible

        Quite frustrating as a normal law abiding large tax payer myself, we never get a break or a nice little bonus, just work, pay all of the tax, rinse and repeat

  • reactor-au on 23/05/2022 - 09:06

    One time I purchased a warehouse item - 2.5," SSD, but in the box was only a SSD mounting bracket, the previous buyer likely sent back only the mounting bracket. It's scummy but definitely people are doing it. This was back when 2.5" SSD were still very expensive.

    • bluejeans on 23/05/2022 - 09:19

      Don't they check to see if the weight is equal or greater than the item once they've seen the return label scanned in? I thought that was why the guy mentioned above was filling his parcels with dirt.

  • bamzero on 23/05/2022 - 09:59

    That's you why read reviews where people complain of the wrong thing, used, damaged etc..

    Amazon has a great returns system for the customer in place, so yeah, tell your mate not to be a (profanity) about it…

    • bluejeans on 23/05/2022 - 15:07
      +1

      How do you reason with someone that has a "powered by centrelink" sticker on their car?

  • OzHunterNSW on 23/05/2022 - 15:46

    Well, why not just rocks? If this is how they run a business.

  • CyberMurning on 23/05/2022 - 16:06

    saw on youtube some people in america bought boxes of amazon returns.
    quite fun watching it. have a look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkVkWlD1szY

    • bluejeans on 23/05/2022 - 17:36
      -1

      American Pickers, only the hosts aren't overtly gay :D

  • LFO on 23/05/2022 - 17:57

    Similarly with eBay and PayPal.

    "Customer" (a crook!) returned a bar of chocolate to a local post office (not to our address!) but a refund was issued as soon as the postage label was scanned/received.

    Eventually we got the money back and both eBay and PayPal ban the crook. Time and energy went unpaid. Anger and frustration.

    But how many times she/he did it?
    Don't know, probably a lot.

    She/he knew exactly what to do and how to do it.
    A real pro …

  • tonyjzx on 24/05/2022 - 07:29

    i think ripping off Jeff Bezos is about the least thing I would give a flying phuqq about…

  • TheKas on 26/05/2022 - 09:09

    Amazon, like Kmart, like BigW, like Costco etc have all priced in a certain percentage mark-up to the products that ethical customers buy to cover for losses such as these. So at the end of the day, the majority customer base who have a sense of integrity, like all of us end up paying more.

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