A software developer made a Chrome and Firefox extension called Knockoff that automatically hides, grays out, or filters products from sketchy brands on Amazon, which highlights just how many shady brands are on the platform and how commonly they show up on searches for basic items.
The only problem is that “knock off” brands are the only ones making products in at least some instances that used to be filled by the “brand names”.
This is the result of globalizing manufacturing. Eventually the brands that could pay for advertising stopped making things, and the void was filled by these “knock offs” (I don’t care for that term as it was applied in this article. These aren’t fake designer hand bags, they’re just products that don’t have a recognized brand name).
The correct industry term is white label products.
The amount of Kickstarters I waited years for, spent a fortune, and by the time it comes, the Chinese manufacturer has started making their own knockoffs for half the price…
Indeed. I’ve had that happen too. Those are actual knockoffs since they’re copying another specific product. It’s a shame that is the reality of our manufacturing industry.
Yeah, exactly! Literally.
At least I can sleep slightly better supporting creators?
COOFANDY is not a scam. COOFANDY is a way to stay closer to maximizing best smiles in life to maximum outcomes as well as possible!
I was looking for a specific shirt for a themed party and that brand kept coming up. I bought a good one and one of theirs just to compare and yep, the coofandy one was crap. Too short, weird sleeves, the material was uncomfortable as hell, like wearing a trash bag.
Correct. COOFANDY is c.r.a.p.
C - COOFANDY
R - ® (Registered Trademark)
A - Awesome
P - Products
Which 14 product listings are left after that
I would live if the extension just blocked Amazon and directed you to actual company websites when you go to add a product to cart.
That would be great, except it seems that most companies are actively discouraging you from using their website, as it’s easier for them to list through Amazon. Recent experience was the product on the website was higher prices, slower shipping and a restocking fee if you need to return. Amazon? Next day, ‘free shipping’ and easy returns.
Not sure unless the place exists locally and you can go in store and actually buy something (that’s becoming rare as well), that there is a better way except to not buy anything in general.
I think there are browser extensions and add-ons out there that plug in alternative storefronts you can buy from when looking up an item on Amazon, but you’d have to dig them up. I don’t recall any of the names, I just know I’ve read about them.
One of them is called Vinegar (named to be the opposite of Honey scam). Still very new tho
The developers name is pigford. I’m more than a little envious of their cool name
This is stupid. There are lots of great products from sellers without an established “brand”
Unless you know what you look for, choosing the white label products from Amazon can be risky. For someone like me with extensove experience working with China I can usually tell what is crap and what is good enough, but the average person might take postings at face value or choose a category of product that is high risk of causing harm (e.g. I won’t buy any no name plastic or rubber items that come in contact with food)
I can give another good anecdote for this.
Crank shaft holder for Toyota/Lexus. You attach it to a breaker bar, that you can let pin itself against the frame or ground, while reefing on a torque wrench to get the crank nut back on - something like 283 ft-lb for my truck iirc. Not a small amount of force if something breaks or slips and things go flying.
One of the good, brand name options is made by Oni. It’s also over $60. You can get a knockoff for between $15 to $25. The bad knockoffs are just the ring portion shoddily welded to the “arm” (where you connect your breaker bar), and those two halves often come apart at the welds under use. The good knockoffs are obviously cast as one piece from a mold that was probably made from an Oni or similar. They get a questionable dull black coating, lacking the polish and clean finish of the name brand, but they’re still a singular solid tool.
Not knowing which one will hold up and which one might give you summer teeth is a huge risk for any uninformed home gamer just trying to DIY some auto repairs on the cheap.
Am I the only one who doesn’t care where my decorative sculpture comes from or highlighters or house shoes? I assume it’s the same quality as the stores around me.
I’ve ordered products from some of the brands specifically mentioned, and the quality to price is often great.
Would I buy anything with a battery or an internet connection from them? Probably not. But are many things fine, and likely produced in the same sweat shops as household name brands.
It seems like a stretch to automatically hide every temu-esk brand… The brands themselves don’t even attempt to hide what they are.
The next level is getting it straight from AliExpress, skipping the 25% Bezos Yacht tax.
Is Aliexpress better than Temu?
No idea. AliExpress has some direct manufacturer stores and also resellers. Haven’t used Temu. I tend to find a manufacturer or a brand that people buy and like, then buy from their official store or reseller if no official store. For example Toopre bike tools are fairly well liked - https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-toopre.html.
So it can let me filter out any brand that is in all CAPSLOCK? or has no vowels?
If the product is fine then who cares what “shady” brand is on it. Most knock-offs you’ll find on Amazon aren’t just as good as the original. Same with AliExpress. Half the time they’re literally the same product, just without the “not shady brand name”.
No not really. Two of the same thing can be made by the same company by the same staff and one be completely crap and one is perfectly crafted. They just sell the stuff that didn’t make it pass quality control and then they keep producing the product after they start to run out of proper materials and will begin to use what they can get their hands on. Temu makeup ftw
