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Resellers of ifixit products

I do buy ifixit products directly from ifixit,however this Amazon ad got my attention <http://tinyurl.com/ydbastbp> ,the price is ridiculously high as are some other items offers for sale, I also looked at the seller's reviews and almost all seemed repetitive except for name changes. Does anyone else find this odd or maybe I'm only spinning my gears like someone w/too much time on their hands ? I recall reading somewhere that shady folks will use the above tactics as a coded method for communicating .

OK,enough diversion I gotta get back to fixing my phone!

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$468.00 is quite high! for the Repair Business Toolkit which IFIXIT sells for $225 Clearly a scam!

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My thoughts exactly !

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It's not sold or even fulfilled by Amazon. Anything that isn't fulfilled by Amazon is just selling as if on eBay. There's a very easy filter to use. Just click the prime check mark, then you will only see results that are fulfilled by Amazon. People buy things on Amazon and find that it was used or defective or whatever, when indeed that it was the seller's fault.

I could say much defending Amazon, but the root of my rambling is that people should know how to buy stuff. Same goes with technology. You do some research you'll find you could have gotten a laptop with better specs and a better price instead of just grabbing the cheapest one on the shelf at Walmart.

All in all, never buy anything from Amazon that isn't fulfilled by Amazon.

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I see things like that on eBay all the time. I think the scheme is money laundering.

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After I spoke to people at Amazon, Ebay and multiple sellers about apparent outrageous price markups, I was notified that this is somewhat common practice for power sellers. It is done so as to maintain a listing and not declare it out of stock. When a seller does not have the merchandise in stock but is awaiting delivery, they only mark up the price instead of altering the whole listing. The hope is that nobody will purchase merchandise that is marked up 10-fold but if it does happen, the buyer will be informed individually that the item is out of stock. That is the official answer. Of course, more sinister schemes like money laundering are always an option.

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I wonder if there's a way to express disgust with such slimy tactics in a way that

outs the vendor ?

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@isail maybe it's time to create a list of vendors to absolutely avoid? I already have my top ten list of manufacturers to avoid under any circumstance with Toshiba and GM leading the list. None of their equipment will ever again be owned by me or anyone in my family ;-)

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I see a lot of vendors doing the inverse. I go looking for a part, find a really good price only to find it is out of stock. PowerBook Medic is one of the worst offenders.

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I'm going to add Lenovo and HP consumer to that list. Lenovo has been caught loading spyware or questionable software that exceeds crapware status to varying degrees that are troublesome 2 times (SW: Super fish BIOS: LSE).

HP Consumer has just gotten to the point they are actively designing their machines to be difficult to repair by design just to make something that looks pretty, instead of favoring repairable design like they used to. I can excuse the whitelist nonsense (even though I think whitelisting is an annoyance, at best. At worst it's a money grab under the guise of FCC compliance), but these design games are unacceptable. It isn't as bad as what Lenovo did to earn a bad spot on my list (I may even forgive Lenovo at some some point, but that's going to take a LONG TIME).

The reason I'm so frustrated about the spyware messes they've been caught in is my T420 may be part o the LSE group. Shame on you, Lenovo. I have the BIOS that fixes the SMM bug installed, but I don't even know if I trust them to be honest about what they have fixed. The T420 has been spying on me since I had it, and I didn't even know it. It even lingered after I installed the 1.49 BIOS (plus my reload image has it, so I have to fix that every time I reload the OS). They kept saying Think products are safe, so I thought I dodged a bullet. I got hit and didn't even know they were hiding that Think products were just as bad. I have to fix ~$70 worth of issues, and I don't even know if it's worth my time because of the chance my machine is still bad. I'm seriously considering shelving it and getting a E6320 (Dell's 13" line usually shares the same trackpad and keyboard from the 14" side; it's just the screen and chassis that changes in most of them when it comes to major variations) or E6420.

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Additionally , I have issues with reviews,i.e., how does one judge the reliability ? Here's an anecdotal look at

what I found out when questioning a review of a Amazon product I was thinking of buying. (The italics are mine) 1) The review: This review is from: Tonsiki Dual Usb Phone Motorcycle Waterproof Cigarette Lighter Socket Set Splitter 12v 2.1a Charger Power Adapter (Wireless Phone Accessory)

This Guoke Dual Usb Phone Motorcycle Cigarette Lighter Socket Set Splitter 12v 2.1a Charger Power Adapter has USB high charge rate 2.1 Amp and 1 Amp USB plus a lighter socket and is easy to install by using the mount plate as a guide to drill holes for the sockets to be attached with the threaded nuts tnd then the plate can be attached for that professional look or left off if you mount the USB and power port in different spacing of places.Good quality power harness allows for attachment to longer wires to connect to fuse box or battery.

My question: I think you're confusing your reviews.

This is a Tonsiki Dual Usb Phone Motorcycle Cigarette Lighter Socket Set Splitter,not a Guoke Dual Usb Phone Motorcycle Cigarette Lighter Socket Set Splitter.

The response :

Apr 4, 2017, 4:46:16 PM PDT Carl D. Mcnair says:

They combine reviews,often for different products and sometimes for the same product with different names...this is why I named the product that I reviewed...I can't help where they post my review.I purchased and reviewed the GUOKE dual 2.1 amp USB adapter.

My response : That's v. interesting, thanks for listing the product,I had no idea Amazon did that. Since most reviewers do not list the product in their reviews it's not possible to know if the review pertains to the product in question,therefore for me it makes virtually all reviews suspect.

Reviewers response : For what it's worth,I trust AMAZON but sellers can ,at times,be suspect. The images and items appear identical and often are,just the names are changed to protect the innocent...or something like that...the Amazon A to Z return policy has helped me a few times in the past when items were not as advertised though it is rare as I order about 200 orders every 6 months and remain confident with AMAZON.

My response (conclusion): No offence,but I can't accept that. Yes, the sellers can be suspect,that I know, when evaluating a product I take it in account,however despite your trust and confidence in Amazon that is not addressing the issue I'm raising, which is: when evaluating a product the reviews may be my only gauge,therefore when Amazon, as you say"combine reviews,often for different products and sometimes for the same product with different names.", how can I reliably use the review to judge the seller and the experience the reviewer had with the product which may not be the same ?

Also,I can't find (easily),the policy for reviews or any caveat regarding this issue on Amazon's site.

As for Amazon's return policy, I agree that it's helpful,for larger ticket products, but hardly worth the time and money to return a small ticket product. The way Amazon processes reviews is sloppy and devalues the review – at best. The least Amazon could do would be to fully disclose their review methods.

I've received no subsequent response, this should take you to the relevant site <https://www.amazon.com/review/R27QARMIUB...>

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Jack will be eternally grateful.