Amazon offers about 12 million of its own products for sale online, while its third-party sellers offer340 million.
The listings included makeup, medications, childrens toys and hundreds of other everyday products.
So, is Amazon safe for buyers?
Chris Zuppa and Adam Hardy/The Penny Hoarder
Here are five ways to check that what youre buying on Amazon is safe.
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Third-party vendors account for an estimated 60% of Amazons merchandise sales, according to the company.
So its important for shoppers to first identify who theyre really buying from.
Many household name brands set up Amazon shops to better reach customers.
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Whats missing is the vendors name.
To find and vet the vendor, you have to hit the product from the results page.
The link takes you to a list of other products the vendor is selling.
For big brand names, this step might be all you need for verification.
But for smaller vendors, this page wont give you much information about the company.
That logo can appear on products regardless of the supplier, and its not a marker of safety.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Penny Hoarder that Amazons Choice is based on price, shipping speed and reviews.
TheJournalfound that dozens of mislabeled or unsafe product listings from third parties had the Amazons Choice recommendation.
But in practice,fake reviews are rampant.
When a new member joins, sellers send direct messages asking for a product review.
Theres also the problem ofhijacking Amazon reviews.
Amazon says its aware of the hijacking issue but maintains that 99% of its customer reviews are legitimate.
Third-party vendors are actively trying to game Amazons system, meaning overall ratings can be misleading.
Read through numerous reviews, not just the enthusiastic five-stars.
Take some time to look at the meh ones and negative ones as well.
An Amazon spokesperson told The Penny Hoarder that consumers should report fake reviews tothe customer service team.
Beware of Certain Types of Products
Multiple federal agencies set standards on different types of products to protect consumers.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
