How Amazon Broke the US Patent Office

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  • čas přidán 27. 03. 2023
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    Video written by Ben Doyle

Komentáře • 1,1K

  • @TheTexas1994
    @TheTexas1994 Před rokem +8512

    Nothing says Amazon verified like a brand that has only capital letters, little to no vowels, and the description is likely written by a bot and/or direct Google Translate

    • @ThisHandleIsNotTaken.
      @ThisHandleIsNotTaken. Před rokem +305

      My XCRNTL branded apple agrees

    • @deleted-something
      @deleted-something Před rokem +7

      Fr

    • @deadandbored
      @deadandbored Před rokem +137

      descriptions written by chatgpt will probably soon takeover.. fuck

    • @joshuaychung
      @joshuaychung Před rokem +50

      Is this why my my HP laptop keeps losing connection to my LG or JBL headphones these days?

    • @hankidyhank
      @hankidyhank Před rokem +31

      And all images contain the same basic font

  • @alhypo
    @alhypo Před rokem +5191

    I love Amazon's approach to problem-solving.
    1. There is no problem
    2. Kids catch on fire
    3. Ok, maybe there is a problem
    4. Define the problem
    5. Recognize that the problem is too hard to fix
    6. Figure out a way to push the problem off on some unwitting government agency
    7. Give executives bonuses

    • @sethkriticos664
      @sethkriticos664 Před rokem +359

      It's how basically every large company is approaching problems. The technical term is externalizing costs. An example is the oil and plastics industry. They give you a product that causes a big mess, and then ignore it as it's someone else's problem. When successful, the cost is usually pushed to the taxpayer. Sometimes the problem is also just ignored and pushed off to future generations. Ignorance is a very powerful business tool.

    • @DipayanPyne94
      @DipayanPyne94 Před rokem +43

      ​@@sethkriticos664 It's part of the corporate agenda of having all the power in the world.

    • @patrickstonecrusher
      @patrickstonecrusher Před rokem +39

      If you do stupid things cleverly, are you clever or stupid?

    • @ExEBoss
      @ExEBoss Před rokem +47

      @@patrickstonecrusher Yes.

    • @fss1704
      @fss1704 Před rokem +30

      Apple: you're holding it wrong, we have no problem on the antenna, you should give a backflip and hold the phone on three fingers while standing in a power tower.

  • @jonzulanas
    @jonzulanas Před rokem +3312

    I guarantee you, some employee was told to register a trademark and decided that whacking their head against the keyboard and submitting it was easier than trying to run anything by the marketing department.

    • @philippebrehier7386
      @philippebrehier7386 Před rokem +74

      Boycott Amazon !
      Do not confuse your desires with vital needs.
      The planet will be better off.

    • @Megumins_ass
      @Megumins_ass Před rokem +35

      Work for such a company. Can confirm

    • @jonzulanas
      @jonzulanas Před rokem +56

      @@philippebrehier7386 I'm right there with you. I've only made two purchases from them in the past 2 years, and only because I was given a gift card for it. Amazon deserves to fail for it's criminal treatment of workers and union busting (not even to touch on their e-waste and ecological impact)

    • @thePronto
      @thePronto Před rokem

      Not clear to me why approving 'Lululemon' is any harder than 'LLLMN'. It's all a computer search...

    • @TitanBichota
      @TitanBichota Před rokem +12

      @@jonzulanas The saddes part is that Amazon had the potential to be so much better than retail stores but did just the same thing. At least the idea of direct trade between producer and consumer with a plataform that doesnt rip off any of them sounds appealing to me

  • @fortpatches
    @fortpatches Před rokem +1416

    There is a lot left out on the USPTO side. One thing you have to do when applying for a trademark is provide a specimen, usually in the form of an image with your trademark in use. They received many photoshopped images of specimens in filings.
    The USPTO passed a rule in the federal register that applicants that are not US residents must apply through a US attorney for accountability purposes. Before, a foreign national could file as many applications as they wanted no matter the quality and they would have to go through processing with no recourse for fraud. No, there is an attorney they can go after for failure of due diligence.
    One problem now is that we have found instances of foreign filers impersonating US attorneys. So new rules were introduced that for trademark filings, the attorney has to have a verified USPTO account. All this has gone on over the past three-ish years.

    • @rmartin275
      @rmartin275 Před rokem +108

      Thank you, I could tell there was a LOT being omitted on the USPTO side. I'd love to learn more details on that side of things

    • @travelinman70
      @travelinman70 Před rokem +27

      @@rmartin275 yes, I too would like to learn more about circumventing the new rules. please tell us more!

    • @AllAmericanGuyExpert
      @AllAmericanGuyExpert Před rokem +42

      @@travelinman70 Yes! Rich Martin, please do all the dirty work of researching this, then post it into a CZcams comment, and we'll sit back here in our undies until 2 hours later when we watch more CZcams videos full of ads and stock images and have so little research that we clamor for more in a comment, and then we'll see your comment and be happy!

    • @ChemEDan
      @ChemEDan Před rokem +33

      Thanks for posting a comment twice as interesting as the video LOL. Guess that's why it's called half as interesting.

    • @earthling_parth
      @earthling_parth Před rokem +14

      And the game of whack-a-mole continues

  • @gladitsnotme
    @gladitsnotme Před rokem +3589

    You're nice for not telling us that 100% of these "companies" are just Chinese factories. They are the same people selling on aliexpress, wish, and temu.

    • @nataliegrn17
      @nataliegrn17 Před rokem +76

      @@EyeMWing grindset or grindr?

    • @Djuntas
      @Djuntas Před rokem +157

      yep, like 10 sellers for same drop shipped crap.

    • @Ducky69247
      @Ducky69247 Před rokem +132

      I'm honestly surprised he didn't mention it. It's hard to believe he was being nice.

    • @MrTylertherockstar
      @MrTylertherockstar Před rokem +98

      Nice, or willingly choosing not to mention that fact?

    • @jonytube
      @jonytube Před rokem +71

      ​@Adam hmm. FFDGEEGBBLE Peanut Butter is the best! GKBFFBALTBE is another personal favorite.

  • @MrA6060
    @MrA6060 Před rokem +895

    Linus from LTT also explained how many of these companies use clothes to gather reviewes and stars and more, then changing the product to a tech product, that is in many cases a scam (see sd cards, ssds, usb sticks, mostly)

    • @dtibor5903
      @dtibor5903 Před rokem +64

      And they are usually operated by people in the US, not only chinese sellers. Here in europe the situation is not that bad yet, they just sell a lot of stuff unbranded

    • @MrA6060
      @MrA6060 Před rokem +27

      @@dtibor5903 tbh i ordered many of the tech stuff. Amazon has a decent return policy so if the product is bad i know it asap and so far everything worked as intended. But for memory stuff i only shop with trusted brands.

    • @tomsko863
      @tomsko863 Před rokem +7

      @@MrA6060 Do you have a link to LTT video/article?

    • @soaringmonkey96
      @soaringmonkey96 Před rokem

      @@tomsko863 czcams.com/video/QOhLlvNlI20/video.html

    • @FastSloth87
      @FastSloth87 Před rokem

      @@tomsko863 Probably can't post links here, just search for "SCAMazon".

  • @PPschnuppe
    @PPschnuppe Před rokem +747

    It usually goes like this:
    - There's a factory in china producing some random product
    - Dozens of traders try to source these products and sell them under their private label, so the products are 'unique' and they are the only one selling them (so they have the 'buy box')
    - Some seller directly from china eventually takes over the listing anyway and undercuts prices
    - The shipments usually get fulfilled directly by amazon, so they have all the information about manufacturing sites, sell numbers etc.
    - Amazon takes over products that are selling well by sourcing them themselves and turning them into 'amazon basic' products. Now, no third party seller can compete anymore and amazon outsourced all the hard work and financial risk in finding viable products

    • @equality72125
      @equality72125 Před rokem +46

      And I don't think this is a bad thing. Saves consumers time and money by stripping out as many middlemen as possible while allowing economies of scale to do it's thing.

    • @ahwhite1398
      @ahwhite1398 Před rokem

      @@equality72125 yup. Amazon basics is actually a brand I can trust. The others? Nope.

    • @happity
      @happity Před rokem

      @@equality72125 wrong, in this case (how much it happens, who knows), Amazon was the middle man, but stole the businesses and are now the seller AND middle man. Anti - competitive trade.

    • @RT-qd8yl
      @RT-qd8yl Před rokem +1

      >EUPA has left the chat

    • @iandavidvillaloboswong5180
      @iandavidvillaloboswong5180 Před rokem +9

      The cycle repeats itself over and over whenever the guy doing the reselling finds something else in the chinese market

  • @jonas1015119
    @jonas1015119 Před rokem +555

    Its amazing how much worse the Amazon shopping experience has gotten over the years. Was trying to buy a massage gun a while ago and its basically the same exact product being sold by 100 different fake brands, descriptions and product photos might not even show or describe what youre buying, and then you need to quadruple check if its actually being sold by amazon or some random company with no reviews or a return policy.
    But it probably makes them marginally more money than actually picking out real products and discarding the other 90%.

    • @nope.0.
      @nope.0. Před rokem +56

      I've completely stopped buying on Amazon. There's always a retailer that specialises in the category that doesn't have a marketplace, and wants to keep a reputation of not selling total junk. Plus many manufacturers now operate their own shop. Sure, sometimes this means not having the goods show up right away but I'll take that over dodging knockoffs, counterfeits and general tat to get to a decent quality item.

    • @MonkeyJedi99
      @MonkeyJedi99 Před rokem +10

      The last two (physical) things I bought on Amazon were good products, but only because I was buying the exact same cat water fountain my brother had been using for half a year without problems, and then a box of the filters for it.
      -
      I have gotten stung a couple of times. Once I bought a power cord for my laptop by entering the model number of the computer as my search term.
      What I got was a transformer that output the wrong amperage for my laptop.
      Luckily, I caught the problem before plugging it in and sending nearly twice the required amperage into my machine.
      So I put that one into my box of transformers and power cords (because who doesn't have one of those?) and ordered a different one, paying VERY close attention to specifications over the "fits your computer".

    • @guilherme94
      @guilherme94 Před rokem +20

      @@MonkeyJedi99 "sending nearly twice the required amperage into my machine." That's not how it works. If the voltage was right, then the amperage doesn't matter (as long as it is higher than needed). I asked ChatGPT to explain it to you: "Think of a car on a highway. The highway represents the charger's amperage rating and the car represents your device. Just like how the car can only go as fast as its engine allows, your device can only draw a certain amount of current. So, if you use a charger with a higher amperage rating, it's like driving on a highway with a higher speed limit - but your car won't go any faster than it's supposed to, just like how your device won't draw more current than it needs. As long as your device is made for the charger and the voltage matches, there won't be any danger.."

    • @cameronsitton501
      @cameronsitton501 Před rokem +44

      @@guilherme94 "I understand it so well, I asked an AI to write this comment for me."
      Truly, we live in a golden age of technology

    • @guilherme94
      @guilherme94 Před rokem

      @@cameronsitton501 who?

  • @MajorHenryL
    @MajorHenryL Před rokem +358

    You forgot to mention the part where Amazon takes any products doing well on its site and then tries to buy it. If they can't buy it they make a competitor and run the company out of business even if it causes them to take a temporary loss.

    • @M33f3r
      @M33f3r Před rokem +38

      This is why I have moral issues using amazon basics even id they are at least not scam products usually

    • @terryflopycow2231
      @terryflopycow2231 Před rokem +3

      Didn't they open a pharmaceutical branch in America for the same reason?

    • @KarltheBarl
      @KarltheBarl Před rokem +14

      Sounds an awful lot like standard oil

    • @tacticallemon7518
      @tacticallemon7518 Před 9 měsíci +2

      Well, no, they don’t run the competition put of business, they get kicked off the platform

  • @ibrahimmahrir
    @ibrahimmahrir Před rokem +2537

    From using the US Postal Service to do its shipping for free, to using the US Patent and Trademark Office to do its vetting for free. Amazon is riding on the government offices coattails.

    • @JodyBruchon
      @JodyBruchon Před rokem +156

      They don't get shipping from USPS for free.

    • @eminatorstudios
      @eminatorstudios Před rokem +97

      ​@JodyBruchon but they damn sure work out some sweet discounts

    • @wardsdotnet
      @wardsdotnet Před rokem +200

      If it's shipped from China the only postage paid is the very cheap Chinese international postage and then thanks to international treaties the USPS does the rest for free

    • @EebstertheGreat
      @EebstertheGreat Před rokem +110

      @@wardsdotnet No it doesn't. The U.S. is in the Universal Postal Union, which sets fees for international shipping based on a number of factors, including the GDP per capita of the member states. Up until 2015, it made a large surplus and supported low terminal dues, because it was a net exporter of mail. After 2015, it became a net importer, and began to support high terminal dues. Trump almost left the UPU in 2018 over this issue, but the UPU agreed to various concessions to keep the U.S. in the union, including increasing terminal dues across the board, allowing self-declared terminal dues up to 70% of domestic rates, and allowing the U.S. specifically to phase this in immediately in 2020.
      So since July 1 2020, shipping packages from China to the U.S. has been much more expensive.

    • @benjamindesjarlais5713
      @benjamindesjarlais5713 Před rokem +81

      Don't forget they pay their workers so poorly that many rely on food stamps and other tax-funded programs, then with the extra profits Amazon pays out its shareholders even more from this tax burden on labor. Amazon should frankly be nationalized for its importance in so many industries and its reliance on subsidies.

  • @scottmac
    @scottmac Před rokem +58

    I was trying to buy an alarm clock on Amazon just yesterday and literally gave up because it’s just the same 7 junk clocks over and over and over again under different made-up brand names

    • @dvuemedia
      @dvuemedia Před 6 měsíci +6

      I know what you mean, I did get one and it was junk. So, I went to Goodwill and got me used SONY radio alarm clock for $6.00.

    • @qwertykeyboard5901
      @qwertykeyboard5901 Před 6 měsíci

      @@dvuemediaI second this plan.

    • @SoulDelSol
      @SoulDelSol Před 13 dny

      Use your phone

  • @johnnyboi5003
    @johnnyboi5003 Před rokem +214

    I think it's hilarious that sometimes the fake companies will have promotional images on their listings with like people wearing "Asdfghjkl" brand merchandise. Like it's a normal thing. Like they live in a dimension where everyone knows that phonetic diarrhea by name and they all love it.

    • @Woodledude
      @Woodledude Před rokem +9

      I mean, who doesn't love the home row on the keyboard?

    • @TheGreatDrake
      @TheGreatDrake Před 10 měsíci +5

      Makes more sense than people that bought the Kanye West t-shirt. It was pure white with not even a logo and cost over $120

    • @mandolinic
      @mandolinic Před 6 měsíci +2

      I love "Asdfghjkl" brand clothes, and I recommended the brand to anyone. As long as you don't go near any flames or hot surfaces, and you take a daily antihistamine for the itching, you'll be fine.

    • @MrHardzio4Fun
      @MrHardzio4Fun Před 9 dny

      ​@@TheGreatDrakeWhy are you trying to become billboard and pay for it to the advertiser?

  • @Kevinjimtheone
    @Kevinjimtheone Před rokem +752

    Amazon is terrible in every single way at this point. Terrible products, fake reviews, no support or just a bot answering the same way. And it's even worse if you are seller there.

    • @vaiyt
      @vaiyt Před rokem +125

      They've pivoted from a company that connects you to things you want to buy, to a shitty middleman that holds both seller and buyer to ransom from each other.

    • @pukovnikklefeld
      @pukovnikklefeld Před rokem +27

      So grateful that Amazon never caught on in my country due to problems shipping from Germany.

    • @cooperised
      @cooperised Před rokem +19

      And all the while, its founder gets richer and richer...

    • @honkhonk8009
      @honkhonk8009 Před rokem +10

      Yep. The only saving grace is the shipping.
      Eventually were gonna have a new "frontend" for Amazon, where its just sharing links to items lmfao

    • @Djuntas
      @Djuntas Před rokem +3

      3rd party seller BS is stupid, Denmark has many e-retailers competing

  • @oscillator72
    @oscillator72 Před rokem +382

    I’m a trademark attorney, and this is…. actually pretty much spot on, well done

    • @guardrailbiter
      @guardrailbiter Před rokem +27

      Trademark attorney, huh? Glad you fulfilled your childhood dream.

    • @Skiballer
      @Skiballer Před rokem +22

      @@guardrailbiter and the man can probably afford to do whatever he wants, so... lol

    • @krashd
      @krashd Před 11 měsíci +13

      @@Skiballer He's probably also intelligent enough to recognise an obvious joke too...

    • @2adamast
      @2adamast Před 9 měsíci

      You mean the USPTO does the work of CPSC

  • @GasparLewis
    @GasparLewis Před rokem +114

    Tired: ghost kitchens.
    Wired: ghost companies.

  • @LongHairedTom
    @LongHairedTom Před rokem +84

    How did Amazon expect the USPTO to “sift out” dangerous products? In this model they are just registering the company trademark - they won’t even see the products…

    • @danbance5799
      @danbance5799 Před rokem +38

      The idea was that only legitimate companies would have trademarks. Except... a trademark only costs $250. And these scumbags register dozens at a time so if Amazon takes down one, there's another one ready to go immediately. And why wait, more listings means more sales. This is paired with the other problem - none of these "companies" actually make anything. There are dozens of vendors selling the same thing from the same factory. In a lot of cases, the factory can customize the product to the vendor's specification - color, features, etc. I see that more in power tools than kitchen gadgets, but whatever. Anyway, 8 times out of 10, the cheap crap is all you're really looking for, so that's fine. The harder part is limiting your search results to things that can ship in 3 days or less from a company that isn't a complete fraud and finding legitimate reviews so you know if it will last more than 2 weeks. The net result of all that is a purchase that should take me 5 minutes now takes 2 hours. Ugh.

    • @kaitlyn__L
      @kaitlyn__L Před rokem +12

      @@danbance5799 so it’s the same logic as “Twitter verification will stop bots” lol

    • @pierregravel-primeau702
      @pierregravel-primeau702 Před měsícem

      Amazon never expect nothing. They just do thing to avoid causing riots or being sued. They pledge something that we will only sell product from proudly American's companies and the Donald let them sell killer pyjamas...

  • @Sal-T
    @Sal-T Před rokem +83

    Also: Some of these 'companies' will sell simple products for a while, get lots of good reviews on those products, then change the product listing to something completely different. This has the effect of keeping all of the ratings and reviews, but now the product is a cheap thing that appears to be an expensive thing, has a high markup, but is garbage, and all of the ratings show a 4.5+ star rating. They make a bunch of these sales and then ship the garbage, then disappear when the bad ratings start coming in.

    • @dieseldragon6756
      @dieseldragon6756 Před 10 měsíci +2

      To be fair, I don't think the _Bait & Switch_ tactic is confined to scammy no-name sellers. I've had a few big-brand products that have been reviewed/torn-down in YT videos where a high quality product is shown, yet the product I've purchased directly from the manufacturer very soon after those reviews went live is a notably cheaper build, different materials, and performs quite below what's shown in those videos. 💻🛍📱
      Case in point: The Sandisk _Extreme 900_ external SSD. All of the reviews & teardowns I saw (And based my purchase on) showed the device as having a cast alloy or steel case. The ones I've purchased (And haven't had cause to use yet, so still in sealed packaging to retain warranty commencement) feel much lighter than an alloy-shell product really _should_ ... 💾☁🤔

    • @onebear6504
      @onebear6504 Před 14 dny

      "Breaking the e-commerce system via economy of scale", can I say it that way? I kinda admire it tbh

  • @nickwaters9869
    @nickwaters9869 Před rokem +37

    I found reasons to back to brick and mortar stores. It’s nice to just see and feel the darn packaging and peek in the box to make sure I’m getting top shelf Chinesium rather than the bottom of the barrel crap Amazon will slam against your front door in a soft package.

    • @josephkanowitz6875
      @josephkanowitz6875 Před rokem

      ב''ה, you'd think technology could have improved this, but between costs of living and businesses being loathe to make capital investments on stuff that employees can break, lose, or sell... Maybe USPS/FedEx/USPS can't stop you showing up in your own Tony Stark suit but it still looks like 20 years ago or has gone backwards.
      Gross that much of US labor culture is just working to get injured.

  • @darthrainbows
    @darthrainbows Před rokem +13

    These are essentially virtual brands, the same horrible business strategy that pollutes the restauant delivery industry. Make some cheap knockoff of a real product, market it under a throw-away brand name, sell as much as you can until accumulates enough negative reviews to affect sales, kill the virtual brand and create a new one selling the exact same product. Wash, rinse, repeat. It's a deceptive marketing practice that we ought to have consumer protection regulations to prevent.

  • @2x2is22
    @2x2is22 Před rokem +173

    Ten years ago, as it became apparent that Amazon would rocket itself to the front of the retail space, I never thought for one second that I'd find myself preferring to shop at Walmart

    • @Hexagonaldonut
      @Hexagonaldonut Před rokem +24

      Walmart may also suck, but at least you know what you're getting because it's *literally right in front of you.*

    • @darthparallax5207
      @darthparallax5207 Před 11 měsíci

      I saw that coming a mile off. It's like Republicans and Democrats.
      We kind of all KNEW Trump was a dumpster fire on the face of things.
      But he was a normal mom and pop good ol days good ol boys dumpster fire made in the USA, not this new Chinese PokeDigiYugi California Valley stuff that's not just a dumpster fire but also a timespace wormhole.
      Trump you just keep pouring water on it and check that your water truck isn't gasoline.
      Timespace Shares Avengers level bullshit is......ugh. exhausting. Ain't nobody got time for that.
      And I spend all my unvaluable free time on CZcams looking up nerd crap.
      Literally nobody has time for timespace bullshit.
      Trump went to jail eventually just took a while. Nice and boring and normal. XD

    • @LazyBoyA1
      @LazyBoyA1 Před 6 měsíci +7

      @@Hexagonaldonut True, at least I know the Walmart garbage will probably work and not kill me

  • @GoatTheGoat
    @GoatTheGoat Před rokem +14

    I didn't even know that string of letters that generic products on amazon have in their page title was supposed to be a brand name. i thought it was a SKU or database index or something.

  • @jakemoawad1300
    @jakemoawad1300 Před rokem +45

    Great video! But just want to point out that the “patent” and “trademark” parts of the USPTO are separate “departments,” if you will. So the thumbnail’s “patent spam” is a little misleading because there is no patent work going on!

    • @mipmipmipmipmip
      @mipmipmipmipmip Před 6 měsíci +4

      We can learn more about that part in the video "How thumbnails broke getting a sensible expectation of the actual content"

    • @tc2142
      @tc2142 Před 4 měsíci +1

      I was expecting to lean about Amazon flooding the patent office with patents for random ordinary objects that have already been invented, not third-party throwaway brand trademarks, actual clickbait

  • @therealinak
    @therealinak Před rokem +42

    And that’s why I went back to eBay after all these years. More likely to find name brand products, seller review system functions well, and because that review system functions so efficiently, shipping is usually significantly faster for me anyway.

    • @jmac356
      @jmac356 Před 11 měsíci

      You're not guaranteed to get them though.

    • @TruthFiction
      @TruthFiction Před 7 měsíci

      @@jmac356 Only with Ebay you are guaranteed to get your money back.... after a long and arduous fight through customer service. I ordered a $250 item that was listed at $70 by a seller with 4000 positive reviews on Ebay only for it to never make it to US customs before being returned to the seller. Contacted ebay, was told they would give the seller 2 weeks to respond, contacted ebay 2 weeks later when they didn't respond was told by ebay they would give the seller two weeks to explain why they never responded, and on and on for 3 goddam months before i contacted them and said if they told me two weeks again I was filing a fraud claim with my bank naming Ebay and Paypal as the perpetrators since I paid through Paypal and Ebay owns Paypal. I got my money back that night.

  • @jdkgcp
    @jdkgcp Před rokem +43

    I knew this was coming years ago because Amazon invited me to be a "tester" for no name products and send them feedback. For about 2 years they would send me the most random stuff, always in pure white generic packaging with just some codes on the box/packaging and no branding at all. It was fairly obvious what they were planning to do.

  • @lukesrandomadventures
    @lukesrandomadventures Před rokem +86

    Did you just brickbait us all?

    • @bgl864
      @bgl864 Před rokem

      Would you like a example

  • @joermnyc
    @joermnyc Před rokem +35

    Be careful buying from 3rd party sellers on Amazon, they may ship from overseas. Tried to return a cabinet door pot-lid rack that didn’t actually hold my pot-lids (the thing seemed to only hold ultra thin glass lids, not stamped metal lids), and the return address was in CHINA. It cost almost as much as the item to ship back! 🤦‍♂️

    • @DMahalko
      @DMahalko Před rokem

      This is the scam of the Universal Postal Union ePacket service. "Small" multi-million dollar companies like TEMU in the "poor" 3rd world country China can ship to the USA for next to nothing, and we Americans are paying for it through higher taxes. If it's junk, good luck getting a refund because the cheap shipping doesn't extend back the other way to China.

    • @bet8467
      @bet8467 Před rokem

      I thought Amazon paid for the return shipping.

    • @patrickwilliams3108
      @patrickwilliams3108 Před rokem +6

      @@bet8467 Only if it is an item whose order was fulfilled by Amazon. If it came from one of their warehouses, they will pay for return shipping (or just have you drop it off at a return center). If it was shipped any other way (I have purchased items from Amazon that were delivered by USPS, FedEx, etc and came directly from the company I bought them from) then returns are between you and the seller.

    • @josephkanowitz6875
      @josephkanowitz6875 Před rokem +3

      ב''ה, the China Post one way shipping subsidy for their exports is worth a video.

  • @aromaticsnail
    @aromaticsnail Před rokem +91

    Let's also not forget those products have high marked up prices. I've found similar products at local stores at half the price and even less. Amazon isn't really the best option any more, except for the more well-established but not in all segments.

    • @briant7265
      @briant7265 Před 2 měsíci

      I was looking at a trail cam a few years ago. Amazon had the base version listed for $10 over retail, gave the retail prove for the deluxe package, and claimed you were saving a bunch of money.
      I also bought a "pair" of scope rings for a .22. The site clearly showed A PAIR of rings. You need A PAIR of rings to mount a scope. I received a package with ONE ring. I contacted them, returned the package and they sent a new package containing ... ONE ring. I contacted them again, including a snip of the product page with the image of A PAIR of rings and an explanation of why I expected a package that matched the image. I refrained from vulgarity. They finally sent a second ring.
      So I might have some trust issues regarding Amazon now.

  • @Norman_Fleming
    @Norman_Fleming Před rokem +58

    but some of us DO CARE. It is impossible to find a real brand/seller anymore.

    • @attheedge9000
      @attheedge9000 Před rokem +14

      Just stop using Amazon and buy from specialized online shops. The shopping experience is much better and it's usually not significantly more expensive.

    • @ooooneeee
      @ooooneeee Před rokem +2

      Yeah only buy stuff on Amazon that you can't get anywhere else.

    • @thomasmaughan4798
      @thomasmaughan4798 Před rokem +1

      "It is impossible to find a real brand/seller anymore."
      I usually purchase technology through specialized retailers such as Adorama or B&H Photo (cameras, video, audio).

    • @kingplunger6033
      @kingplunger6033 Před 7 měsíci

      Just purchase most stuff elsewhere

    • @Poldovico
      @Poldovico Před 2 měsíci

      Gotta look for them outside amazon

  • @polyspiel
    @polyspiel Před rokem +82

    It is important to note that the Chinese government is actually issuing subsidies to Chinese individuals that obtain a U.S. trademark. The subsidies are high enough you can make money ($50-$400) just by filing trademark applications as a Chinese citizen.

    • @jhonbus
      @jhonbus Před rokem +8

      Surprised there are still any alphanumeric strings less than 50 digts still available if that's the case 😂

    • @polyspiel
      @polyspiel Před rokem +18

      @@jhonbus The U.S. patent and Trademark Office made recent changes and now requires trademarks to be filed via a U.S. attorney, which increases trademarking costs and decreases the profit from subsidies.

    • @polyspiel
      @polyspiel Před rokem +7

      @@jhonbus Some U.S. attorneys will file them for $100, which is stupid imo

    • @anivicuno9473
      @anivicuno9473 Před 9 měsíci +4

      Do you have literally any sources to back this up that doesn't point back to something like RFA? Because I can't seem to find anything on this.

    • @qwertykeyboard5901
      @qwertykeyboard5901 Před 6 měsíci

      Looks like I'm moving to the PRC.

  • @ArdyIRL
    @ArdyIRL Před rokem +119

    That said, some Amazon brands are able to become REAL brands if they care enough. Govee for example started as a cheap LED retailer, but now they are one of the best RGB LED ecosystems on the market.

    • @M33f3r
      @M33f3r Před rokem +34

      At least until the inevitable Amazon Basics version cuts into them. But maybe they’re actually good enough to make the jump to Name Brand status.

    • @ArdyIRL
      @ArdyIRL Před rokem

      @@M33f3r they can't be replaced by Amazon basics, they have a line of unique RGB products and a really good app ecosystem. They also integrate with Alexa.

    • @ooooneeee
      @ooooneeee Před rokem +11

      I have a Govee thermometer/hygrometer I can synch with my phone. Great to monitor air moisture at home.

    • @codyrap95
      @codyrap95 Před 10 měsíci +9

      Same goes for Ugreen, Baseus, KZ/QKZ and even Neewer

    • @Rot8erConeX
      @Rot8erConeX Před 9 měsíci +2

      Path to riches is laziness, path to fame is empathy.

  • @Loise96
    @Loise96 Před rokem +23

    Love my HMBGSFD pacemaker

  • @Donn29
    @Donn29 Před rokem +17

    This is basically what I thought was happening with Amazon product brands, but I really didn't need confirmation, ugh.

  • @DeltaDemon1
    @DeltaDemon1 Před rokem +48

    Yeah, Amazon used to be my go to for a wide variety of products and they were almost always cheaper than in stores but now 99% is just junk from China that is pricier than buying in stores. Hell, books and media used to be from Amazon but now they're from a used CD company somewhere else. It's become a mix of ebay and dollar store but expensive dollar store.

  • @MozartTheGOAT
    @MozartTheGOAT Před rokem +67

    Don't wanna know how this would look like for Wish or AliExpress

    • @pukovnikklefeld
      @pukovnikklefeld Před rokem

      "Ching Chong Semiconductor".

    • @PhillipLoughney
      @PhillipLoughney Před rokem +20

      It's the same companies

    • @huntno
      @huntno Před rokem

      @@PhillipLoughney nah wish and AliExpress aren't the same lol, Amazon defo ain't

    • @landlordize
      @landlordize Před rokem

      ​@@huntno If this is bait then i fell for it

    • @huntno
      @huntno Před rokem +8

      @@landlordize the owners of the companies are obviously different, but the aspect of copy paste random Chinese products is even worse for them

  • @nograe
    @nograe Před 11 měsíci +5

    That proves that my approach of searching for a product I want on Amazon and than typing the brand name into the Google search bar to purchase the product directly from their site was a good idea. If I can't find one, I deem it too sketchy and look for something else.

  • @carlwolf5923
    @carlwolf5923 Před rokem +29

    Wait.. Is that story about Amazon ordering books about lichen for refunds true?
    Edit: just googled and it IS true holy crap

  • @SendFoodz
    @SendFoodz Před rokem +16

    if I can't light my children's pajamas on fire safely, or drop a hairdryer or toaster in their bathtub without having to worry about their safety, then what is this world coming to..

  • @ovni2295
    @ovni2295 Před rokem +9

    Another thing I've noticed is a lot of these alphabet soup brands do is they fill niches that *aren't* being filled by companies in the US. If what you need is esoteric or relies on solar panels, odds are it's sold through Amazon by alphabet soup companies only.
    Alternatively, any small American startups you might find are sourcing their products from the same Chinese company that makes Obscure Product, which is often the same supplier for the alphabet soup companies, so you can find the same product being sold by 20 different companies.

  • @peperoni_pepino
    @peperoni_pepino Před rokem +4

    0:20 and 0:48
    Actually, your example Bonsenkitchen also sells via Walmart and has a site, although the site implies the name is really just 'Bonsen' selling kitchen stuff, while Amazon and Walmart call them 'Bonsenkitchen' consistently.

  • @DAmelonwolf
    @DAmelonwolf Před rokem +14

    That's hilarious I just ordered some jeans on Amazon and went to check the company, and it literally is some random capital combo of words

  • @carpemkarzi
    @carpemkarzi Před rokem +41

    Ah yes. I really love companies that buy US products then resell them here (Canada) at a 200 tp 300% markup.

    • @plazasta
      @plazasta Před rokem +5

      the one that immediately jumps to mind for me is Hydrox cookies. Forked up the money once to try them, and to their credit, I love them, but seriously in the US the price is supposed to be $30 USD for a pack of 6 boxes, meanwhile a single box in Canada is $17 CAD, or $12.50 US

  • @bcftr
    @bcftr Před rokem +25

    My biggest gripe with nebula is no comments on the videos I dont wanna go to Reddit

    • @athirkell
      @athirkell Před rokem +12

      Your name is a ready-made Amazon brand, just needs capitalising.
      Get your ice cream scoops on the market!

    • @ooooneeee
      @ooooneeee Před rokem +1

      Same, they need to implement that.

    • @bcftr
      @bcftr Před rokem +1

      @@athirkell true!

    • @kaitlyn__L
      @kaitlyn__L Před rokem

      @@ooooneeee they don’t need the moderation workload tbh

  • @icejamevents
    @icejamevents Před rokem +12

    The stock footage in these videos never fails to amuse me

  • @TakeWalker
    @TakeWalker Před rokem +32

    Great video. I've been wondering about this ever since I started noticing more and more 'brands' on Amazon selling what seemed to be the exact same items under more and more convoluted 'names'.

    • @mattdelaney7221
      @mattdelaney7221 Před rokem +6

      This video misses a huge part of the issue. China started giving a bounty to any Chinese company or person who got a US trademark registered. So a lot of the trademark filings are just to try to get a bounty fee from the China government.

  • @douglasboyle6544
    @douglasboyle6544 Před rokem +11

    This is a great addendum to a video Linus Tech Tips made a couple of weeks ago about this problem as well, the two videos dovetail together well as the LTT video explains why for Amazon it's a costly headache but something they can't really crack down on without hurting good retailers too.

  • @patrickmeyer2802
    @patrickmeyer2802 Před rokem +47

    Excuse me, I am extremely brand loyal when buying HDMI cables, I only buy Kondor Blue's Gerald Undone Collection. Truly the best HDMI cables out there, I would highly recommend them.

    • @MotoDash1100
      @MotoDash1100 Před rokem +10

      Can't tell if you're serious or not lol.

    • @ChurchHatesTucker
      @ChurchHatesTucker Před rokem

      I swear by DRFCVGT.

    • @kbieniu7
      @kbieniu7 Před rokem

      ​@@MotoDash1100 Never heard of "HDMI" brand, but still a string of letters

    • @jameshoiby
      @jameshoiby Před rokem

      Considering how exacting Gerald's reviews and critiques are, I'd buy his products!

  • @billy00001
    @billy00001 Před rokem +32

    Looks like the thumbnail needs to be added to the yearly mistakes video, since this video is strictly about trademarks and not _patents._

    • @fredinit
      @fredinit Před rokem +11

      It's the USPTO - Patent and Trademark Office - Sam wasn't wrong - he was just lazy.

    • @Hans-KRC
      @Hans-KRC Před rokem

      @@fredinit Which was kinda the point.

  • @the_reconnaisant
    @the_reconnaisant Před rokem +28

    So that’s why my chainsaw from Amazon exploded…

    • @heidirabenau511
      @heidirabenau511 Před rokem +10

      Wow, you actually got what you ordered on Amazon! My order was sent to Hamhung, North Korea for some reason.

    • @robotorch
      @robotorch Před rokem

      Check out Project Farm's latest video - Stihl vs. Chinksaw

  • @rolfathan
    @rolfathan Před rokem +6

    Since this didn't work for Amazon I wish they would just release the requirement. The silly names are absurd, and the companies keep PRINTING the names on their products for some reason.

    • @05Matz
      @05Matz Před rokem +2

      Apparently the USPTO started asking for (non-CGI) pictures of one of their products to prove the brand actually exists fairly recently, or so I've heard? So they need to make at least one order from a factory that offers custom logos, and then get through that batch of products before they decide whether to keep or get rid of the markings. At least that's how I understand it.

  • @imyadav0_x
    @imyadav0_x Před rokem +6

    02:21 "things I don't need" 😂

  • @reetyul88
    @reetyul88 Před 11 měsíci

    Hey Sam, good job on this!! Even if a few details were a bit off, you clearly put in a lot of effort to understand a complicated topic, and I appreciate you.

  • @guilhermetavares4705
    @guilhermetavares4705 Před rokem +5

    When Amazon arrived in Brazil it had very fast delivery. But since it doesn't have its own fleet like in the United States, it depends on third party companies for logistics. Now the e-commerce company with the fastest delivery is Mercado Livre (Mercado Libre)

  • @michaelrivera8923
    @michaelrivera8923 Před rokem +17

    This strategy is probably horrible for the environment. People will buy shitty drop ship products that break easily or don't work how they expected. Then they either have to return it and get a refund or the product goes straight to the landfill. I went to the UPS store to do one of these returns and most of the line were people returning Amazon products. I asked the employee how many returns they had to process in one day but she couldn't give me a number she only said too many.

  • @chrismullin8304
    @chrismullin8304 Před rokem +3

    I recently purchased a new, high quality electric kettle from one of those weird companies. It arrived in a foul, dirty, and abused condition. I had to wash my hands after handling it.
    I just won’t take the chance anymore, especially with my ice cream scoopers!

  • @hiphopgrinch
    @hiphopgrinch Před rokem +262

    I love all these fake companies

    • @ccjesper
      @ccjesper Před rokem +13

      I'm so sorry but Amazon is a real company. I'm so sorry

  • @lxndrlbr
    @lxndrlbr Před rokem +3

    0:32 "Are you out of touch ..." I ROTFLOL so hard on this joke it was like I was back in the 90s and a friend told me to just wait for Duke Nukem Forever !

  • @danoconnell1833
    @danoconnell1833 Před rokem +4

    It's gotten so that even if you type in a *brand name* the results are the same mess of bogus companies.

  • @marsgal42
    @marsgal42 Před rokem +5

    This likely explains the improbable names on two of my recent Amazon purchases. The engineering and technology are solid, but Jackery and Nooelec wouldn’t be my first choices for company names…

  • @monkeywrench1951
    @monkeywrench1951 Před rokem +3

    How about Amazon changing the default credit card on file and causing havoc to its own customers that find months afterwards that a card they hardly use has ruined their credit ?

  • @timh2356
    @timh2356 Před rokem +9

    I'm actually pretty loyal to my dog wig manufacturer.

  • @thawhiteazn
    @thawhiteazn Před rokem +4

    Lmao the way Amazon scammed book wholesalers sounds really similar to what my wife does to Instacart

  • @joshk1026
    @joshk1026 Před rokem +2

    1:06 "YUIOP" is the worst culprit because the name of the brand is just the last letters on the top row of a keyboard.

  • @freyjasvansdottir9904
    @freyjasvansdottir9904 Před rokem +3

    The funny thing is that Buxkr is extremely close to the actual Icelandic name for pants: Buxur

  • @redgreen2453
    @redgreen2453 Před rokem +3

    Imagine dedicating your life to branding and marketing, spending huge amounts of time and money learning all the history and psychology behind it, working every day building cohesive and coherent brands for companies trying to get every single detail just right to deliver the most perfectly curated experience to each customer only to loose out to a company called fggghjhklmbbmn, a subsidiary of Pukebutt Acquisitions, that sells rubber dildos, overstocked car parts, and unbranded children’s Halloween costumes

  • @benjyp1223
    @benjyp1223 Před rokem +8

    Can confirm 100%.
    I was an amazon seller for about 3.5 years. I did consulting for brands looking to launch on amazon as well and ALWAYS recommended that they trademark. But the video doesn't really get at the why.
    The single biggest reason brands register their trademark (or come up with a new one) is that it alows them to have sole ownership of the listing/buy box. There could be 45x sellers of a product all competing for the buy box.. and they may all be legit resellers... but if you trademark an independent product you compete with other products/listings... not other sellers on the buy box.
    You dont even have to trademark or pattent the product... just your brand.

  • @BertJonesSon
    @BertJonesSon Před 10 měsíci

    Good vid, not too long, not overly edited, sponsor at end. Subscribed good sir

  • @mattheweburns
    @mattheweburns Před rokem +1

    Am I the only one who remembers Amazon and Barnes and Noble? Where you could buy physical inventory from Barnes and Noble and buy online from Amazon through the store somehow? This is where I originally saw the very first Kindle.

  • @ichaukan
    @ichaukan Před rokem +12

    Back in the 2000s people would get weirdly defensive when I'd tell them I don't shop at WalMart. Nowadays people get weirdly defensive when I tell them I don't give money to Amazon, though these days I also explain that the reason I don't give Amazon money is because they steal enough of my money already through corporate tax welfare, I mean "incentives".

  • @jmanj3917
    @jmanj3917 Před rokem +3

    3:33 Lol...Love those trademark names

  • @JoshuaC923
    @JoshuaC923 Před rokem +7

    So they got the taxpayer to pay for filtering 😂😂😂

  • @M3h3ndr3
    @M3h3ndr3 Před rokem +4

    Actually this is the reason i cancelled my prime membership because amazon is actually not the cheapest on the market its just convenient and mostly trash these days, i dont support that or fast fashion. I want the tech i order from a company that knows what they are doing. There is no quality on amazon anymore

  • @MikeWiesenberg
    @MikeWiesenberg Před rokem +7

    If this is/was true, obviously Amazon has noticed the patent /trademark office strategy didn't work and would have stopped it. I think it's continuing for other reasons.

    • @heitorpedrodegodoi5646
      @heitorpedrodegodoi5646 Před 10 měsíci

      Its Amazon, they will treat their employees bad just to cut coners.

    • @TruthFiction
      @TruthFiction Před 7 měsíci +1

      Too lazy to come up with a better solution.

  • @GGN-92
    @GGN-92 Před rokem

    Very interesting video.
    Thanks for sharing it with us.

  • @whattheydidnttellyouwithbr2844

    I was trying to avoid a homework assignment on this very topic and yet, it is now helping me with it.😂

  • @anbbha9864
    @anbbha9864 Před rokem +3

    HMBGSFD pacemaker? Hmmm ... Sounds Legit!

  • @caseysmith544
    @caseysmith544 Před rokem +3

    Problem is that the name brand products even from own online store are crap lately that just got worse after the coronavirus lockdowns to where only the one most expensive top of the line item in that category is going to last more than one year. This being for most products even from small custom/craft makers because most of the materials they have to use are lower quality now, only a few exceptions for items 😢

    • @4akaimalko
      @4akaimalko Před 6 měsíci

      It's true, but only affects small percentage of ppl in the US. Most muricans love cheap crappy junk.

  • @NatiiixLP
    @NatiiixLP Před 11 měsíci

    In the beginning of the video, when the Amazon book dropshipping scheme was described, I thought these were just randomly generated "brands" that Amazon themselves used to dropship the most random products, but this is somehow even more convoluted than I imagined.

  • @skeggoxoverland4824
    @skeggoxoverland4824 Před rokem +1

    HAI: Without hesitation, insults the audience for being out of touch...
    Us : Yup, that tracks. We are.

  • @joeis18
    @joeis18 Před rokem +19

    I bought this for my husband and he loves it.

    • @MrHack4never
      @MrHack4never Před rokem +6

      Item was here the next day
      5/5🌟

    • @TryAgainPlease
      @TryAgainPlease Před rokem +4

      Very satisfied, good product!!

    • @circuit10
      @circuit10 Před rokem

      Is this a bot scam thing or a joke about the fake reviews?

    • @ooooneeee
      @ooooneeee Před rokem +1

      Yeah, remember when reviews where longer and written by actual customers.

    • @TryAgainPlease
      @TryAgainPlease Před rokem +2

      @@michaelmurdock4607 Quik deliver, low price

  • @kafkaesk3449
    @kafkaesk3449 Před rokem +11

    Buxkr and other fake amazon companies names is like as if a fashion designer got drunk and came up with them all in one night.

  • @dannydaw59
    @dannydaw59 Před rokem +2

    Simple solution: Don't buy products with those names. Even cheap stuff.

  • @mrjuanderfuI
    @mrjuanderfuI Před rokem

    I like videos like this cuz I've noticed the weird brand names for years but had not idea why. Makes perfect sense.

  • @alyssa2796
    @alyssa2796 Před rokem +4

    You know it’s gonna be a good video when it starts out with bricks

  • @Enemy_Birds
    @Enemy_Birds Před rokem +3

    I can't remember the last time I bought something on Amazon. I try to avoid it at all costs.

  • @peksn
    @peksn Před 10 měsíci

    I would love a part of the video where u explain different ways in which it could be fixed ^^

  • @zukaro
    @zukaro Před rokem +2

    At least some of the rebranded junk turns out decent, albeit most of it turns out to just be trash. Sometimes you get lucky and find a genuinely good version of what you're looking for at a reasonable price, but shopping on Amazon is really just a gamble at this point.

  • @yo.adrian
    @yo.adrian Před rokem +10

    I think those Amazon stores are named after how a random word is pronounced.

  • @michaele8347
    @michaele8347 Před rokem +6

    Amazon allowing these pseudo-companies to sell on their platform should be banned. They can avoid all legal repercussions and customer service/warranty commitments by doing this.

  • @EgoCarry1
    @EgoCarry1 Před 6 měsíci

    I've bought two different cheap keyboards from two "different" companies on Amazon a couple years apart, and when the 2nd keyboard came in, it was literally the same keyboard with the same logo just under a different brand name

  • @MeowjinBoo
    @MeowjinBoo Před rokem +1

    1:00 is the mall on cambie and 12th in Vancouver, BC

  • @nerd26373
    @nerd26373 Před rokem +14

    Amazing video. Keep up the good work.

    • @mikemartin6748
      @mikemartin6748 Před rokem

      Next video: airplanes

    • @timh2356
      @timh2356 Před rokem

      @@mikemartin6748 Has he done one on airplanes yet? I'm new to the internet, so I don't know. Thanks for reading!

  • @jhonbus
    @jhonbus Před rokem +4

    Well, that's great. I have often thought in the last year or so "I wonder what the deal is with all these weird nonsense brands that are all over Amazon lately?" And now thanks to this video I know exactly what the deal is with all these weird nonsens brands that are all over Amazon lately!

  • @SpeakerMunkey
    @SpeakerMunkey Před 6 měsíci

    The use of stock video in this is truly impressive

  • @levbugaev5963
    @levbugaev5963 Před rokem +1

    0:36 “If you are watching this channel, you probably are out of touch” what! Haha lol. LIKE 👍

  • @Pitusha
    @Pitusha Před rokem +3

    The thing with nebula is that you guys don't have a space for comments 🥺 Some of us just love browsing through comments
    But I understand how it could quickly become a nightmare place...

  • @RyanMorey1
    @RyanMorey1 Před rokem +3

    Great video sam, but the thumbnail and title are misleading - patents and trademarks are handled by the same office but are quite different!! thumbnail and title unambiguously refer to patents, but the content is about trademarks. looking forward to my appearance in your annual “nitpicky things people complained about” video!

  • @kwaitefuni9152
    @kwaitefuni9152 Před rokem +1

    classic Amazon random letter companies lke: TTLW, GGOS, WOJF, OAND, OMAU, INUI
    It's really easy to spot, since the same product design is present.
    For example, a usb-c charging brick can look the same in 10 different products by "different" companies.

  • @i_am_awesome_j
    @i_am_awesome_j Před rokem +1

    I got a mueller immersion blender for Christmas this year at 0:16

  • @jaytout2224
    @jaytout2224 Před rokem +7

    One of my biggest complaints with nebula is that I miss your awesome add transitions.

    • @M33f3r
      @M33f3r Před rokem +2

      That and no ability to communicate or comments. So despite being a subscriber I often watch things on CZcams instead

    • @ooooneeee
      @ooooneeee Před rokem

      @@M33f3r yeah Nebula feels so dead without comments.

  • @officialhideyo
    @officialhideyo Před rokem +5

    Quarter as interesting