Are any of these power banks actually on sale and worth buying, or are the discounts fake? It’s remarkably easy to sell products on Amazon (as evidenced by its millions of sellers). That means there are plenty of subpar product listings that come from sketchy sellers—often with gibberish names or multiple sellers that are using the same photos and claiming to sell the same product.
While many items on Amazon are safe and legitimate, you do need to be aware of the risks when you’re shopping. The site has problems with fake reviews and counterfeit items. Amazon has fairly good return policies, including an A-to-Z guarantee for items sold by third parties, but ideally you want to avoid having to deal with a return in the first place.
Below are a few tips for shopping at the Everything Store, especially ahead of Prime Big Deal Days on October 6 and 7, to make it more likely everything will arrive as advertised. Updated September 2026: I’ve refreshed this story with current tips and information. When possible, you should buy items directly from Amazon.
Amazon keeps a better eye on its own inventory than it does on items sold by third-party sellers. Items it sells directly are more likely to arrive as advertised and qualify for free two-day Prime shipping. Because Amazon manages everything, returns are usually painless.
Sometimes you can even get refunds for defective items without having to return them at all. If you’re already checking out a product on Amazon, like our favorite iPad, always make sure the seller info says "Ships from and sold by Amazon.com." This information is typically in one of two places. Either it’s under the red price (and green "In Stock" text) or under the yellow Add to Cart and orange Buy Now buttons on the right rail.
It’s also under those buttons on the Amazon app. If you’re browsing through Amazon listings, filter the site’s search results to only show items sold by Amazon.com. Buying an item sold and shipped by Amazon generally makes delivery and customer-service inquiries more straightforward.
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