[HN Gopher] Amazon Cuts Dozens of House Brands as It Battles Cos...
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Amazon Cuts Dozens of House Brands as It Battles Costs, Regulators
Author : type4
Score : 91 points
Date : 2023-08-10 17:53 UTC (5 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.wsj.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.wsj.com)
| djoldman wrote:
| Alternate link:
|
| https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/companies/amazon-cuts-dozens...
| Scoundreller wrote:
| > No new products are being ordered for the brands being phased
| out, which will cease to exist once their inventory is sold.
| Strong-selling items in brands that have been discontinued are
| being rebranded under Amazon Essentials or other remaining
| labels.
|
| Sounds like the usual whittling of unsuccessful products and a
| consolidation of branding.
|
| Unsure how much this actually impacts end users (except those
| thinking they're being anti-Amazon by buying a non-Amazon
| product that's aktually an Amazon product)
| cstejerean wrote:
| I think it's good from transparency point of view. It's one
| thing when a retailer has one or two house brands, like
| Kirkland brand at Costco. Then the consumer can know that's
| the retailers house brand. Amazon on the other hand had 30
| clothing brands with names like Lark & Ro, Daily Ritual and
| Goodthreads with just a tiny "An Amazon brand" buried in the
| product description bullets. I'm not sure if it was designed
| this way to be misleading, but I can see how it wouldn't be
| interpreted kindly during any kind of antitrust scrutiny.
| blincoln wrote:
| Costco actually pioneered that approach. The traditional
| corporate strategy had always been to have a bunch of
| different house brands fpr different product categories.
| codeTired wrote:
| Costco is generally cheaper and top shelf products.
|
| Not my experience with Amazon basics.
| sokoloff wrote:
| My experience is that Costco is cheaper and entirely
| adequate/sufficient quality products, but rarely/never
| "top shelf" products (assuming that's meant to mean "the
| best").
|
| This makes sense, as Costco is trying to move a lot of
| units and you can move a lot more units into the market
| that's looking for "perfectly adequate" than the ones
| looking for "the best". Honda outsells Porsche, Ferrari,
| and Lamborghini combined and all that...
| duskwuff wrote:
| It's not uncommon for big-box retailers to have multiple
| house brands. Walmart and Target both have dozens, for
| instance:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walmart_brands
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation#Private-
| lab...
| olyjohn wrote:
| Home Depot has tons of brands too. I didn't realize how
| many brands were theirs until I did a kitchen remodel,
| and got a bunch of cheaply built crap that started having
| problems after installation. Fuckin anything with "Bay"
| in the name is theirs. Hampton Bay, Glacier Bay, etc.
| Most of the stuff in their stores is their own brand.
| Most of it is trash too. Their doors have all been
| sagging on me, the stainless steel sink I bought keeps
| needing me to scrub off corrosion, their wood countertops
| have some shitty UV coating that just peels off.
| howinteresting wrote:
| The "continue reading in the app" with a down arrow next to it
| is one of the darker patterns I've seen today.
| glonq wrote:
| Once upon a time you could choose to buy good products from good
| brands on Amazon, or import cheap crap from China via Aliexpress
| or whatnot.
|
| But now that nearly every category on Amazon is dominated by
| cheap crap from dodgy brands in China, I'm feeling less reason to
| buy things from them (unless I need it _tomorrow_ ). I suppose
| that's what's fuelling the popularity of new marketplaces like
| Temu?
| AmVess wrote:
| My last two orders from Amazon were counterfeits. One was a
| pack of Sandisk thumbdrives that were very obviously fakes.
|
| I determined that Amazon simply doesn't care anymore. The value
| proposition was completely lost because I had to drive into
| town to return them. Twice in a row.
|
| Further, their prices have gotten horrible on a lot of things.
| I looked at some of their lawncare items, and most of them were
| 2-3x more than local prices.
| thelittleone wrote:
| I'm just surprised that this hasn't become a big issue for
| Amazon. Is it that most people aren't aware? Isn't it a big
| enough story for some news outlet to investigate and report?
| If it became generally known that a large % of products on
| amazon are fakes, surely it would affect sales.
| NBJack wrote:
| This rings true for my own experience.
|
| While I have avoided most of the counterfeit dupes (of which
| I will broaden beyond just selling clones; there are plenty
| of shady products with questionable descriptions that don't
| match reality), they have been steadily increasing prices on
| many products to the point that I am often better off driving
| to a Lowes or Home Depot for faster service and better deals
| on things. I also can't emphasize enough that they haven't
| been that competitive in the laptop market or the home
| desktop PC market either for years now. Parts and DIY, sure,
| but I frequently find better deals elsewhere on what is
| usually the same hardware. I suspect the suppliers are the
| real root cause of this, but either way it ends up a bad
| deal. Additionally, finding things with targeted specs is
| surprisingly difficult at times, and can easily lead to
| choices that aren't even correct when search starts looking
| at adjacent products.
| code_duck wrote:
| Prices of some things on Amazon such as hot sauce or soap can
| be absurdly high, while other times it's the same as I'd pay
| at a local store. Definitely not bargains any more. I can't
| trust any of the prices I see without double checking them,
| plus they do that thing where prices fluctuate based on how
| much they think you might pay. One month some bandages were
| $9, then $7, then $10, then $13, then $5. Sometimes the hot
| sauce is a great deal at two large bottles for $12, other
| times, the same pack is $20 or $15. Dr Bronner's soap is
| simply too expensive at twice the price as my local grocery
| store. I'd just like to know one real price for each of these
| items.
| happycube wrote:
| (side-note: You can get Sandisk stuff directly from Western
| Digital.)
| mjcohen wrote:
| Of course Western Digital has been having its own problems
| with ssd drives dying.
| xyzzy123 wrote:
| Home brands of durable goods in the last 10 years have pretty
| much _always_ been "Chinese crap" (I use this term loosely,
| sometimes the products are pretty good).
|
| BUT, and this is the key part - buyer teams from major brands
| vet the supplier, make cost/quality tradeoffs and do all the
| supplier due diligence (like making them attest the products
| are not made by "modern slavery", don't have lead in them,
| etc). They also squeeze them super hard on payments and
| financials.
|
| The BEEZELBUBS and QRYGGS are mostly the SAME factories that
| have always been making your goods but now they are "out of the
| box" and can sell to the consumer directly.
|
| The good part is that they can now compete "fairly" outside
| shelf space monopolies, the bad part is that no one seems to be
| doing supplier due diligence or addressing quality fade.
| neilalexander wrote:
| It's often also impossible to get after-sales support for
| many of these mystery "brands" and they don't tend to stay
| around for long before they change names again. I am sure
| this is by design.
| massysett wrote:
| This is the whole problem with Amazon and why I call it a
| flea market.
|
| Other retailers put their reputation on the line with their
| merchandise. Sure, the same factory that manufactures for Old
| Navy makes QRYGGS. But Old Navy vets it.
|
| Amazon's issue is that it tosses its hands up and says "Sold
| by QRYGGS, fulfilled by Amazon." Amazon says: if it's
| garbage, not our fault, but you can return it. That's just
| wandering a flea market with random vendors selling junk.
|
| So I'm actually disappointed that Amazon would double-down on
| this by eliminating its private labels. At least if I see
| it's an Amazon brand, I know they vouch for it. Indeed, my
| experiences with Amazon brands have been at least decent. But
| given the choice between fighting the regulators, somehow
| firewalling the private labels from the other vendors, or
| reducing its flea-market trafficking, Amazon decided to
| double-down on the flea market and scale back goods that it
| vets. It's a big red-light district of some good stuff mixed
| in with tons of garbage.
| bradleyjg wrote:
| At this point you have to both go with a "real" brand _and_
| investigate if any of their lines are still designed in house,
| or whether it's a zombie brand that only badges white-box
| items.
| crooked-v wrote:
| I wonder how long until SkyMall makes a resurgence.
| UberFly wrote:
| Isn't Temu just another dodgy brands from China site?
| sct202 wrote:
| Temu and Shein are at least improved versions of Wish. Idk how
| both companies did it but my last few orders have gotten to me
| in 8 days. Amazon for me is taking like 3-5 days without Prime,
| so the speed difference is not as big as it used to be when
| ordering from China would be a 1-2 month wait with everything
| showing up in a different package.
| salad-tycoon wrote:
| I've seen them air ship my cheap crap from China to USA for
| "free." I thought I read it was a national subsidy/strategy
| but can't find article now. Maybe economic warfare? Can't see
| how flying my $10 order of giant plastic balls is economic.
|
| Not the one I was looking for but somewhat related:
| https://www.charlotteobserver.com/contributor-
| content/articl...
| gamblor956 wrote:
| Note that the linked piece is just an opinion piece from a
| professional writer who doesn't actually know what he's
| talking about and appears to just be making things up. It
| may even be paid for by Temu.
|
| Chinese shipping is cheap because the Chinese government
| subsidies it for exported goods, and because due to a
| postal treaty the U.S. government was forced to honor those
| rates for goods shipped to U.S. addresses. This treaty was
| renegotiated in 2019 (changes effective 2020) to make
| shipping costs several times more expensive for Chinese
| manufacturers, but those higher prices are still
| ridiculously cheap compared to the prices domestic
| manufacturers must pay so there is still a substantial
| arbitrage opportunity, which is basically what Temu is (in
| addition to being an I.P. theft play, but that's an
| entirely separate issue).
| jfim wrote:
| Temu is basically using the de minimis import rule to
| avoid import taxes. There's a longer report linked at the
| bottom of this page that goes into more detail:
| https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/press-
| releas...
| [deleted]
| [deleted]
| jareklupinski wrote:
| my last hack before i completely jump platforms is to make sure
| that when im buying something, I click into the link right
| below the item name itself so i get to the brand's actual
| amazon page, then i click the item again
|
| 50% of the time it'll be cheaper and have a better prime ship
| date (and say Sold By BrandName or Amazon instead of a random
| seller name), and no counterfeits at all this way yet
| sokoloff wrote:
| Do you have an example originally searched for ASIN* and
| brand-linked ASIN that this works on?
|
| I've not seen this personally, and checking my last 10
| ordered items (some 6-7 character made up brand imported
| items and some recognizable brand items), following this
| process landed me on the same ASIN/same PDP each time, but
| it's definitely intriguing enough for me to want to find out
| more.
|
| * The alphanumeric Amazon Stock ID Number, for physical goods
| it's usually (always?) a B followed by 9 alphanumeric digits.
| jareklupinski wrote:
| i'll take a look next time i go, but if it helps for now
| I've specifically done this two-step with success for Tide
| and Charmin goods
| vasco wrote:
| To be honest Temu sounds like someone was watching the Wish.com
| saga and decided it was a great idea to burn a bunch of
| billions. It can grow a lot while it's new but I have my doubts
| about longevity of this type "we only sell crap" platforms.
| sudosysgen wrote:
| Temu is fundamentally different than Wish - it has local
| warehouses and therefore much faster delivery. It's a
| competitor to Amazon, not Wish/AliExpress. It trades this off
| by having a much smaller selection of goods.
| adamsmark wrote:
| Its a mix is it not? Both local and global? Some of the
| prices and lead times look like inventory is coming from
| China via ePacket.
| lopis wrote:
| You'd be surprised how many people fall for these kinds of
| unbelievable deals from ads on social media apps, over and
| over again.
| 1-more wrote:
| I've been getting ads on social media to buy silencers on
| Temu. Ok not silencers, but adapters where one end has the
| female thread of a soda bottle on it, and the other has the
| female thread to match the external thread available on a
| Ruger 10/22. While silencers are federally legal in the U.S.,
| they are illegal in many states and subject to a federal
| transfer tax. I could see this being a problem for Temu, and
| I could also see this never being any kind of problem for
| Temu.
|
| There may be settled case law that says these aren't
| silencers legally, idk. The whole discipline is hilariously
| talmudic and full of the heap problem (is a billet of metal a
| gun? What about with one hole in it? Two holes and a chamfer
| here and a routed channel there? etc.)
| thegaulofthem wrote:
| Suppressors are only Federally legal with a tax stamp,
| typically acquired with a "Form 1" self manufacture or a
| Form 4" transfer (purchase) along with a $200 tax for the
| stamp, per item.
|
| The seller would need special ATF licensure and follow an
| onerous process to sell what is typically considered safety
| equipment in Europe, ironically. This involves submitting
| fingerprints, passport photos, and a lengthy (9+ month)
| approval process on the part of the ATF.
|
| For the self-manufacture, this has been de-factor outlawed
| by the current regime with DIY kits being arbitrarily
| reclassified as suppressors themselves. Most if not all
| Form 1 builds are outright denied.
|
| So, in short, Temu cannot sell these at all. Of course they
| also occasionally sell selector switches to concert Glock
| handguns to fully automatic. This is even more comically
| illegal than a suppressor workaround.
| jeron wrote:
| there's an unsubstantiated rumor that Temu is a Chinese money
| laundering operation - burning a bunch of billions to
| legitimize a lot of other billions
| resolutebat wrote:
| At least in Australia Temu hits the sweet spot of offering
| almost-China prices with reasonably speedy delivery (under a
| week). If you buy the same crap on Amazon.au, you pay a 3-4x
| premium for local warehousing, and if you buy it off
| AliExpress, it often takes a month or longer to deliver.
|
| That said, I presume the only way Temu can pull this off
| logistically is air freight, so I also have my doubts about
| his sustainable this is.
| AussieWog93 wrote:
| Aliexpress have been great recently with shipping times.
|
| A lot of stuff is dispatched from their local warehouses
| (or at least flown in from China and consolidated locally)
| and distributed by their own courier network.
|
| Sounds similar to Temu, and TBH is probably exactly the
| same network. If you get tracking updates from "Fast Horse
| Express", it's definitely the same network. :)
| ThatMedicIsASpy wrote:
| The only amazon basics I bought is two monitor arms. I bought
| them because they are made by Ergotron and have a logo applied to
| them. They were on sale for 65EUR each while the original
| (Ergotron LX) costs 160EUR
|
| I only bought them because they are Ergotrons.
| karaterobot wrote:
| Not much of a concession to regulators. They could just expand
| the breadth of offerings from their remaining brands if they
| wanted to, until they were selling the exact same products.
|
| I am not an FTC regulator, but to me it seems like the shadiest
| thing Amazon does with its brands is to give them increased
| prominence in search results. They cannot tell me they don't
| juice the results to bubble their brands up to the top.
| fauigerzigerk wrote:
| It seems rather plausible to me what the article has to say on
| this exact question:
|
| _After that 2020 article, Amazon curbed a yearslong practice
| in which its own brands were given a boost in the search
| results on its site in special placements--the kind of edge
| other sellers could only gain by buying ads--according to the
| people familiar with the recent changes. That change caused
| many of Amazon's brands to be buried in search results, making
| it harder for items to sell. The cost of warehousing all that
| inventory was significant for Amazon, making it a target during
| the cost cutting._
|
| Doesn't mean they stopped the practice completely, but
| apparently it was enough to make most of their own brands
| unprofitable.
| Drblessing wrote:
| This is so sad. I live off of Amazon brands, because they're so
| cheap, convenient, and relatively good quality. I've NEVER had a
| quality issue from them. Call me a corporate stooge if you want,
| but their mattresses, clothing, drugs, etc. have been a
| lifesaver.
| JohnBooty wrote:
| Yeah, everything I ever bought through Goodthreads (or even the
| downmarket Amazon house brands) was really nice.
|
| I mean, not _nice_ nice, but fine for casual everyday wear. It
| was generally the most reliable way to shop for clothes on
| Amazon, IMO.
| adamsmark wrote:
| Second this on Goodthreads quality. There was a pricing error
| back in July of 2020. I got dress shirts and pants for $7 -
| $12. Incredible.
| pessimizer wrote:
| I bought their bluetooth speaker that turns itself off when you
| haven't sent music through it for five minutes, and that you
| have to get up to turn back on.
|
| edit: The physical quality seemed fine, but it's obvious that
| they never tested it or even thought about it much.
| cjbgkagh wrote:
| I think that may be due to European energy savings
| regulation.
| throwbadubadu wrote:
| Hm, my more brandy JBL one does the same, maybe it is 10
| minutes, but I find it reasonable. I have a long set or
| playlists or choose something new when it gets silent, and
| otherwise I enjoy the luxury that I can just turn off the
| sender and know the battery won't be wasted for long?
| jodrellblank wrote:
| Nothing to do with Amazon but this has become endemic in tech
| in recent years and it grinds my gears. The amount of
| websites and services and remote control sessions that sign
| out or lock while I'm using them, because I'm not using them
| fast enough, it's infuriating.
|
| Yes I leave stuff open for a couple of hours while
| troubleshooting, not every problem is solved in five minutes
| and one device! No bank, you aren't increasing security, I'm
| not in a library or a cafe. Especially infuriating if it
| happens while I'm waiting for the thing to check/update
| something and it signs me out because _I 'm_ not doing
| anything!
| mitthrowaway2 wrote:
| This happens all the time and should be seen an
| accessibility issue. Some people don't have the dexterity
| to keep the page from timing out while they, say, fetch
| their card out of their wallet, or type in their address
| and phone number.
| treprinum wrote:
| I bought their paper shredder and it shredded itself during the
| first use.
| loloquwowndueo wrote:
| Was it made of paper? :)
| reaperducer wrote:
| Amazon trash bags are great.
|
| Formerly branded Solomio. Now branded Amazon Basics.
|
| I tried Amazon pants to see what they were like. You get what
| you pay for. Avoid.
| esafak wrote:
| Solimo. Solomio sounds like an ice cream brand.
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VZ1fUmtw9I
| nerdjon wrote:
| I find that generally I go for Amazon brands whenever possible.
|
| Honestly they are one of the few shorts I wear because it is so
| hard to find good cargo shorts for tall guys.
|
| Paper Towels, TP, vitamins, ibuprofen, etc. Much of it is solid
| quality, does what I need, and far cheaper than the
| alternatives even local ones.
|
| Looking at what is mentioned it is the staples like this that
| will be fine. The things that will be going away will be the
| fancier things or things like furniture.
| jodrellblank wrote:
| https://2tall.com if you're in the UK.
| resolutebat wrote:
| Or outside the UK, they ship globally.
| ZephyrBlu wrote:
| That's a really cool brand.
| qingcharles wrote:
| I found the quality of Amazon-brand products to be inconsistent.
| I hoped Amazon would be able to use its scale to produce some
| items at lower costs and higher quality than competitors, but it
| just didn't work out. Often I find Amazon Basics goods at much
| higher prices than other retailers on their sites.
|
| And Amazon's own-brand instant coffee is truly, truly awful, FYI.
| (Although their filter coffee is good)
| metadat wrote:
| https://archive.today/GCrRZ
| clpm4j wrote:
| Ironically I'm back to using amazon.com solely for it's original
| use case - buying books.
| Tarball10 wrote:
| Except it's terrible for that (if you care about the condition
| of your books) because they did away with their book-specific
| packaging, and now just toss books in a box or bubble mailer
| with no protection. The majority of the time they arrive banged
| up. You may as well buy them second-hand for cheaper.
| azemetre wrote:
| Is there an actual list of what is being cut? It seems like it's
| mostly clothing and furniture (sans the Amazon Basics and Amazon
| Essentials brands).
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