Amazon. Legit manufacturers and sellers. Are there two+ versions of "soft" products?

Pablo

Pablo

Joined
Oct 28, 2002
Messages
69,275
Location
Everson WA - Pacific NW USA
I am not talking about ripoff/counterfeits. We've had that discussion.

Soaps, lotions, supplements, drinks, foods, etc - mostly liquids, but some powders, capsuled powders.

Does hypothetical manufacturer, say Acme, make a product for brick and mortar, and/or their own site and a different ("watered down"??) product with same labeling for Amazon?

I ask because I have detected REAL differences over time that don't seem to be batch differences. Anyone seen a study on this?

Maybe NOT illegal, but certainly not in my head.
 
The pro-Walmart crowd has always sworn this to not be the case. Yet all these giant vendors demand cost taken out of products. I don’t see how you can do it any other way. It would stand to reason that the same is the case be it for Amazon, drop ship wholesalers, etc.

I recall twenty years ago, some dollar stores had products that came from other places, hardly noticeable.
 
JHZR2 said:
The pro-Walmart crowd has always sworn this to be it be the case. Yet all these giant vendors demand cost taken out of products. I don’t see how you can do it any other way. It would stand to reason that the same is the case be it for Amazon, drop ship wholesalers, etc.

I recall twenty years ago, some dollar stores had products that came from other places, hardly noticeable.
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Makes sense. I'm not pro anything. So noted.
 
Pablo said:
Makes sense. I'm not pro anything. So noted.
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Same. It just seems plausible that to get enough cost out for the same quantity, something has to be done. Economies of scale may either make it worth marginal cheapening of the product, or not…
 
JHZR2 said:
Same. It just seems plausible that to get enough cost out for the same quantity, something has to be done. Economies of scale may either make it worth marginal cheapening of the product, or not…
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Agreed on the "or not" comment. I.E., I think that it might be advantageous for a product to be sold for less profit if there is a contract that the product occupies better shelf space (eye level). But who really knows? We have been speculating for decades.

I'll ask my Costco employed son, who is making over $50/hour today (time and half Sundays). He said they start at $20/hr. now with upgraded excellent benefits.
 
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Pablo said:
I am not talking about ripoff/counterfeits. We've had that discussion.

Soaps, lotions, supplements, drinks, foods, etc - mostly liquids, but some powders, capsuled powders.

Does hypothetical manufacturer, say Acme, make a product for brick and mortar, and/or their own site and a different ("watered down"??) product with same labeling for Amazon?

I ask because I have detected REAL differences over time that don't seem to be batch differences. Anyone seen a study on this?

Maybe NOT illegal, but certainly not in my head.
Click to expand...

it's being done for other stuff, but usually with slightly different part numbers.
 
What I know is that Costco soft products of the same brand always seem to work better for me than the same thing bought anywhere else (and btw they are rarely the lowest price at Costco). The wife won't let me buy any shampoos or soaps elsewhere. Except Axe of course, as I'm the only one using it so it's ok if I guinea pig myself for science.

Not sure if it could be related to the quantities. Would a 2qt can of shampoo age better than a 1qt one - IDK.

It is also ABSOLUTELY a thing in Europe, between Western Europe and Eastern Europe. We've been vacationing there and say Dove soap bars or shampoo bought locally after we run out of the ones we got with us were day and night worse. Official stuff, official store, etc, etc. A Dove shampoo bought in Germany is leaps and bounds better than a very official one bought say East of Hungary.

Then again, they do that for cars, why not for shampoos and soaps :) A Renault you buy in France would be made there, buy it east of say Austria or Hungary, they'll be made in Turkey.

As for drinks on Amazon - they are the same. I used to get Red Bull from there - exactly the same as store bought. BUT, you have to account for storage and delivery. Amazon's could sit somewhere for ages, whereas Costco is controlled chain.
And of course, let's not forget that the Coke that the whole world drinks is the Mexican Coke sold at Costco (made with sugar rather than with high fructose corn syrup), whereas the Coke sold in the US is to outsiders a sugar bomb with no taste whatsoever.
And for anyone who remembers - Mexican Coke (and world coke) tastes like Coke II that bombed in the early 90s.

Pepsi, strangely enough, tastes the same everywhere. And for the record - I MISS Crystal Pepsi. I loved it :)

And last but not least - some official things on Amazon might not be as official as they claim to be.

My Santa Fe oil filter bought from Amazon (said "Hyundai store") mentions "To be used only on Korean market" on the package. Things could be for the Mexican market. Plenty of ways to have official stuff that is official but not US official.
 
I can't say anything for sure, but I know that a lot of these soft goods are made at contract manufacturing process facilities that literally make every brand. There are only a handful - economies of scale. I haven't been to one in a few years but that used to be the case. Program the equipment to auto mix and they mixed each batch to order and bottled and labeled in containers the buyer specified. So in that case it would be super easy to add a little more of this, or a little less of that.

I asked if there was much difference in the branded vs generic - they shrugged and said "we just mix to their recipe, you need to ask a chemists somewhere, we just manufacture".

Now, thats very different than something like a Oxygen sensor, where it would be very costly to make two different versions just to save a few pennies.
 
The thought that a company would make a less expensive version for Amazon had never crossed my mind. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but it seems a little difficult, especially considering that most of what I buy on Amazon isn't even sold by Amazon. But I do think Amazon saves a lot of money by having product packaged in minimal packaging.

Many years ago I saw a report that revealed how aggressively Walmart was, and probably still is, at demanding lower prices for products that they sold. Most companies give Walmart what they want, with very few feeling confident in their market position, to tell Walmart no. It makes sense to me that manufacturers have to cut costs somewhere, to be able to sell their products to Walmart at a lower price.

Jetronic said:
it's being done for other stuff, but usually with slightly different part numbers.
Click to expand...

Pay attention to Walmart merchandise, and you will often find part numbers with one or two added or different characters. This is particularly common with small appliances and electronics. There is no doubt in my mind that these products are different than the same model sold elsewhere.

There are those that will argue vehemently that companies like Acme would not risk their reputation by making "second rate" products for Walmart, and I guess perhaps Amazon too.
 
Companies can very well risk their reputation, as all they need to do is add an extra flower or an extra sign in the name for it to count as a different product, which doesn't have to abide by the same rules, as long as it's safe - which it will be.

A Shampoo Lush Hair can be very different from a Shampoo Lush Hair+ sold at some other chain. And it's a very subjective field. It washed worse ? Probably your water was hard. Use our other product.
 
I could see it happening. Ever seen an ad on TV that Dawn dish soap is now twice as powerful? They've been watering it down then it comes roaring back.

Ever seen the Charmin 4x rolls? Who sells the 1x rolls? Dollar Tree. They're laughable.

This wouldn't work as well for, say, automatic dish detergent because you've got the measuring cup built into the machine. But something that takes a squirt... well how big is a squirt?
 
Pablo said:
I stopped reading at modeling
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Worked in the Garment district for 13+ years. Our company was making baby and kids' clothes. Most companies there were doing that. You. Sir. You !!!

GretaDare.gif
 
One thing I've seen, OTC v prescription, same item. Ammonium lactate 12% lotion. OTC has "NO" expiration. Seen a customer and Costco employees trying to figure it out, I decided I wouldn't say anything they were so intense. But the product at Costco is legit without any expiration. When having a prescription filled for same thing, where it comes from behind the pharmacy counter, it will have an expiration. The customer was accusing Costco of selling fake lotion :ROFLMAO:
 
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