Whatever level is needed, so that if I'm buying a product made be Nestle, I know that it was made by Nestle.
I think the policy mechanism here should be liability:
* If I buy a counterfeit memory card on Amazon, and it loses my photos, Amazon should be liable for the cost and effort of those photos. If I am poisoned with bad medicine, Amazon should be liable for the damages.
* If I spend money on 400TC cotton sheets, and get 300TC cotton/poly blend ones.
* If I write a book, and Amazon sells pirated copies, I should receive damages.
* If a bad medical product injures me, or doesn't have the intended effect, Amazon is liable (with standard astronomical damages)
Critically:
* It should be easy to extract those damages (Amazon can't tie me up in court or arbitration), and when this happens at scale, this should be class action or federal / state enforcement.
* Damages should include reasonable costs of enforcement. They should also be set at a minimum at treble damages, since not all instances will be caught / enforced.
At that point, the actuaries can do their thing on reasonable level of effort Amazon should put in. That may be shutting down all fulfilment-by-Amazon, co-mingling, and marketplace sellers, very different fee structures, inspections / enforcement, or something else. I don't know.
I actually think the most likely outcome is a verified supply chain, where Nestle (or any other manufacturer) sends to Amazon and Amazon to me with no middlemen. Vendors in compatible enforcement regimes with appropriate treaties (e.g. US and EU) are allowed in, so long as they have everything in order (corporate registration, etc.) and are selling under their own name. Vendors where the long arm of my local justice system doesn't quite reach aren't allowed in, at least directly, unless Amazon does a lot more scrutiny to the level to the point where I have similar guarantees about product safety, quality, environmental impact, labor laws, IP, etc.
I would not set a similar bar for eBay or Aliexpress, which claim to be marketplaces and not stores. However, when I buy from Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc., I believe that I am buying from a store (even if the fine print says otherwise). I'd want a very clear distinction between the two. Part of the way Amazon got itself into deep trouble is by trying to mix the two up. If I'm shopping at a flea market, it's caveat emptor, and those can be fun for some things. If I'm shopping at a store, I expect a certain level of trust.
What is clear, though, is that Amazon isn't self-policing, and we need regulatory enforcement.
I think the policy mechanism here should be liability:
* If I buy a counterfeit memory card on Amazon, and it loses my photos, Amazon should be liable for the cost and effort of those photos. If I am poisoned with bad medicine, Amazon should be liable for the damages.
* If I spend money on 400TC cotton sheets, and get 300TC cotton/poly blend ones.
* If I write a book, and Amazon sells pirated copies, I should receive damages.
* If a bad medical product injures me, or doesn't have the intended effect, Amazon is liable (with standard astronomical damages)
Critically:
* It should be easy to extract those damages (Amazon can't tie me up in court or arbitration), and when this happens at scale, this should be class action or federal / state enforcement.
* Damages should include reasonable costs of enforcement. They should also be set at a minimum at treble damages, since not all instances will be caught / enforced.
At that point, the actuaries can do their thing on reasonable level of effort Amazon should put in. That may be shutting down all fulfilment-by-Amazon, co-mingling, and marketplace sellers, very different fee structures, inspections / enforcement, or something else. I don't know.
I actually think the most likely outcome is a verified supply chain, where Nestle (or any other manufacturer) sends to Amazon and Amazon to me with no middlemen. Vendors in compatible enforcement regimes with appropriate treaties (e.g. US and EU) are allowed in, so long as they have everything in order (corporate registration, etc.) and are selling under their own name. Vendors where the long arm of my local justice system doesn't quite reach aren't allowed in, at least directly, unless Amazon does a lot more scrutiny to the level to the point where I have similar guarantees about product safety, quality, environmental impact, labor laws, IP, etc.
I would not set a similar bar for eBay or Aliexpress, which claim to be marketplaces and not stores. However, when I buy from Amazon, Walmart, Target, etc., I believe that I am buying from a store (even if the fine print says otherwise). I'd want a very clear distinction between the two. Part of the way Amazon got itself into deep trouble is by trying to mix the two up. If I'm shopping at a flea market, it's caveat emptor, and those can be fun for some things. If I'm shopping at a store, I expect a certain level of trust.
What is clear, though, is that Amazon isn't self-policing, and we need regulatory enforcement.