Why Your Amazon Purchase Could Come From the Garbage | WSJ
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- Опубліковано 17 гру 2019
- Some Amazon third-party sellers sell second-hand products as new on the site-some even claim to sell products they found while digging through garbage dumpsters. The Wall Street Journal set out to test their claims by setting up an Amazon storefront and gathering some trash.
Photo: Robert Alcaraz/The Wall Street Journal
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I'm not shocked that people are reselling trash. What I'm more shocked by is the amount of waste, that should either go to charities or be composted.
I was thinking about it the other day. I volunteered in CA during the fires. I never saw any lobster, salmon, etc. in our inventory. The power was out. Not a single store owner went in with their SUV to pick up all those high-priced items to donate. No one thought, "hey, I bet there's people so poor, they've never had salmon, lobster or crab before. Maybe I should go grab all of that and give it to Salvation Army". So, it all went to waste. Probably millions of dollars worth of goods went to waste because no one thinks about other people.
Or if food expires, someone should cook some or all of it. I work at a supermarket and there will be times where frozen food items expire and I see the general manager cooking whatever is in the shopping cart for the entire store. It may be just fries and hot dogs but it does make everyone happy especially if you forgot to bring your lunch.
I agree!
exactly
manictiger with sea food it’s tricky, if it’s not completely frozen it can’t be donated to people. I have volunteered with the LA Food Bank before they do get a lot of fish, chicken and meat but it takes up to days to open each pallet, even though it’s in a cooler at the food bank during transportation stuff happens and while the pallet is waiting to be opened things expired. We had to dump a lot of things.
One mans trash is another mans amazon product
Today (Literally a few hours ago) I received a "brand new" burr coffee grinder (Bought it on Amazon. $43. 00) that may have been thrown out or returned. Of course it didn't work. No protective outer shipping box. No packing slip. No return form.
It’s the only way to shop
How fitting for the new age
@jay then someone picks it up and start the cycle all over again 😆
At full price
The waste and lack of recycling by large companies is what should truly scare people.
exactly
Things don't get recycled in the US anymore, they have too much recycling and no one wants it. It all just ends up in the landfill anyways. The recycling place do not get recycled look it up.
Large companies, I was in the Navy think about all the waste that the government dump in that water daily 🤦🏾
Some of these grocery stores CLAIM they give these food items to local food pantries but A LOT of perfectly good food items still end up in their dumpsters.
people going to made money and this is why i don't get thing online...
No wonder people are complaining about getting expired goods through amazon, lol.
"Best by" dates are one thing (like...who cares) but actually expired (i.e., beyond "use by") -- yeah, that's sucky.
This why I buy books and not food 😂
In holland they seperate the trash in 4 parts,, plants, plastic and cans, paper/cartons, and rest of the things... that way you can recycle very good....
They have a generous return policy if customers think they haven't received what they've ordered. You aren't going to be in business long sending stuff that people don't want.
Once a crook always a crook honestly is the best policy stay positive and honest
Is that why some products are scuffed and have expired dates on them
oops
yup
That practice is bad...
dbsirius wouldnt doubt it! And its sad i deliver most of amazon pantry to 55+ apartments.
sometimes i remove dates with nail polish to sell food
I always felt ordering food online was a no no.
unless its fast food. and hosted by the company too
Right! That’s just being super lazy and complicated. Instead of driving to the supermarket and spending an hour there buying food, you’re buying it through Amazon and waiting a day or two for it.
@@TheWutangclan1995 i agree with this. I mean, why online? thats stupid for God's sake. That really doesnt give you that much of an idea how good it is.
but as i said, not fast food. Fast food delivery via phone, or internet is fine if you go to their website and order there.
Yeah, realistically it's hard enough to trust most grocery stores.
@@TheWutangclan1995 unless you hv amazon prime.
Are we not going to talk about how so much perfectly fine, usable, undamaged products are ending up in dumpsters to even make this a profitable deal? I'm not even mad at the sellers.
I work in the industry, and yes, an enormous amount of items are tossed in the dumpsters, however, there is usually a good reason. Custom returned items are often lifted from dumpsters and resold to people. So now we destroy everything in a on-site compactor that nobody can get inside of. These items are not fit for purchase or human/animal use, that's why we take a loss and throw them away to begin with, to avoid a public health issue or lawsuit. So, just imagine the LUCKY soul who is handling and eating/using those products that have shared a dumpster with e-coli, salmonela, and thrush. Not to mention, the stores bathroom trash goes in the same dumpsters, where there could be (and most likely is) used feminine products and dirty baby diapers... But I guess cleaning them off with a couple of wipes makes them safe enough... Yeah, nope. 😵😵😵
@@beltfed4624 Can't even recycle the containers? It all just goes to a landfill? I swear, we need a better way of dealing with waste in this world.
@@beltfed4624 A lot of the people that work in those industries have dirty hands and handle the outsides of the containers that customers purchase. That's gross too.
@@GaryVolts Maybe I'm overly cautious, but I like to wear protective anti-microbial gloves at all times when handling incoming, outgoing, or disposal items. I don't know where the boxes were stored, who handled them, or what kind of critter might have crawled on them. Glove up, it's a dirty world.
@@kendalbrenneman Good question! Actually, the city ordinance laws here (Northeastern US) require us to separate the items out, the cardboard is fed into a bailing crusher, where it is compacted to about 6 ft x 4 ft x 5 ft rectangle, which is then sent out for recycling. At the center, they float the plastic materials and skim them off, and those are recycled too. I'm not sure why other regions would just dump this stuff into landfills, but the law here in this area requires recycling. We take a lot of effort to make sure our footprint on the environment is as small and harmless as possible, while also keeping the public health and safety in mind. We cannot allow "trash" to be resold to trusting people who might get sick from using it. I hope I might have put your mind at ease over the subject, thank you for being mindful and concerned about our shared Earth.
This is journalism, not the trash talking they show all day on CNN and FOX NEWS.
BigD Mikey periodt
Yes!! On more important issues.
Tmz add that to the list
So... Journalism is telling people something they would already know if they took 5 seconds to actually think?
Well said.
Stories like this are only going to make it harder for third party sellers on Amazon, which is a good thing. Amazon needs to put more quality controls in place.
Quality control is needed! Ebay has a rule against 3rd parties
You don't have a single clue of what QCs are already in place so please don't talk about anything you don't understand.
There are significant ones in place and as mentioned by the videos that they barely have 3 sellers as "evidence".
What you need to worry about more is Chinese selling goods online
@@Karbkfd578 no they don't you're confused
That cost money
David P Agreed. I actually have sold on amazon for years. The last thing we need is amazon to stop having third party sellers, we live in free enterprise USA. If no third party sellers then there wouldn’t be a fair market to start an online business, considering amazon is a trillion dollar+ company. Most sellers on amazon can actually afford to order products in bulk. Whoever is dumpster diving could earn more at a job.
You could feed half the world with the amount of product that is thrown away in the US
That's the kind of uneducated random assumption I see people make, but no. Starving people need wholesome nourishing food, not damaged and expired trash that will be older and more shipping worn than ever by the time it gets to them. Healthy food needs to be either grown locally or the locals have to have the income to import it, unless you're on a perpetual charity crusade that just funds them having more children than they could feed which is why we are where we are now.
The rest of the world needs the same high quality food that the US has access to. We already ship them ENOUGH trash, lol.
You eat out the trash. The rest of us want fresh wholesome food.
@@stinkycheese804 If they get the same amount of food money they throw then , they probably can have that many people fed
@@stinkycheese804 Stores throw out perfectly good things if the package is damaged. Supermarkets throw out food that doesn't look like the typical shape because people want to eat nice looking food, not good for you food.
This thread is full of a lot of false information.
So thoughtful of them to clean their garbage finds with Lysol wipes. I wonder if they found the wipes in the trash as well🤔
This is the realest comment I have ever seen! Seriously though..... gross.
Lol
😂😂😂they probably did😂
I’m so glad they are able to rescue perfectly good products that are about to go to waste!
I mean Lysol kills everything
I canceled my prime membership. I made the decision to buy local, at brick and mortar store.
So far have bought local.
Lol.
Don't shop at Walmart. Lol.
Maybe I'll do the same
You must be rich.
I would NEVER order food from Amazon. Especially from another seller. These people should be prosecuted, at a minimum there accounts should be banned.
Amazon doesn't care. Amazon profits out of these sellers.
Amazon sent me a free soup once and I ate it... I'm really regretting it now
June Bug
You definitely have worms at this point
Amazon Fresh is good. I’ve used them. Also, if you put in a Whole Foods order, the food comes from your local Whole Foods.
They’re putting peoples health at risk. Should a be misdemeanor or felony
Just one of the reasons I like to see in person what I'm buying. I don't mind buying things at thrift shops, but I know in advance it is secondhand.
That's all good but the problem is today's stores are lowering their physical stock, so many things you can get on Amazon you'd probably won't find locally.
Exactly, that is the only reason why I buy from Amazon and other online retailers. That and the fact that Amazon gift cards are so readily available and easy to get and use for discounts on orders. I just don't buy things like produce online.
Don't buy food online. Go to the grocery store.
This comment isn’t justified. Walmart could be doing the same thing and you wouldn’t even know about it. Businesses will never be 100% transparent and that’s the truth.
@@iVince905 I believe everyone on this thread knows that it is rare that businesses are 100% transparent. I also only buy 2 items at Walmart because the locally owned & operated businesses in my area don't carry or can't beat Walmart. However I also buy at ALDI'S as they have better prices than Walmart.. healthier food at a cheaper price than Walmart. I only buy what I need, not what I want. And I don't need anything in one or two days except medicine. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 🎄🎉
From someone who has worked inside one of Amazon's warehouse for a year I've experienced worse situations than hearing this story. One of them is the fact that Amazon stores (pressured employees stuff..) all of its inventory in pods and when I say all its means ALL ranging from food to the famous "bear repellents" and occasionally one of this food containers would leak and there would be a spill within this storing pods, now here is where its gets interesting (for the maggots, worms etc) as it would go unnoticed or not get taken seriously for days to weeks and just be ignored for the most part, and then the rest of the stuff within this pods would just be picked and shipped like it had never been in the presence of any "bacteria". Its a little dark, but a good rule of thumb I like to follow is to stay away from ordering any food off of amazon. Btw I stopped working for amazon in mid 2019.
ewwww canned mushrooms 🙊🙊🙊
I read this as I eat cheez its I ordered from amazon :(
True story
Do you think this is worse than USPS, UPS, Fed Ex?
Note to self...Dont buy Trader Joes products on Amazon...Check.
Yeah... I don't think anybody wants to eat any food products that shared a dumpster with the stores restroom trash, such as dirty baby diapers and used feminine products... A disinfecting wipe just isn't enough to kill that kind of very nasty bacteria.
Random Person do not buy food and supplements on Amazon if not from the original company, famous wholesale distributors and sold by Amazon. Check ✔️
@@waterflutehope alot of time.. Amazon know but they don't care... it is your customer job to deal with it for them...
@@waterflutehope I was going to say something similar.
For example, if I am going to buy a nintendo product on the site but not from amazon itself, then I'm looking to see that the seller is Nintendo itself. I'm not buying anything from user569.
My friend purchased a few items from these and he said, 'no wonder why they always tasted like cr@p!' 😂😂😂
7:15 she's reselling medicine that could have been exposed to a 120 degree warehouse, or sat frozen solid in a semi trailer.
Or both
I didn’t see any medicines on the table, where and or what meds did you see? Most of what was on the table looked like home and beauty items?? I couldn’t tell the shot was so quick.
milky216 she was selling medicine for babies. That is irresponsible.
Both are fine conditions to store dry medicines.
Shellee Jackson gripe water isn’t actually medicine ..
I usually try to avoid buying from third party sellers
if you buy something "fulfilled" by amazon, this is what you could get tho. now i know.
That's actually what Amazon wants lol. Control the biggest marketplace and also become only reliable seller in that market place. Also copy other's products lol
Yeah, I'll take a higher price, if it's sold by Amazon, and not just fulfilled by them..
Just wanted to let you & everyone else know that there is something called Amazon commingled inventory(look it up). Third party sellers inventory can end up being sold directly from Amazon.com since the inventory will be combined with Amazon's own inventory. Don't think you are safe because you aren't just because you don't buy from third party fba..
Kevin you can’t avoid them I bought from Newegg always trusted then it came from third party amazon
This is exactly why we cross out every single barcode at my Trader Joe’s and if it’s already broken we break it more. We have caught people doing this.
Good to know! Thank you for sharing that. I do love Trader Joe's 😍
From now on i will support trader joes and thank you chiara , i already have bycotted amazon after the hasan minaj's show on netflix about amazons non american business practices
So how do you scan them??
Macmittens411 it’s scanned first as a spoil or donation, then gets crossed out with a sharpie.
@@katya8888 I meant a the Register
Albertsons/Safeway has a policy of putting in the trash any food/health/beauty/cosmetic item that is returned to the store because even if sealed, they don't know if the item had been subject to extreme heat, cold, motion or other adverse conditions. They will not even put them on clearance shelves. Other retailers won't retail these items, but will sell them to liquidators. Now when these items, whether sourced from liquidators or dumpsters, are sold as new on Amazon, it becomes a major liability issue for Amazon and a health issue for the public.
Woohoo... Now you've told the WSJ where to go to get more goods to sell on Amazon.
Well how do they know it wasn't subject to those things before it got to their store, during the entire production cycle?
A Walmart employee told a family member that they throw any unopened food out you return, they won't even donate it to charity.
@@archdukeofsynth I guess everybody forgot about the fake pain killer that someone mess with and put back on the shelves and killed 2 plp never been caught. That why they do not accept return food, and makeup they had plenty of time to mess with it before returning.
Next up in financial news: Jeff Bezos just bought WSJ.
ⵉⵜⵔⵓⵏⴰⵓⵜ next up: Washington Post: how WSJ is lying with phony articles about Amazon!
this made me smile
Next Up: Amazon buys more than 300 landfills in 26 U.S. states.
Next Up: Amazon buys the FDA after FDA starts health and safety investigation.
@@manictiger Was that an ''Idiocracy" reference ?
The larger issue isn't that people are selling discarded items on amazon, but rather, how much wasted inventory stores end up with, and the ways they are discarding [trashing rather than donating]
I worked at a retail establishment in the past. As managmnet my job is to closely watch items in the back of the store. The purpose is to get them out front to sell before they expire and turn clearance. I found premium items in the back hidden away some times.. Employees would do this so the expensive item would turn clearance and they could buy it on the cheap. This was a form of theft. So I imagine this is the reason stores dont donate goods. There will always be that unseen reason.
I was afraid that was what was going on.
They don't donate because they could get sued if they get sick. Meanwhile, on Amazon. Good luck trying to sue a third party seller because you almost died from something expired.
@@curlyhairdudeify We need to give retailers exceptions in donation cases. Problem solved.
@@Telcomvic You do know that there are actual court precedents caused by homeless people that were fed by a major corporation (casino) in which the people got sick, and sued? Why do you think they rather throw the food away?
That’s crazy about the dumpster on Trader Joe’s, the ones in my area donate heavily to food banks
The one in my area too, the charities have to set it up and pick up the items there may not be one in that area, or that food should not b consumed at all, these people shouldn't be reselling that stuff anyway because they don't even know why it was thrown away, it could have been recalled items or any number of reasons.
same in my area too. I am now skeptical about this wsj story.. was this a 3rd party journalist the provided this video story to the WSJ and then wsj is selling it to us viewers like it is a genuine WSJ quality product.. I am having some fun with that comparison.. but it does seem kind of fishy to me that the news story didn't really talk to any trader joes folks.. and in my experience trader joes is very good about donate food to food pantries and shelter in the local area.
i go to trader joes... they throw away so many good products and as well flowers....i have gotten 20 dozen roses from there...i went to the beach and spread rose petals everywhere....thats what its about....spontaneity
Rule of thumb: avoid third party
Avoid Amazon.
@Armando Delgado you get a thumbs up for that.
one of the reasons why I never order food from Amazon.
That's a great point you made! Never buy food on Amazon!
I never buy from Amazon period.
Rajan Sachdeva Never buy food online
JiveLive2G
I hope that even food can’t even be sold online because it is more risky than buying in a shop in person
Nothing wrong with food from Amazon, just don't do it through 3rd parties. Same goes for most products, an individual selling small quantities of things had to get them through gray or black market channels or dumpsters, unless they are USED items previously bought new and you can't trust a seller at that, just their listing as used and a price that reflects it.
Every time I watch little features like this, I'm just overwhelmed with the amount of STUFF
Nice pun
A container of contact lens cleaner that has been sitting in a 170 degree car in Arizona in July for a month, or in a -20 degree car in North Dakota in January for a month and then returned will still look like a sealed new item. The retailer will then sell it to the liquidator who will sell it to a resailer like the lady in this story on Amazon as a new item. Do you want to put that solution on your contact lens and then in your eye?
Why would you buy this?
@@GaryVolts not us. The seller, even bricks-mortar optic stores does this. I've been the victim of this kind of thing. Got an eye infection because using store bought sealed contact lenses solutions. Complained and the store owner admits she bought it trough one of online market place.
What's the solution?
@surfitlive How about plastic leaching into the solution due to the heat? I would never buy water sitting out in the sun, let alone something I put in my eyes.
@bigcrowfly 😂😂😂😂😂😂
i have stopped buying any food or personal products from amazon. i did not know why the quality of the products had gone horribly wrong but its been like that in my experience for well over a year. and writing a rule only keeps honest sellers honest. bought from amazon everything from expired tires to circulating fans and solar lights that did not work.No More.
Beverly Harrold has to
This is why, I usually go shopping in stores other than shopping online.
It's much safer buying in person at a real store. Some items online are perfectly OK, but not anything that you eat or use as a cosmetic product or medicine. I'd always buy those in a real store. 👍
Wiliam George yup I don’t buy food on amazon
Tip: DON'T BUY FOOD ONLINE YA DUMMIES!
Or medicine. Who tf buys medicine online rather than at a local pharmacy?
@@lagon7830 I work for the post office people buy medicine on line all the time. The packaging is so flimsy half the time it doesn't make to it's destination.
@@lagon7830 people too ill or without the means or ability to go get it
just dont buy from third party sellers and make sure you look at reviews. i shop online sometimes because its easier and sometimes i cant find what im looking for in real life.
It's fine to purchase food online, from *trusted* sources. Don't use Amazon.
Good producing here.
We need more like this , journalism that’s interesting and relevant to almost everyone.
So tired of partisan politics propaganda.
Do Artichaut Then don't seek that content out or grow thicker skin.
Except... Jeff Bezos owns the Washington's Post (google it) so this is probably just some experimental advertising lol.
All this tells me is that people throw out good stuff.
Yeah but people are buying broken and expired stuff all the time
@johnmonk66 You might be intolerant of Consumerists, because it's freedom of religion, Consumerism. How dare you.😂😂
I'm just kidding. I agree with you.
Read the details above the “buy now” button. It says “ships and sold by Amazon”. If it only says ships then it’s 3rd party
Thank you
I always read that.
not anymore. They do something called 'co-mingling' now. That means if amazon runs out of something, they will substitute it for an identical barcode in their warehouse which comes from a third party seller.
@@janejan9728 this is nuts!!!!
The only people that don't know this are the authors of this hit piece against Amazon/Bezos.
Omg imagine it's food that the manufacturer contaminated and was called back
Mikey Oto that’s gross !
Not just food but baby toys they didn't expose where they took four different baby toys bought from Amazon and have them tested and they all flunked safety tests
At that point I would think itd be destroyed.
@@GravaticBurst destroyed
Aka- thrown in the dumpster
@@jaredritchie6046 na I mean really destroyed, like open the canaster and dump it out. Grind up the other subjects.
I wonder if extreme couponers resell on amazon...
Guaranteed they do.
At least it’s not from the trash tho, they’re just making profit
Why not?
Yes of course. Ive thought about this idea and the video MANY years ago. Just never seemed like a fun way to make money.
@Nat WrightNow They've found their new Grift....😂😂
I didnt shop on amazon because its a horrible place to work,now this is another reason not to shop on amazon.
So does other sites.
You don't SHOP on Amazon because it's a horrible place to WORK. How virtuous of you.
@@ChadtheHammer It's extraordinary bad in Amazon specifically. You should look into it you might be surprised.
Amazon is a great place to work.
Same , its very unamerican business
makes you think twice about buying food products and hygenie products from 3rd party sellers on amazon.
Tse Hong Ling makes me want to do it because it reduces unnecessary waste! Pretty cool 👍🏻
Yeah, don't... Do you want an item that shared a dumpster with e-coli or salmonella? Or was tossed into a dumpster with the stores restroom trash, including used feminine products and baby diapers? Cleaning the items with a couple of disinfecting wipes just doesn't make it clean... IT IS DISGUSTING!!! EWWWW!!!
@@kelseys628 Reduces waste? Those dumpster items are tossed in the trash with the stores restroom garbage. Do you want an item that shared a dumpster with used feminine products and dirty baby diapers, not to mention e-coli and salmonella? One nasty infection could land you in the hospital, or lead to much worse. I understand being environmentally friendly, sure, but once it gets tossed in the dumpster, it's no longer safe to be used by people. Dumpsters are loaded with bacteria that is antibiotic resistant. I worked with the health department for 2 years, inspecting hotels. Please, for your own safety and health, be careful what you buy and use. We had a case of a 23 year old woman who lost her left eye from an infection from makeup. Turns out it looked sealed, but wasn't, and it cost her a miserable price.
Janson Gander yes, I’d rather have perfectly good items that people have washed and sold to me than to buy a new one and have nice stuff go to waste in the dumpsters.
Kelsey S The shipping back and forth creates more waste than if you were to just go to your local store and buy from the clearance aisle. If you care about the environment than you’ll understand that.
This explains all the junk I've bought on Amazon that arrived broken or broke within a few days after buying it
At our warehouse, anything that is "trash" gets dumped immediately into a sealed compactor that crushes it. You don't want to be buying dumpster treasure, it was thrown in the garbage for a reason, and wasn't intended for "Amazon Annie" to come along and dig it out... Major EWWWWW!!!
So your telling me that 50% chance that what I buy is from trash I-
Making me think about where my new undies have been
👁️__👁️
Best comment yet! LOL
Now on I ll get them stitched, your thought enlightened me
Used to work at goodwill. That’s crazy, I learned this whole process without even realizing it’s value.
Are you rich yet?
Youll realize too late you could have been an entrepreneur all your ideas were originall but you didn't have anyone to tell you so
Ideally, (when it is safe) those items going into the garbage dumpsters should go to local food banks (and similar organizations) every day. 2019
All the waste that will end up in landfill contributing to more issues.
I whole heartedly support diverting functional items from the dumpster.
This is great. I’m a hobo and have always felt like my demographic was being ignored. Now, I can shop on Amazon with confidence.
Why don’t they make it law that any disposed product, food or otherwise, must have the barcode removed/destroyed (could be inked out)? Then this stuff could not be resold because if it was, it would be obvious to the consumer that it was discarded at some point.
The company isn't in the wrong though and they are more than likely already following a set of protocols handed down by the state, its the people who go to the dumpsters and sell the products that are being dishonest, why punish business and add costs to them if you are to be just and fair, then the responsibility falls on those committing the act themselves and they are the ones who should be reprimanded also where are the lines drawn many businesses give stuff away to charity these bozos are being unethical but are probably the same people who demand ethical standards but are not ethical themselves.
The company does have that policy.
@@edenandkoi another thing they could do is uses the blacklight ink.. it is invisible to see.. but it could put another barriar to these people from trying to pass off these discared prodcuts as new and reselling them. Ofouce using a permanent marker over the bar codes is good too.
That is an excellent idea! People should at least have the OPTION of knowing that someone dug that item out of a filthy dumpster.
The sellers should have to show Amazon a receipt of their own purchase of the product
Some stores have thousands of items that keep getting replenished. And, anyone could make a fake receipt on their computer.
When Amazon asks these people to produce their invoices for the items, they're gonna be screwed.
Do you have a better way of making money and competing?
@MCMXCa.D. , You will reap what you sow .
They can just dumpster dive for the invoices.
Whats wrong is that there is perfectly good product being constantly thrown out on a daily basis.
@@josh4590 Would you prefer underproduction? I think it's better to have so much food and other things we throw some of it away. There's no way to perfectly calibrate how much will be sold without waste.
Most people don't want to be like those disgusting freegans or Venezuelans.
I like shopping locally and rather walk in the snow and cold 3 miles to the nearest Target than to buy from Amazon.
Exactly. You have to be "rich" to be able to make the choice to not shop on Amazon. The choice is not accessible to everyone
It’s time to hold Amazon accountable and time to leave Prime until the clarity and verification of products is done independently every week
The people selling the products should be held accountable as well they play a part in this as well.
never again. I just cancelled a third party purchase. UGH never ever going to buy 3rd party again.
How can u do that on your account? And what about reputable stores like iherb? Are they considered third party? Cause i always look at sellers and get from a big company with good rating, even if it costs more
@@exploitedfight8081 iHerb is great! :) It was the first shop I've seen to display the expiry date of the products I'm buying. As a matter of fact, I guess it was the only one!
Why? You don’t like clean sealed items that have been... previously stocked?
The value of these small businesses is that they filter goods from waste. Waste in US is enormous. I even think this business model should be encouraged
3rd party may actually ruin Amazon. If I ever get any of these trash, I’m done with Amazon!!!
Amazon will just refund you even if you dont return it if you complain. Even saying like you never got your package or the wind blew it away and they will send you a new one. They just use an honor system I guess that you could probably abuse but I've never tested the limits and dont have plans too.
You’d probably never know anyway haha
@@remingtonrojas Too much abuse will get your account cancelled, but you're right. Not long ago, I got 4 boxes containing hundreds of a certain disposable item; and the contents of 3 of the boxes were all defective. After letting them know, they reshipped 4 boxes, not just 3, and never asked for any kind of proof or return. So I got an extra (free) box of good product out of the inconvenience.
Like they say... someone's trash is other's treasure. Amazon just put them together 😂
@Red Divinity or husband
Yeah.... Nothing new. I was finding the "new" books I bought from Amazon were turning up dog eared with obvious signs of wear and tear. I've not bought from Amazon in years. The same stuff goes on unabated on eBay and Walmart's storefront.
"Amazon, from our dump to yours"
That should be illegal. It’s nasty and bummish.
Seph Callaway WASTE should be illegal! They’re doing something at least a little better for the planet! Rethink what trash really is and stop being wasteful...
Lol and “bummish?” Nice classism there.
Bummish! 🥴🤣
@@sofabadass They are in the trash for a reason!!!
These people are putting other people health in danger!!!
At least let people know what they are consuming 😷
@@Reesiesworld 😂😂😂😂
Even if they add that to their policy. They would never know after it’s cleaned
Jesus Christ if I can sell something for quadruple the amount after clearance sale then clearly consumer's obsession with just buying from Amazon in general is blind.
Legit buy from the original company itself that’s it.
As a professional Amazon seller I can tell you that Amazon would suspend an account in a heartbeat if they or a customer suspected something like this. Amazon takes counterfeit or misrepresented products extremely seriously.
I really like WSJ but if this scenario is actually occurring it can’t last long. Everything sold on fba has to have an invoice/receipt or your account can be suspended.
As a buyer who has reported MANY different items that were misrepresented, and not removed or policed, I am 110% certain you are wrong. In FACT, I even got my amazon account BANNED by daring to state this on some of the items and the sellers of the fraudulent spec'd goods complained to amazon. It has not only lasted long, it is still happening today. For example on amazon: Search for "5000mAh 18650". Hint: There is no such thing as a 5000mAh 18650 cell, current tech cannot make one. They do not exist. Amazon doesn't care.
WSJ definitely missed that last part.
Amazon does not require receipts or invoices for shipping products via FBA. I knew a guy who sold thousands of dollars a day in fake college textbooks on Amazon and I’m more than sure if I bump into him he still does it.
I got a strike for exposing 3rd party retailer. I don't trust Amazon anymore.
@@RizzoDaManiac They absolutely require invoices. It's in the terms of service for sellers.
I actually hate how people start to exploiting some system, it's not about Amazon doing bad, but the scammer that always annoy people on every platform
I don't see a problem as long as the products work and no uncanned food is being sold.
I remember buying at a Starbucks in the airport just as they were closing down, they threw out about 20 packets of fresh fruit and natural goods in the trash before even closing down. Disturbing how multi-billion companies have the ability to cause an impact/help out with huge problems like food waste, poverty/starvation and pollution.
Amazon was great in the beginning now it really sucks.
I'm here trying to believe did WSJ really bought their own trash
Yes, they wanted to see if trash would pass through the 3rd party inspection....all 3rd party products are suppose to be inspected....but they are not.
WSJ has been selling trash for years. People that are buying it are anti America!
I want to know if not everything was bought up or why Amazon cancelled storefront.
I'm actually shocked to see that people buy food on Amazon. That seems like a really bad idea.
Diatonic5th they have Amazon Pantry and you can supposedly use your food stamp card.
Kmart and Walmart sell food online too, got better prices, shocking huh.
Starla Grady There’s a big chance you can DECEASE, or rather DIE from salmonella, let alone go to the hospital from food poisoning. It’s not cool, don’t risk your health for a small bit of immunity. 😑
WSJ you have major cojones pulling this off...and making a documentary on it. Good exposure. Well done
Never buy from third parties that's common sense when shopping online!!
Amazon combines inventory so 3rd party items can get mixed in with sold and shipped by Amazon items.
@@AcerbicOrder When you buy online you need to see the seller!! What you are saying is true if people don't see the seller and just buy the product!!
True. I learned my lesson when I bought 2 codes for MMO from 3rd parties. Got to play for 6 months before game company BANNED my account for refund the money. Of course I have no way to contact 3rd party and have to buy new game codes after talking to GM.
Amazon should label 3rd party sellers properly on the web and on the boxes. This is so disappointing.
This is the same thing that a flee market does but amazon is the company that “owns the land property“ to sell things in online
Me: Let me find out something I bought came from the trash
Also me: I can’t lie tho, that is pretty smart
Video proudly sponsored by Alibaba*
😂😂😂👍
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
More like Fed-Ex
Alibaba's slogan: Counterfeit is waaaay better than dumpster.
Or eBay 😝
You know they throw recalls in the trash right?🤔
Even "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com." means nothing now. Amazon now combines their own stock with third party seller stock. Therefore it's now impossible to know whether the item you're buying is actually sold by Amazon or sold by a third party seller that found the item in a dumpster.
Exactly .
Avoid third-party sellers, especially when buying food.
Hate to break it to you, but this does not protect you. There is something called Amazon commingled inventory (look it up). Third party sellers inventory can end up being sold directly from Amazon since the inventory will be combined with Amazon's own inventory. Don't think you are safe because you aren't just because you don't buy from third party FBA. See articles "Amazon inventory management causes authentic vendors to sell fakes" & "Your Amazon Products Could All Be Counterfeit - Here's Why."
If it's sealed and not expired I don't find anything wrong with it instead of going to the bin
Every one does not prefer using same gross standard like you.
@@patriotamerican3069 I am sorry Your Highness
@@ah-ha There are other items that are not from Trader Joe. Sellers who sell Dump products should donate all the income generated from the dumped products
I thought I was gross wow I was long
Pay attention to the "Sold by" when you make a purchase on Amazon.
Amazon doesn't allow arbitrage on their site, and if they get a complaint the seller has to provide an invoice from an authorized distributor, and they won't accept regular store receipts. Sellers get permanently suspended if they can't provide one, and amazon uses their ip address, bank info, id, and even their device info to ensure they don't make new accounts. However, someone has to complain first, it may take some time to get caught, and for every one that gets kicked off, 5 new ones take their place. Amazon should regularly check at random for valid invoices. The woman they interviewed needs to have her account reviewed. I've seen her youtube channel and she's not as honest as she pretends to be for this WSJ piece, she sells used and open box returns as 'sealed brand new'.
Ther is no minimum requirement for items in stock and proof of origin? Isn't this turning amazon into a flea market?
Isn't this good for the enviorment ?
Better off not overproducing or avoiding throwing it away for the good of the environment
Americans are snowflakes this is normal in my country
Alexis Payne You can't really know what the market demand is, people prefference change really fast. So they always produce a little more than they speculate the market demand will be just in case they are wrong. For a big company running low on a good can mean losing a lot of costumers trust.
Ew, these dumpster divers need real jobs.
Amazon these days does not allow negative reviews on their listings
Wall Street Journal needs to do a documentary on products that are being sold on Amazon by Shoplifters.
Cammy Mc I used to know this couple who would steal cartons of cigarettes from grocery stores and sell them to corner convenience stores. As a consumer, there really is no way of knowing
The Target footage at 6:10 must be at least three years old. They've been using yellow clearance signs for about that long now.
My target (out in the country) still uses those
Really high quality video! Good job
I am a third party seller on Amazon’s FBA program and I know lots of other sellers who would never dream of purchasing items in the trash. This represents the smallest fraction, .0001% of third party sales. It’s just an interesting story for wsj to report on. I believe that the problem is improper disposable of goods. If an item is no longer deemed worthy to sell, they should permanently mark the product in some way to avoid unethical resale.
Zach Schaw as a former ethical third party seller on amazon, I find this article sad as well. Especially considering how amazon has way more consumer protections in place for those that purchase from third party sellers than any other online marketplace.
@@danieldaniels7571 I disagree with both you and Zach. I often to look to Amazon reviews to discern the quality of a product. I can dismiss disgruntled people or people who don't understand the difference between rating the product vs seller, etc. More than 50% of the normal, everyday products I've look up in the last few years have comments where people show photos of what they unboxed and found the to be used, scuffed, rancid, and a multitude of other "this should never have been sold as new/what's going on/this is bs type comments. This phenomena is rampant throughout Amazon in is by far more than ".0001%". If "amazon has way more consumer protections in place for those that purchase from third party sellers" You mean because of a refund policy they're protected? If they were really protected, it wouldn't happen in the first place. There is a comment above with this video: "From someone who has worked inside one of Amazon's warehouse for a year I've experienced worse situations than hearing this story. One of them is the fact that Amazon stores (pressured employees stuff..) all of its inventory in pods and when I say all its means ALL ranging from food to the famous "bear repellents" and occasionally one of this food containers would leak and there would be a spill within this storing pods, now here is where its gets interesting (for the maggots, worms etc) as it would go unnoticed or not get taken seriously for days to weeks and just be ignored for the most part, and then the rest of the stuff within this pods would just be picked and shipped like it had never been in the presence of any "bacteria". Its a little dark, but a good rule of thumb I like to follow is to stay away from ordering any food off of amazon. Btw I stopped working for amazon in mid 2019."
Oh man, this changes everything for me. I think I'm basically done with amazon. I can't believe I've been paying for a prime membership only to have everything I receive be of questionable origin and quality.
The scary part is what if the product like shampoo or detergent is a fraud with dangerous ingredients?
8:55 they dont even check the boxes. they are shipping mystery packages to strangers.
Everything is legal as long as no one reporting the issue, no one is assessing the issue, and no one sees the issue.
imagine doing this with pc components
People do this, but depending on the area it is sometimes hard to find e-waste to re-sell.
Isn't that basically recycling? If the product is indeed usable and in good condition there isn't really a problem with reselling it, even if it's from the trash
At the end of the video it states Amazon closed the WSJ’s account before but doesn’t go into why. If Amazon is able to spot this easily then the risk is very very low.
WSJ would have reached out to Amazon about the article/sellers at which point amazon may have deleted the seller account. Doesn't mean, their algorithm could track dumpster divers
J L Amazon didn’t “spot” this, the WSJ told them about their account and then and only then did the WSJ’s Amazon account get shut down.
The 'Stranger Things' musical score is cracking me up. Reporter: "The (stranger) things you buy on Amazon could come from the upsidedown." video: Demogorgon repackaging a bottle of Prell.
I love the liquidation part, that’s just reducing waste (of the product itself, not all the boxes it travels back and forth in).
What I've learned; if you dumpsterdive a retailer you might actually find some treasures
This is so insightful! Interesting.
They failed to mention that amazon sellers are restricted from most food and beauty products when they first start selling. There are lots of restriction in place.
I worked in a wearhouse for years of a major store in the furniture department and I could not believe what was being sold as new furniture...
jerry giovengo I know a place that places new covers on old mattresses and sells them to furniture stores that sell them as new.