Heads-up on buying chains from Amazon

My issues with buying from a local motorcycle shop are that there isn't one conveniently located to me, and their order cycle prevents getting anything in less than a week. They order about once a week, so if you miss the window of opportunity, your order sits unfulfilled for a week til they even place it. So it's more like two weeks, depending on the availability of the part, until you receive it. If I'm fixing something on my bike, I want to get it back in service as quickly as possible. If I find out I need an OEM part during a job that I didn't know I'd need, I'm not going to want to wait two weeks or more for it if I can get it online from someone like Rocky Mountain ATV in three or four days.

If you go to NGK's website (NGK plugs are what I always use), it lists multiple nationwide auto parts stores that they authorize to carry their product. Have a look:



I see all the standard places we're familiar with, like O'Reilly, NAPA, Carquest, Autozone, etc. I don't see Rock Auto. Since these retailers have contracts with NGK, I'd be more inclined to believe that whatever NGK plugs they're selling are real NGK plugs. If I had to guess the likelihood of a spark plug being counterfeit, I'd be more willing to believe that the counterfeit might come from a source that doesn't have an agreement with NGK. I've bought from Rock Auto in the past and they seem like a fine company (thought they sent me the wrong shims for a brake pad change on my Toyota), but in the case of spark plugs, if I was concerned about counterfeits, I'd buy them from the company that actually is an authorized retailer. I definitely won't buy them from Amazon again.

I've looked at Chapmoto's website when I've been shopping for tires, and they had good prices, but at that time they didn't have the particular tire I wanted (I think it was a Shinko 705). I alternate between various online retailers when I'm shopping, but I've found Rocky Mountain ATV to consistently be the most reliable as far as customer service, price, and parts availability. If I call them, I get to talk to a real live person, which seems to be an increasingly rare occurrence.

As far as Bezos, without delving into anything resembling politics, I would be perfectly happy if they jammed him into one of his spacecraft and re-enacted the lyrics to "Space Oddity". The sad reality is that, for better or worse, Amazon changed the face of retail, and there's no going back, at least not unless there's a fundamental shift in society. For better or worse, all retailers are stuck with trying to deal with this new business model, and it's going to continue to devastate businesses until something even more powerful changes it.

I use Amazon and am a Prime customer. However, I'm very careful. Amazon is a cesspool of junk and counterfeits. My rules:

• Determine who the real seller is. Many people do not know how to do this. Look for exactly the words "Sold by ..." in the right hand column. Not "Brand", not "Ships from".
• Research the seller. If they don't have a retail presence of their own outside Amazon, run away, or ensure that the product is one that you don't mind being junk or counterfeit.
• Determine the reputation and trustworthiness of the seller. This is subjective, but at a minimum, I want to see contact info and a HQ in a friendly country.
• For critical parts, try to determine whether they're an authorized seller. The manufacturer may have a list. (This isn't always possible.)
• If possible and I'm not in a hurry, buy direct from the retailer. They will appreciate not giving Amazon a chunk of the profit.

And finally, regardless of who the seller is - and this happens most often when the seller is Amazon itself - DO NOT let them get away with selling returned merchandise as new. I can't tell you how many times I've received opened, damaged, or otherwise obviously returned merch sold as new. I consider this fraud, and I nearly always make them take it back, unless it's a case where it really doesn't matter and I'm in a hurry. It's especially galling when it's something I bought as a gift which wasn't cheap. 👿

All of the above are doubly true for safety-critical parts or any electronic/computer gear (nearly everything is a computer these days, and nearly all of it has firmware of some sort which can be compromised or be otherwise malicious if it's been used or is from a dodgy source).

Support the good guys. It takes extra work. It usually costs more. It's worth it.

Edit: you'll notice I didn't even mention customer reviews and ratings. They are so often gamed, paid for, or otherwise fraudulent as to be completely useless for determining reputation of a product or seller. They can be useful for gaining specific facts about the product itself, but the safest bet is to just assume that reviews were paid for, either by the seller or a seller's competitor.