Investigation finds 4,152 items on Amazon that were declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled, or are banned by regulators
Just like tech companies that have struggled to tackle misinformation on their platforms, Amazon has proven unable or unwilling to effectively police third-party sellers on its site
Related Coverage
- Product safety and compliance in our store Day One
- Amazon was caught selling thousands of items that have been declared unsafe by federal agencies Business Insider · Ben Gilbert
- Amazon hosts thousands of unsafe or banned products, new investigation finds CNBC · Annie Palmer
Discussion
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@scottmaustin
Scott Austin
on x
🤨Within two weeks of Amazon's removing or altering the first problematic listings the Journal identified, at least 130 items with the same policy violations reappeared, some sold by the same vendors previously identified by the Journal under different listings.
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@jeremybmerrill
Jeremy B. Merrill
on x
A man bought a defective helmet on Amazon that was sold as compliant with DOT rules — but which really wasn't. “Amazon in court argued it didn't sell the helmet but merely listed it on the seller's behalf.” https://www.wsj.com/...
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@csstewart
ChristopherSStewart
on x
New @WSJ investigation found thousands of banned, unsafe or mislabeled products on @amazon. Toys w lead, failed safety standards. Bad bike helmets. Shocking reporting by @AlexandraBerzon @shaneshifflett @ScheckWSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
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@mims
Christopher Mims
on x
What I find most astonishing is that even after the Journal alerted Amazon to thousands of mislabeled, banned or unsafe products, within 2 weeks more than 100 were back up on the site, often from the same sellers. https://www.wsj.com/... 2/
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@jeffbessling
Jeff Bessling
on x
This is where Walmart, Target etc shine. They are held to a much higher standard as to what they are allowing to be sold through their stores. Amazon is getting overrun by knockoffs and ripoffs especially around the holidays. https://twitter.com/...
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@joannastern
Joanna Stern
on x
This investigation has changed everything about how I now shop Amazon for my son. Sippy cups, trucks, bubbles, etc. I wrote about how I now shop on Amazon here: https://on.wsj.com/2ZoOalE
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@jeremybmerrill
Jeremy B. Merrill
on x
Amazon sells stuff. Uber is a taxi company. we've let companies basically gaslight us into saying, “well, technically” they're not doing what they're obviously doing... by pretending that the details of their contracts with their affiliates matter. https://twitter.com/...
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@scottmaustin
Scott Austin
on x
A WSJ investiga tion found thousands of items on Amazon that have been declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled or are banned by federal regulators— items that big-box retailers' policies would bar from their shelves. https://www.wsj.com/... …
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@alexhern
Alex Hern
on x
Probably breaks Amazon's TOS in 15 different ways but it'd be useful to people who wanted to shop on the site without accidentally buying dangerous trash
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@alexhern
Alex Hern
on x
Earlier this week, I needed to buy a replacement pair of Bose headphone ear pads. £25 from Bose, £9 from Amazon. Except I went for Bose, because those are the only ones I can be confident won't leave some sort of toxic chemical leaching into my skin for the next two years. https:…
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@joe_palazzolo
Joe Palazzolo
on x
A @WSJ investigation found 4,152 items for sale on Amazon that have been declared unsafe by federal agencies, are deceptively labeled or are banned by federal regulators. @AlexandraBerzon @shaneshifflett @ScheckWSJ https://www.wsj.com/...
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@scottmaustin
Scott Austin
on x
http://Amazon.com can't control its marketplace. Full stop. Read this investigation of unsafe products by @AlexandraBerzon @shaneshifflett @ScheckWSJ https://www.wsj.com/... https://twitter.com/...
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@doothcrow
Doothcrow YouTube
on x
Only 4,152? I could find more than that on @Amazon in a day. When a vibrator is labelled “USB Desk Fan” on the home page, you know the site is riddled with shit! https://twitter.com/...
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@lmatsakis
Louise Matsakis
on x
A couple months ago, I started including my email address on stories I wrote about Amazon. Now, almost every day I get a message from someone who bought a counterfeit or dangerous product on the site https://www.wsj.com/...
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@mims
Christopher Mims
on x
I find equally astonishing and, frankly, frightening, the fact that the former head of recalls and compliance at Amazon *refuses to buy from third party sellers on Amazon,* believing their goods unsafe. 3/ https://www.wsj.com/...
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@mhbergen
Mark Bergen
on x
“bad actors” https://www.wsj.com/... https://youtube.googleblog.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
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@yayitsrob
Robinson Meyer
on x
WSJ “commissioned tests of 10 children's products it bought on Amazon, many promoted as 'Amazon's Choice.' Four failed tests based on federal safety standards, according to the testing company, including one with lead levels that exceeded federal limits.” https://www.wsj.com/...